Issue 7 2019

CEO MONTHLY / ISSUE 7 2019 19 Peak productivity – How and When are UK Employees at their Most Creative? those who find ways to bring creativity and innovation to life. “Monetary reward is one route but investing in them as an individual, through further development opportunities, will have a longer-term impact on their motivation.” Embrace failure Finally, Steven Garrod, Managing Director at MPA Group, discusses the importance of failure when it comes to driving creativity: “As Winston Churchill famously said, ‘Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm’. Failure is part and parcel of business life and unless you and your employees accept this, you may discourage risk-taking and creativity. Treat every attempt as an opportunity to learn and as another step towards your ultimate goal. A great incentive for this is in R&D tax credits, which almost rewards failure allowing companies to make a claim even if their project is unsuccessful, so the fear of failure shouldn’t dissuade businesses from innovation.” The UK is a hub of innovation, but without effective work environments and schedules, employers might be inadvertently restricting the creativity of their staff. Allowing employees to be creative has numerous benefits to companies. A more innovative environment helps staff feel more comfortable and motivated, which can lead to the development of ideas and the sort of progress that keeps businesses at the forefront of their industries. This alone will typically lead to increased revenue and market value, but there are further financial incentives available for innovating companies. HMRC’s R&D Tax Credit scheme rewards such businesses by allowing them to claim back on research and development projects in the form of substantial tax relief.