If you want to build an innovative company, you had better make it your business to find employees who think outside the box, says Inc.com, as the online business journal share tips on hiring for creativity.
As the article points out, hiring innovative thinkers is a big challenge because "technical skills and knowledge can be measured; experience, with some persistence, can be verified, but creativity is more mysterious".
Inc.com warns that it can be time-consuming and expensive to distinguish truly creative people among applicants. With that in mind, the article introduces some strategies for bringing innovators to your organisation.
1) Decide which kind of creativity counts. Distinguish between breadth creativity (seeing the big picture, drawing connections between seemingly disparate events or trends) and depth creativity (ingenuity within a specific realm, such as one's job).
2) Attract the brightest lights. Market your company to applicants, setting the tone with the job description. Look for adaptability in the candidates and recruit from non- traditional sources.
3) Put candidates to the test. Ask candidates to describe an experience when they were faced with a new problem and how they handled it. Also set them tasks to create sample work.
The article also gives tips on building a creative culture. Human resources consultant Scott Erker says: "If you put [innovative] people in an environment that squashes creativity, you'll go nowhere. They'll be fired, or they'll put their resumé out and find somewhere else to be creative." So the article suggests you:
• Inspire with work: "Keep them busy, and, within prudent bounds, let them do the work their way."
• Compensate with care: "When creativity produces ongoing income for a company, the creator should share in the long-term profits."
• Create happiness: Creative people are "least productive on days when they [feel] anger, anxiety, or fear".
Source
How To Hire For Creativity
Inc.com
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