Assume the creative class has a limited membership: Creativity is not the currency of designers, programmers and webmasters alone. A 2007 Ipsos Reid survey found that 88% of US employees consider themselves creative. Find ways to tap the creativity of your entire workforce. Take a page from Corus Entertainment’s handbook and develop your own Innovation Fund.

Red-tape your creatives: ‘Creatives tend to be very free-spirited, so you can’t impose lots of bureaucracy on them,’ notes Cohesion HR founder Gillian Russo-Gill.

Take away a creative’s sense of ownership: Never underestimate the power of pride of ownership. If your creatives feel that they truly own a project, they pour all of their energy into it.

Design an environment non-conducive to creativity: Internet giant Google is synonymous with innovation for a reason – its offices are an eclectic mix of meeting rooms fashioned out of ski trolleys and truck cabs, filled with crazy colors and furnishings that foster home-like comfort.

Make employees feel like factory workers: ‘Success comes from boutique project teams that work closely together – not an assembly line,’ says Luis Lopez, director of studio operations at Nelvana. AB

Facilitate collaboration: Develop think tanks that give your creatives an opportunity to feed off of one another’s ideas and insights.