Companies large and small are going to great lengths to keep employees motivated, build camaraderie, and stimulate creativity. Some of the more curious team–building activities include team skydiving, team drumming, taking an improvisational comedy class, and organizing a cubicle-decorating contest.

For marketers, the challenge to remain at their creative best, in an industry that seemingly changes by the hour, is especially difficult. According to a survey by the Creative Group, 85 percent of advertising and marketing professionals say their profession is more demanding now than it was 10 years ago, pointing to the constant need to learn new integrated marketing communications tools and the pressure from finance to measure everything. Marketers may not be the face of their company, but their function is certainly among the most scrutinized. And that can be a major drain on creativity, something that’s hard to fix with a group activity.

But there are ways to keep creative people inspired. Here are four suggestions:

• Give them variety. Nothing kills creativity faster than an assembly–line mentality. So avoid asking your team to take on similar assignments over and over again. Novel challenges will keep your people alert and excited.

• Make them business partners. All too often, creative teams lose sight of the big picture. A good sense of what your organization is about will keep people engaged. Offering employees opportunities to work alongside colleagues in other departments can help.

• Lavish them with praise. Let team members know you appreciate them by encouraging participation in award programs, and spread the word within the organization when their work is recognized. Creative people need to hear the applause.

• Give them a small “skunk works” budget. Since creative people like to tinker with new ideas, and unstructured tinkering can lead to innovation, give your teams a bit of playtime, a chance to flex their muscles on projects that are not directly related to specific business development plan goals.

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