The trend of cost savings due to employee suggestion schemes continues today. She spent time as a corporate training manager in the third-largest restaurant chain in its niche, but her first love will always be small and independent businesses. Too much Emphasis on ROI and Reward. An App takes the pain out of ideas management by enabling employees to read, review and rate ideas submitted by their peers. The really big successful ideas lead to recognition for the originator with enrolment in the innovators club and lunch with the CEO. Just because you dont have an advice box doesnt mean you should ignore any propositions your employees provide. In this blog, well explore how your business can improve employee engagement and manage the flow of ideas from submission to implementation in five stages with an Ideas Management App. The next you ask for cost savings; the next for ways to delight customers and so on. Suggestions are not oral but in writing, so the employee does not get a chance to explain his own suggestion. Over the years weve come to look more towards higher participation and better value suggestions, rather than volume overall.. Every employee at the factory works towards a common goal of achieving a 5.5% improvement in productivity each year driven by the fact that the factory, which produces automation, process control and electrical distribution products, is up against competitors in countries where labour and production costs are far lower. Want to create a loyal workforce? It will be a company-wide achievement and celebrating its success will have a powerful impact on engagement levels.

If your suggestion box software only collects ideas, people wont connect them with activities that improve the way they work and will disengage over time. Many schemes start with a fanfare of publicity, a burst of initial ideas and then they lose momentum and energy. Contact us The choice lies with him and his own judgment. Personnel Today Jobs Techniques to motivate, empower, and reward the employees have become ever more sophisticated and expensive. Often in trying to solve this problem, management offers a greater incentive to participate. Employee engagement levels drop like a stone when people feel their efforts are unappreciated. In fact, my research with James Detert at Cornell suggests that they probably wontuse it unless you explicitly say what kind of feedback youre seeking and then spell out what youre doing in response to it. WebWeighing the Pros & Cons of the Employee Suggestion Box Motivation. When people contribute ideas that create improvement, its important to show their efforts are recognised and rewarded.

At the same time, encourage them to continue participating so that employee participation becomes an integral part of your culture. Many software systems allow both staff and management to track and update the status of an idea. Learn more about improvement software in this free eBook: hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(326641, 'b5f034d9-da58-434a-b7bc-1fb5ed2a7413', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); The Pros and Cons of Moving Your Employee Suggestion Box Online, Free Improvement Software Comparison Matrix. This is shown in Fig 2. This is the point where many suggestion schemes fall over. In order to get the most beneficial responses, make those challenges: With an Employee App, each Challenge has its own virtual space. google_ad_client = "ca-pub-7057920448327527"; /* 300x250, created 1/18/11 */ google_ad_slot = "4743063532"; google_ad_width = 300; google_ad_height = 250; Work Improvements through Suggestion Schemes. Songs randomly flagged as having more previous downloads received more votes by participants. Suggestion schemes improve the employer and employee's relations. Third, electronic suggestion boxes breed a sense of futility, much like their older-school physical counterparts collecting dust in the corners of offices. Suggestions are not oral but in writing, so the employee does not get a chance to explain his own suggestion. with a centralized coaching system. especially small incremental improvements. The superiors, sometimes may feel hurt by the suggestions of their subordinate. Advantages of employee suggestion box are given in the image below. Heres the irony of moving up in most organizations: You have more power to make changes but less visibility into what should change. In 1880, William Denny, a Scottish shipbuilder, asked his employees to offer suggestions in order to build ships in better ways. Design creative ways to motivate employees to participate. WebEmployee voice is the way people communicate their views to their employer and influence matters that affect them at work. Access can be controlled Most suggestion software lets you use roles and permissions to make sure that only the authorized people can access information. Youre basically shutting their ideas away in the dark, storing them away indefinitely. So while there were fewer overall suggestions last year, more than 90% of staff had a suggestion validated and the facility achieved the highest savings per head. Suggestion Scheme. Company suggestion boxes typically go through five main obstacles: Lack of ownership. If your digital suggestion box follows the same paradigm as the old one, you are still focused on collecting ideas, not implementing them. Employers know that not every person is willing to speak up publicly when they see an opportunity for good change, so a point of collection for these ideas makes a lot of sense. In this way, you are giving people the confidence in their own ability to contribute to change and success. Give out surprise rewards if you want, but never give anyone the expectation that they deserve a part of your success. The interest and practice in using the ESS is widespread and it is recognized that innovation is an important source of growth, but sustaining innovation is not easy. Staff can be cynical about engagement programmes, but suggestion schemes can produce high levels of employee participation and real commercial results. It mostly seems useful because workers might interact more with the customer than their supervisors and, as a result, could be more aware of what their clients want. Dowling said: We tell staff their idea has to be authentic, measurable and that there has to be a burning platform that is, a reason for its implementation. In this way, you can acknowledge your employees unique skill sets and encourage them to employ them to your benefit. These are people who some might label as troublemakers. DIY suggestion scheme: Designed suggestion form (name, idea, cost benefit analysis) Fitted a suggestion box by the front door (high traffic area) Set up weekly management review of ideas (me facilitator, wife chair) Suggestions are less likely to get lost Software is a great way to make sure that every submitted suggestion is logged. That actively disengages people.. You need to act on them. The disadvantages of using a suggestion box in the workplace Management needs to realize that implementing a suggestion box can open Pandoras Box and create an entirely new set of problems. Even if the company establishes a committee to handle their suggestion box, proposals are more likely to be thrown out because they dont align with what the board members want for the business. Reference for Business: Participative Management, How to Get Employees to Send in Suggestions. Putting a suggestion into a box means surrendering an idea, hoping that somebody else will look at it, care for it and approve it. However, despite several benefits of the employee suggestion schemes, sustaining and implementing them is still a challenge for the organizational management. And neither of those outcomes gets you any closer to creating a culture of innovation or creativity, which is really the point of any suggestion box, whether its digital or not. The good old suggestion box for collecting employee ideas for improvement has been around for decades, if not even longer. Further, there are to be promotional rewards such as best suggestion of the year and highest numbers of suggestions rewards can be given. Suggestions are not oral but in writing, so the employee does not get a chance to explain his own suggestion. When employees are given opportunities to participate in decision making at work, they feel empowered and assume more ownership of their work. Even when you take the suggestion scheme outside the box, it needs to be handled correctly. For employers, effective voice contributes to building trust with employees, innovation, productivity and organisational improvement.

Instead, consider changing the process to embrace a true Kaizen approach: This is the definition of a true Kaizen culture: employees empowered to improve everywhere, every day. IdeasUK, the United Kingdoms foremost association for the promotion of employee involvement programs, was also founded in 1987. Consider the time required for: Committee meetings to review ideas submitted long feedback cycles may demotivate staff so ensure committee members can get together on a regular basis. A digital approach to improvement allows folks to submit their thoughts whenever they have them and often even on the mobile device theyve got in their pocket. If you want innovators in your team, look for people with some particular bad attitudes the ones with rebellious, contrary and divergent views. If it works and could potentially enhance your average customers experience, they could apply it to your business. There is a necessity of a detailed and consistent evaluation criterion. There are many great software packages to help with idea collection and evaluation. These new proposals dont only have to do with helping the average customer. 4. People dont want to put their best thinking into a box that they arent sure will ever be opened. Some suggestions dont work, but we always respond, reply and explain why we havent taken them up on the idea. If you dont take the suggestion box seriously and occasionally incorporate useful suggestions, its better not to have one at all.

Many employees who have provided their suggestions in a proposal bin have expressed that the higher-ups ignore their advice. This person is bad enough for morale when left alone with the group; adding her contributions to the suggestion system can waste time better spent on legitimate attempts to help. Ideas that are submitted and liked earlier might continue to gain more and more traction, and you may miss out on a great idea that got added to the mix later on. However, in the absence of a formal mechanism to assess the maturity of the suggestions, the benefits achieved through suggestion scheme are rather limited in several organizations. Success broadcasting One of the best ways to get people excited about sharing their ideas is to recognize them when they do. Profitable companies are always open to change, but the challenge is often finding the right direction for the change to go. Both Siemens and Sainsburys manage their schemes online and track how many staff participate, although staff can still submit suggestions via postcards or paper forms from the shop floor. That demands a lot of faith, faith that is often unfounded as youll see shortly. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice. 3 Castle Road Too often a scheme is launched with enthusiasm, only to become a black hole for employee suggestions that are never acknowledged or acted upon. it will increase customer satisfaction, reduce process times or save costs. Talkfreely Ltd,Antrobus House18 College StreetPetersfieldHampshireGU31 4AD. The Personnel Today Awards Rather than waiting for senior management to find the time to implement plans, the App will provide automatic prompts to follow up: This means employees will spend less time waiting for something happen and actually take part in implementing the change themselves. Asking the Public for Suggestions Every successful business was built on giving the customer what he wanted or needed. Explicitly signaling an interest, beyond simply supplying a method for voice, is what makes people feel that its worth their time to speak up. Suggestion scheme has potential benefits.

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An effective suggestion scheme also motivates employees to think creatively and to participate in the suggestion process. Likewise, support of the line managers has been noted as crucial for the success of the suggestion scheme since it is likely to have impact on the other elements such as employees participation and implementation of the ideas. Making the steps open and transparent will ensure buy-in across all levels.

Learn more. If your digital suggestion box follows the same paradigm as the old one, you are still focused on collecting ideas, not implementing them. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(326641, '8545f357-84e1-47b2-81e0-f4fa0d3cd893', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Improvement workflow Improvement software manages the collection of ideas for improvement as only the first in a series of steps that move the project down the path to success. You have to clearly 2. Youll find employees will want to celebrate the realisation of their idea too! The original suggestion box is a non-starter. I shall also publish review articles on latest movies, documentaries, gadgets, products, services, so on. In the business world, formal and structured suggestion schemes were first introduced as a modern practice more than one hundred years ago. Employees gain a sense of pride about the organization when theyre given opportunities to participate Control. Copyright (c) Destination-Innovation.com, 2023. Managers who are expected to take employee suggestions seriously may believe the process undercuts their authority. The idea was implemented and saved $400,000 in the first year. If your digital suggestion box follows the same paradigm as the old one, you are still focused on collecting ideas, not implementing them. Workers who feel they are part of a company are naturally less likely to leave than those who are unhappy and feeling isolated. If the suggestion averages two stars or more, it means it has been vetted (hence the name) and is passed on to a manager. After all, untapped employee creativity is a wasted organizational resource. Suggestion systems give Something like this gives more power to HR, says Murtagh. Workers are able to put forward very practical suggestions.

Hence, employees are required to be motivated and encouraged for their participation in the suggestion scheme. Even when you take the suggestion scheme outside the box, it needs to be handled correctly.

In addition, it provides employees with the certainty that their ideas and suggestions are being listened to, by both peers and management. Learn more.

Ultimately, nothing makes people feel more engaged and enthused about their work than feeling listened to. If you just ask for ideas you will get a lot of Wouldnt it be nice to have a summer picnic type suggestions. Online Courses, Master Classes and Workshops. How technology is changing the way we work. No Clear Goals. Lack of quality. Just as decision-making techniques can shape what decisions are made in face-to-face groups, the algorithms used to judge ideas will have an effect on which contributions are deemed valuable. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); ESS is described as a formalized mechanism which encourages employees to contribute constructive ideas for improving the organization in which they work. You could actually undermine the process by giving employees the impression that positive suggestions can be incorporated at will. Define Suggestion, Definition of Suggestion, Meaning of Suggestion.

Asking the Public for Suggestions Every successful business was built on giving the customer what he wanted or needed. Under such schemes, employees ideas are typically put forward in writing or through electronic means and afterwards, the ideas are evaluated. It is also very encouraging to see peers receive accolades for their successful improvement work. (And this after a 6 to 12 month implementation process.)

Design creative ways to motivate employees to participate. Why do so many ideas initiatives fail? A reward scheme could include cash, public announcement through email or company newsletter, or an afternoon off. Further, the benefits gained in terms of greater morale and increased employee involvement is likely to outweigh, by far, the financial investment. We hope you will enjoy reading our articles. Lets say your committee typically approves 1/10 of the ideas that come into the system. This is the time to openly praise the champions of the idea and everyone who was involved in its execution. The sustaining of the suggestion scheme has a direct impact on improved organizational processes, improved quality service, and improved customer satisfaction. That demands a lot of faith, faith that is often unfounded as youll see shortly. Employees may drop an uncoordinated comment that they wouldnt have said in person to the management. The primary objective of a suggestion scheme is to inculcate a value and culture of looking for continuous improvement and to contribute towards such improvements. One month you ask for ideas for recruiting staff. 2. People believe actions not words and they need to see ideas turning into real innovations.

Some of the common issues with traditional boxes have been the delay in processing of the suggestion and lack of feedback being given to the employees. When I asked how many had actually been implemented, the number was in the thirties. Company suggestion boxes typically go through five main obstacles: Lack of ownership. Traditionally, there is a big gap between the number of suggestions made by employees and the rate at which they are picked up. But for some, they appeared to be ranked by a popularity metric the number of previous downloads. Enter your e-mail address and your password. Through the ispatguru.com website I share my knowledge and experience gained through my association with the steel industry for over 54 years. Bailey has written for USAToday, Coldwell Banker, and various restaurant magazines, and is the ghostwriter for a nationally-known food safety training guru. Also, this system is often a magnet for unhappy or troublemaking employees. If you dont want to replace your suggestion container, then you could improve it instead. Allowing employees to make suggestions through vehicles such as the suggestion box is not enough, however. Every individual takes an interest and pride in his work and is keen to make continuous improvements to his organization. The initial submission is anonymous, so staff can be unbiased about the idea, and the suggester is credited once the idea has been approved. No Clear Goals. Sophisticated reporting It is one thing to be able to count the number of suggestions, but another to track the results of those ideas over the long haul. The beauty of an App is that employees can send in their suggestions direct from any device, anywhere, and most importantly, any time. As per another definition a suggestion scheme is a formal channel which encourages every employee to suggest ideas which can be helpful in solving or avoiding problems or improving work process or the work environment. Staff engagement is high; Siemens measures this as part of Towers Watsons index, and at this facility it is currently at 93 out of 100 the highest of any engineering company. You can give them the resources they need to execute it in a controlled environment without them having to wait until you read their proposals from some box. Other suggestion platforms take a different approach altogether: Instead of casting an ultrawide net to scoop up the few big ideas, they aim to implement a larger percentage of incremental ideas. But even if a suggestion is rejected, the suggesting employee can still be rewarded with a token gift. A handful of proposals get sent on to department heads where they wait in an in-tray for weeks.

Increase Revenue Organizations such as GE and P&G have introduced new product lines as a result of their employee suggestion programs. Explicitly signaling an interest, beyond simply supplying a method for voice, is what makes people feel that its worth their time to speak up. 1. A suggestion is different from advice and counseling as a suggestion can be given by anyone seniors as well as juniors. This is how improvement culture spreads throughout a company. Hence, suggestion schemes are seen as an aspect of human resource management (HRM), with the main emphasis being on how HRM can motivate the employees so that they can contribute to the management of change. In the present day scenario, suggestion schemes have come a long way from anonymous post boxes or suggestion boxes to a sophisticated computer based electronic suggestion system. On the other side of the box are frustrated managers who dont have the time to review, validate or implement these ideas. It is important for successful suggestion schemes that the management demonstrates its support and sincerity in setting up and implementation of the suggestion scheme. Whether you are starting your first company or you are a dedicated entrepreneur diving into a new venture, Bizfluent is here to equip you with the tactics, tools and information to establish and run your ventures. A telecoms company received a suggestion that it should auction off its old and redundant stock to staff. With an App in place, this suggestion will have travelled smoothly from one stage to another, with no loss of data, connections or enthusiasm. Asking the Public for Suggestions Every successful business was built on giving the customer what he wanted or needed. People need to feel encouraged and rewarded for contributing ideas, not hidden away. 1. Circles of Influence: Do You Want Your Team Flexing Theirs? Designed suggestion form (name, idea, cost benefit analysis), Fitted a suggestion box by the front door (high traffic area), Set up weekly management review of ideas (me facilitator, wife chair), Added an incentive, extra pocket-money (money motivates; my children if nobody elses), Agreed incentive with Finance (Mrs L. again), Instigated benefits tracking mechanism (to make sure ideas delivered), Publicised scheme via in-home posters and breakfast briefings (its all about comms), Set up e-form using a spread sheet template (download via Microsoft), Moved the scheme on-line to ease management (and improve security), Included I made a suggestion badge for all participants (extra motivation), Set up quick response evaluation with all suggesters (5 day SLA).