Involving Staff in Product Development - Fleximize

Involving Staff in Product Development

As a leader, is it important to tell employees about the development of a product?

By Emma Meakin

When developing a new product you may want to keep this top secret and not want to share the plans with people outside your company, however there are some benefits to keeping staff updated.

Better engagement

Keeping employees informed about the aims and plans of your business, including new product development, can have several positive effects. Ensuring employees feel that they’re informed about product development can result in a higher degree of employee engagement, which can lead to higher motivation, productivity and performance. This applies even to staff who aren't directly involved in that particular project.

Communicating details of product development can also help staff see the bigger picture, rather than focusing on just their own specific task, which can help them to identify problems and opportunities that might otherwise be missed. This can also promote cooperation and sharing of ideas amongst staff.

Listen to feedback

Whilst you may want to keep your ideas safe, informing staff of a new developments may have more benefits than negatives in the long run.