Encouraging Employee Creativity and Innovation in Theory and Practice

Creativity and innovation are becoming increasingly important in today’s rapidly changing world — especially when a company’s competitiveness depends on its ability to develop advanced solutions. This is also true for Intera, a company best known for its solution, Intrix. This article first explores the theory of creativity and innovation and then presents specific ways these are encouraged at Intera.

On Creativity and Innovation

Creativity and innovation are related but distinct concepts. Creativity focuses on generating new ideas, while innovation emphasizes the practical use and implementation of those ideas in real solutions. This relationship is strongly influenced by organizational culture, leadership, and motivational factors (Barros et al., 2025).

Organizations that embed creativity into structural innovation technologies are better equipped to adapt to change and hold a competitive advantage. As a result, competitiveness and innovation have become key goals for organizations and economies alike. Innovation, as an organizational competency, is essential in today’s global economy (Barros et al., 2025).

Factors Affecting Innovation and Creativity

Various studies show that creativity and innovation within an organization are influenced by several factors. Leadership practices stand out as particularly impactful (Ayinaddis, 2023). Leadership models that prioritize psychological safety foster an environment where employees feel encouraged to take risks and suggest creative ideas, which directly enhances the organization's innovation capacity (Barros et al., 2025).

The most important factors include (Ayinaddis, 2023):

• Organizational support: Rules and processes that allow for fair and constructive evaluation of ideas, rewards and recognition for creative work, mechanisms for idea development, active idea flow, and a shared vision.
• Supervisor support: Caring for employees, a pleasant atmosphere, openness in communication, and both emotional and functional support in creative processes.
• Team support: Working with colleagues who are willing to share knowledge and assist with work tasks, and a work environment where open communication about ideas is encouraged.
• Autonomy at work: Individuals and teams have freedom and control over their day-to-day tasks.
• Sufficient resources: Staff, knowledge, finances, technology, and other resources necessary for the successful implementation of innovation.
• Challenging work: The right level of complexity in tasks.

Encouraging Creativity and Innovation at Intera

Intera is best known for developing the Intrix solution. As an organization, we actively encourage innovation and creativity because we see them as key to our success and solution development. We support our employees in this area in various ways.

We have implemented a tailored R&D (Research and Development) process, digitally supported within our Intrix HRM system. The core of the process is to give all employees the opportunity to submit their creative suggestions — whether related to Intrix solutions or the company’s internal workflows. The process doesn’t only ask for an idea but also the challenge it addresses, how it would solve it, and what resources would be needed. Once an idea is submitted, the team discusses it with the employee. Implementation discussions may also follow. When an idea is approved, resource planning begins in more detail. Once the project is complete, the outcome is presented to colleagues at an internal Show & Tell event. The employee prepares a presentation of the solution — how it was developed, challenges faced during implementation, and the problems it solves.

The Show & Tell event is another method for encouraging innovation and creativity. Its goal is to share knowledge and best practices between departments. At the end of each quarter, departments present projects that stood out in the past months. These presentations often prompt audience questions or spark further discussion, which is encouraged and welcome. Colleagues gain new knowledge, which is an important source of creativity and innovation.

Show&Tell Event

Leaders also play a key role — primarily by enabling open communication. Employees regularly talk to their leaders about ideas, ask questions, and express opinions — even when they disagree. Different ways of thinking and perspectives help foster creative development and enable us to view solutions from multiple angles. Leaders do not abuse their authority to impose their views, but rather listen and consider employee input. They also provide regular feedback.

Communication at Intera is open, transparent, and most importantly, two-way. Employees are always encouraged to share their opinions on various projects and initiatives. Projects often include team members from different departments, and this team diversity positively affects creativity and innovation in daily work.
 
To conclude — at Intera, creativity and innovation are not just welcomed — they are an essential part of our processes. We understand that without them, we cannot remain competitive in a rapidly changing market. The demands in the IT sector, where we operate, are constantly increasing.

Refrences 

• Barros, R., Resende, L. M. & Pontes, J. (2025). Exploring creativity and innovation in organizational contexts: A systematic review and bibliometric analysis of key models and emerging opportunities. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity, 11 (2025).
• Ayinaddis, S. G. (2023). Workplace factors that influence creativity and innovation in micro and small scale enterprises: Enterprise level analysis. African Journal of science, Technology, Innovation and Development (2023).