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From devising internal campaigns to engage employees and share important company news to promoting events externally and setting up media interviews for C-suite leaders, many of the projects comms pros handle can benefit greatly from the insights and input of their colleagues from across the organization.
While achieving buy-in and getting interdepartmental teams to help brainstorm and collaborate can be the key to the success for a comms project, the best way to go about doing that will vary, depending on the strategic goals of the specific campaign and the organization as a whole. Below, members of Forbes Communications Council share tips communications teammates can use to encourage people on other teams to share creative ideas for comms campaigns.
1. Foster A Culture Of Shared Benefits
Team leaders have to foster a culture of shared benefits for the teams. Ideating, collaborating and innovating are behaviors that have to be modeled, recognized and rewarded. With that culture in place, creative solutions flourish. Using collaborative language, such as, “I like that idea, and...” or, “What if we enhanced or replaced X with Y?” can help leaders show support, introduce improvements and keep ideas flowing. - Mark Dollins, North Star Communications Consulting
2. Give Praise Where It’s Due
You have to have an open environment that encourages people to share their ideas. People are more likely to share their ideas if they feel that they’ll be well received. Additionally, give praise where praise is due. Sending a companywide email as a shout-out to the person who came up with a winning idea is a great way to continue to foster that environment while also boosting their confidence. - Jessica Abel, G7 Entertainment Marketing
3. Provide A Forum For Teams To Share Feedback
Ask for feedback and give teams a forum to share it. Listen to these outside teams, whether in meetings or by creating a creative request form that they can submit. The best marketing projects come from the brainstorming and cross-collaboration of people with different mindsets and experiences. - Sherri Schwartz, OvationCXM
4. Create A Campaign Using Teammates’ Personal Stories
Your people are your most valuable asset. Their unique stories can be a powerful tool for campaigns. Encourage the sharing of personal stories to create a campaign that sets your organization apart through compelling storytelling. Use existing relationships, internal communication channels and surveys to find great stories within your team. - Trish Nettleship, ResMed SaaS
5. Institute Roundtable Sessions
We’ve instituted roundtable sessions, which are more informal, as no one is presenting. With this format, we have collaborative discussions and share ideas about what has worked and hasn’t worked with client programs. Our team members have learned new and creative ideas from their colleagues through our roundtable sessions. - Nikki Little, Franco
6. Encourage Teams To Showcase Their Thought Leadership
Thought leadership plays a crucial role in public relations, not only for brands and businesses to establish their reputation, but also for employees’ self-development within an organization. Encouraging teams to showcase their thought leadership by offering recognition for creative ideas can foster engagement within the organization and acknowledge the value of team members’ contributions. - Jessica Wong, Valux Digital
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7. Incentivize Teams To Contribute With Gamification
When there’s a potential reward involved, people will be more likely to contribute. More often than not, people on other teams have great ideas, but they don’t always want to share them—whether it’s because they don’t feel it’s their place or they’re not even sure who the right person to tell is. Making it a formal request with a set reward will help. - Yael Klass, Similarweb Ltd.
8. Send Contributors Personal Thank-You Notes
We simply send a personal thank-you note acknowledging a teammate’s help! The contributors wear our acknowledgment as a badge of honor and spread the word about their accomplishments. This in turn encourages other employees to contribute. Over time, we have been able to build an inclusive club of amazing contributors. - Mahesh Bellie, StoryEQ
9. Issue Companywide Creative Challenges
We have had excellent success issuing companywide creative challenges that incentivize employees to form small teams with representation from different departments and submit ideas. The competition inspires participation and collaboration, and everybody wins. - Tara Naughton, MikeWorldWide
10. Ask A Few ‘Early Adopters’ To Break The Ice
Creating a culture of collaboration and creativity will naturally encourage people to share their ideas. Like anything else, these behaviors take muscle memory. The more people engage, the easier it becomes for them to engage in the future. To get started, ask two or three people to be “early adopters” to break the ice and encourage others to speak up. Eventually, people will develop a habit of idea-sharing. - Jaime Hunt, Old Dominion University
11. Organize Chill Brainstorming Sessions Or Idea Contests
Organize chill brainstorming sessions or idea contests with folks from different teams. By welcoming their unique insights, you’ll create a cool, inclusive vibe that gets everyone’s creativity flowing. And hey, don’t forget to recognize the best ideas—it’ll keep everyone stoked to join in and contribute! - Kobi Ben-Meir, Marketing Trailblazer
12. Invite Cross-Collaboration At The Start Of A Project
At the outset of a project, invite key voices from various departments and areas of expertise to participate in brainstorming sessions. This cross-collaboration approach not only brings diverse perspectives into the foreground, but also creates an inclusive environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute their unique insights, ultimately leading to richer and more innovative campaigns. - Alyssa Kopelman, Healthline Media
13. Hold Ideation Workshops
Hold ideation workshops or brainstorming sessions where team members can share their ideas freely. Creating a safe and nonjudgmental space for idea-sharing can inspire creativity and encourage team members to contribute their unique perspectives and insights. Offering incentives or recognition for the best ideas can further motivate team members to participate and contribute. - Asad Kausar, Dabaran
14. Be Creative And Share Your Own Ideas
Being creative yourself breeds creativity in return. If you don’t foster a creative environment, people will assume that you are not open to ideas, and they won’t be proactive. By continuously sharing ideas (good and bad) with people outside of your team, you are inviting them into the brainstorm bubble, and they’ll be more comfortable letting their thoughts flow freely with you. - Erica Morgenstern, Virgin Pulse
15. Celebrate Other Teams’ Ideas You Choose To Execute
What gets recognized gets repeated. Be sure to celebrate the ideas that your communications team executes on that came from other team members. This is the best way to show the team that collaboration and idea-sharing is encouraged and rewarded at your company. - Holly Tate, Leadr
16. Lead By Example And Show Appreciation
As marketing people, we too often start by judging ideas first. This is not the way it is going to work. We need to create a safe and supportive environment for people to unload their ideas. In line with this, we need to have evaluation criteria to help us understand how a piece of content would move us toward meeting our goals. This allows people to think in a broader and more goal-oriented way. - Iryna Manukovska, XME.digital
17. Share Ideas Asynchronously On A User-Friendly Platform
Foster the sharing of ideas with a user-friendly, low-pressure platform, such as Slack or Trello, which lowers barriers to information-sharing. This collaborative environment empowers everyone to contribute creative thoughts for comms campaigns without hesitation. The asynchronous approach allows for adding links or supporting content, enriching ideas and promoting comprehensive understanding. - Brittany Garlin, Vista Social
18. Help Employees Realize They Are Your First Customers
Strong communication is the driving force for everything we do at work. We start by being transparent with overall business goals, then move on to creating an open-minded environment responsive to feedback and suggestions, starting from the bottom up. Enabling employees to understand that they are our first customers is very important, as this gives them a seat at the table. - Nobuntu Ndlovu, Atlas
19. Remove Barriers To Access With A Landing Page
Sometimes, eliciting ideas from other people is less about being creative with the approach and more about removing barriers to access. Creating a landing page on an intranet or website (it could even be anonymous) gives people a place to info-dump their ideas, and giving front-line workers access via employee apps creates a bigger pool of contributors for your next campaign. - Scott Hitchins, Interact Software
20. Create A Dedicated Slack Channel To Foster Ideas
Create a dedicated Slack channel for the whole company to foster creative comms ideas. Encourage the sharing of inspirations for branding, advertising and communication. Ensure the comms team contributes, encourages cross-departmental participation and values diverse perspectives. Simplify the exchange of ideas, celebrate implemented concepts and cultivate a culture of innovation that motivates everyone. - Juliana Chyzhova, Skylum
