How to Use Idea Management for Effective Team Collaboration
Team collaboration requires active participation and engagement from your employees. But getting them to be participative shouldn’t be a demand from their superiors. Team collaboration will only be effective if it’s a voluntary action and desire from the individuals involved.
The result of effective team collaboration reflects clearly on the outcome of a project compared to one person taking on all the tasks. For example, burnout is mitigated because of proper task distribution. You don’t have just one person extremely burnt out because they’re micromanaging everything. It’s a very motivating and inspiring experience for the whole team.
But you can’t achieve that in one go, because trust needs to be fostered among you and your team. Sure, we’re here to talk about the tools you can use, but those are stepping stones to accomplishing your task. A team collaboration needs to go beyond tools because you’re dealing with fellow humans. Hence, a humanistic approach is a great way to pursue high employee engagement and idea management.
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Idea Management: What Is It?
Every product starts as an idea and is then developed by further innovation. Innovation can lead to market leadership but it needs a continuous supply of ideas. You need to find a way to gather and evaluate various suggestions and that’s where idea management comes in.
Idea management is the process of gathering, evaluating, and acting on ideas. Those ideas can vary from requests from employees to feedback from clients. If we define it by its two words, the “idea” is finding sources while “management” is organizing them.
After successfully doing so, you can create a strategy or product roadmap based on your priorities. Should you further improve an existing product or create a new one? What did your clients say when you teased an upcoming product? Did they want any improvement on your current services or products?
By succeeding in idea management, your product roadmap will surely be created based on existing customer needs. And once you establish it as a formal system, you can keep improving on your deliverables.
Comparing Online and Offline Idea Management
Offline idea management like workshops is still effective but they do have a few downsides. The ideas are harder to organize because everything is spoken and not necessarily recorded.
These meetings also favor the outgoing team members more because shy members may not feel it necessary to speak. Employees who aren’t confident won’t likely approach you with unique ideas. They won’t teach themselves new things for the company nor apply for promotions.
Another point is that it takes time to process the feedback from all of the ideas discussed. Not to mention, idea management is only temporarily prioritized and often forgotten in the heat of the discussion.
Hence, using idea management software is becoming popular because it’s inclusive and automated. With its voting feature, even the least confident employees can express their opinion. You can balance the opinions of strongly opinionated people and those who aren’t.
When And How Should You Create and Use an Idea Management System?
An idea management system is a great way to toss around ideas without worrying about disarray. You can safely brainstorm to your heart’s content because everything will be recorded and organized by the system.
You can use it to record product names, concepts, and solutions during brainstorming sessions. Retrospectives, design, and event ideas can also be recorded so you don’t miss anything during the improvement stage.
The product and process improvement itself can be recorded so you have a log for future reference. But how do you create an idea management system for team collaboration?
- You Need to Set a Goal
A goal is an important part of the brainstorming process because it guides the team’s thought process. You need to fill in your team on what you’re looking for before the meeting. That way, they can research and construct ideas beforehand.
Once you’re ready to start the brainstorming process, try setting a timer between 15–45 minutes. This will help keep the team focused on the current task because of pressure. Another way to keep their focus is by splitting the session into smaller increments. They’ll be able to digest information and think through the breaks.
- Create an Open and Inclusive Environment
Employees and teammates will be more open to sharing their ideas when they don’t feel intimidated. It’s common to be wary when pitching ideas when they came from a place that humiliates “bad ideas”.
But if you manage to create an environment that values all forms of ideas, they’ll get the ball rolling. Their creative juices will start flowing because you unclogged the pressure that was blocking them. And you know how diamonds start as coal so maybe one of those “bad ideas” is brilliant over time!
- Assign a Note Taker Or Encourage Collaboration
During a meeting, it would do you good to assign a note-taker to jot down all of these ideas. This is especially important for physical meetings but useful for online ones all the same. The note-taker can use shared google docs while transcribing so everyone can follow the meeting.
During online brainstorming, you can use the best idea management software that lets you share ideas off the bat. You won’t need someone to transcribe or edit the notes first. Just like with the earlier suggestion, however, the group can collaborate on a shared virtual template. If you opt for that, everyone can collaborate in real time, even on their schedule.
- Talk About Ideas To Develop Them
Once the ideas have been recorded, go over them one by one and decide on the next steps. If there are a lot of suggestions, you can opt for a vote to narrow it all down to the best ones. And then, you can discuss those ideas in detail to further develop them.
You can give the owners of each idea time to explain what they had in mind when they pitched the thought. The group can ask questions and clarifications, as well as build on the existing idea. It’s great to keep recording these sessions and additions to create a collection of ideas for plans.
- Edit Your Idea Notes Accordingly
You can archive or delete ideas that didn’t make it to the final cut and highlight those that did. You also need to take special note of ideas that you’ll turn into action items. This will keep things neat and organized for your team when they need to re-check the software or notes.
In the case of idea management software, it’s handy because other team members can drag and drop items. So if they had any action items related to an idea, they can keep you updated too. It’s like a structured document where you can see priorities and tasks from your brainstorming session.
Benefits of Using a Digital Idea Management System
- It’s Inclusive
Using idea management software makes your sessions more inclusive for your team members. The ideas are pitched digitally so even reserved team members can contribute. They can type in their thoughts and suggestions without the pressure of the spotlight on them.
For example, anyone can get shy if they pitch a concept that they can’t follow up on. They pitched the idea because it might be good but they’re hoping someone else can help develop it. In that case, it’s best to be open and consider its potential rather than mocking them for not knowing what to do with it.
- It’s Shareable
Idea management software enables you to share ideas with everyone whether virtually or in person. No one has to take pictures of the whiteboard or decipher bad handwriting. The board is up for everything to see on their screens and every one can edit.
Imagine needing to leave the meeting for a quick trip to the restroom and losing track of things when you get back. Seeing the contents of the software should help you keep up on your return. Or you can ask your teammates later on about some ideas you’re not familiar with on the board.
- It’s a Flexible Work Setting
It’s common for team members to be unavailable from time to time and it can delay the idea process. However, an idea management system can solve the issue because everyone can work on it on their own time. This is especially important for remote workers across the globe in your team.
The system will allow your teammates to put more ideas on the board even when you’re away. It helps save time too because you don’t always need to be in a meeting to get anything done.
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Conclusion
Team collaborations can get messy without proper organization or management. It won’t have any direction and almost everyone can get confused about what to do. If you tell them you need ideas, tell them your goals and initial plans so they can narrow down their thoughts. The more variables they need to consider, the better their pitches will be.
Idea management is the entire process of gathering, evaluating, and developing ideas based on feedback. It makes team collaboration more effective because it gives structure and goals for the team. With successful idea management, comes an inclusive environment for employees to be creative.
A space where they can freely be creative even if they’re not outgoing encourages all sorts of teammates. You’ll find that the quietest can have the most unique ideas to bring to the table. And with a well-managed idea board, your team will also know what tasks to prioritize and improve. This in turn will also significantly improve customer satisfaction with your business.
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