Tweet

Suggestion Boxes in the Workplace

Guest post by: Jack Greene

Article Overview: Suggestion boxes can be a part of a comprehensive cost control and productivity improvement effort. All of us like to have our voices heard, and these tips will help to administer a suggestion program fairly and promptly.

Suggestion Boxes in the Workplace

Suggestion boxes can be a part of a comprehensive cost control and productivity improvement effort. As you recognize ideas from employees, you will want to administer a suggestion program fairly and promptly, to gain insight and identify promising ideas. Fairly and promptly; they are important words in the philosophy of suggestions, and vital criteria for the administrative process.

Promptly

Let's deal with "promptly" first, since that can be more easily quantified. Act on the suggestions quickly all the way through. Provide forms at box locations. Open suggestion boxes frequently and take out the forms. Log ideas in and acknowledge them to the author. Process each suggestion and reach a decision. At that time advise the suggestor and make a reward if that is part of the system. Monitor cycle times and backlogs.

Fairly

"Fairly" can be a perception in the minds of the employees, which may or not match the actual fact. Do the best you can to implement a good-faith program; start by setting up a system that institutionalizes the fair and honest rules of the game.

Write a procedure for eligibility and administration, spell out the steps, follow them. Publish results, not just the scoreboard but also some detail of results, at least to the suggestor. I believe that all results should be communicated face to face, with a formal written statement of course but inform the person verbally of the decision and the reason. Is this a pain? Yes, from personal experience, but it will go a long way to confirm that the system is fair. Hear and understand feedback from unsuccessful suggestors, and appreciate the merits of any comments.

A difficult challenge will be to convince a suggestor that you were actually considering an action similar to the suggestion. First prove it to yourself, with dated memos or emails or minutes or action plans, then you will have an easier time convincing the suggestor.

Suggestion committee

Have a formal suggestion committee, composed of decision-makers, which meets frequently. Take each suggestion to the committee at first to get a decision, which often can be "yes" or "no" on the face value. Some ideas will need further investigation or development, so assign them to an management representative, with a due date. Obviously this implies that the suggestion committee must be a fairly heavyweight group, because it will assign work and priority across disciplines. When the investigation is complete the committee will make a final decision.

Motivation

Should the reward for an accepted suggestion be cash, donuts, a pat on the back? All these will work, as does a favored parking space, a notice in the organization's newsletter or the boss's next public statement. Enter the accepted idea into the employees permanent record.

If the reward is monetary, you'll need to select a percentage to pay and a rigid definition of how the potential savings are calculated. To what extent do you consider the cost to implement? How do you pay for an intangible benefit? One that increases sales, or company reputation? Think it out in advance. Check the internet for associations whose specialty is suggestion systems for ideas on admin and motivation.

Reaction from suggestors

Some employees will suggest frequently, others will never do so. Some have one idea that they cherish, maybe they have already told you about it. Some will want to understand the reasons for a rejection and their next idea will overcome the objections and be a winner. Some will never accept the rejection because the system to them is not fair. We are after all humans.

Objections to anticipate, potential issues

Some in management will say that it is an employee's duty to recommend a better way as part of the job. That may be true, for many knowledge based people, Check the job description. Chances are you don't pay hourly people principally for knowledge, but believe me the job practitioners know all the ins and outs, the problems and many times the corrections.

Supervisors may tend to resist suggestions because they believe the suggestion reflects poorly on them. (It may actually do so.) An accepted idea will often have to be implemented by the supervisor, as well. Reward supervisors and managers for good ideas from their departments; not at the expense of the suggestor but as a secondary reward.

The techniques for building suggestion results into the management bonus structure, formal cost reductions on the P&L, and into next year's standards will require some care, also.

Never ever institute an idea that was originally turned down, without a reward. Things change, and you may well want to put in an idea later because the situation has changed. Fine, do so; but first reward the original suggestor. Also be sure to inform all that a suggestion must be formally approved before it is implemented or else people will start to ad-lib.

Overall benefit and cost

There is no guarantee that a suggestion system will succeed; there is no predictor for when it might fail even if administered promptly and in good faith. An advance indicator may be the normal state of management relations with employees. If relations are sour or contentious there is no reason to believe that a suggestion box alone will turn things around.

In the modern work setting, "waste elimination" is a popular term and a suggestion box may help you identify waste so you can eliminate it. Hopefully your organization is serious about eliminating non-value added activity, but many organizations are not at all serious about anything but direct labor, which is not likely to be their most significant cost. Pardon the digression but please heed it.

Therefore it follows that suggestions should be encouraged which will increase income as well as those that will cut costs; whether inside a suggestor's department or outside.

At best you can expect to reject some suggestions. The reaction of the rejected suggestors will be negative, the benefits from the accepted ideas positive. Will benefits prevail over downsides? Who knows. Monitor the program objectively, decide the next step periodically.

Suggestion box as part of overall cost control

A thorough cost control program may have several complimentary aspects, of which suggestion boxes are one part. Others may involve supervisory participation, management initiatives, a visiting consultant such as Jackson Productivity Research Inc., formal employee participation, lean manufacturing, Toyota Production System, or a proprietary system.

Related Articles
  Suggestion boxes and schemes
  Insurance Producers - What Business are You In?
  R2 for Business
  Automated income generating activities in 4 ways
  Start Living Green
  Where to Store Inventory for Your Party Planning Company
  Duty of care includes protecting employees from violence outside of work
  Box Packaging: an Essential Part of Marketing & Branding
  Here Is A Quick Way For New Managers To Turn Around Negative Attitudes
  Sales Training -The Power of Persuasion Embedded Commands
  How to Increase your Employees Productivity at the Office
  The Third Deadly Workplace Sin: Anger
  Success in a Box...OR Stuck in a Box?? The POWER of a Coach for Business Success
  When women leave the workplace
  What Information Do I Need to Provide?
  A Tough Economy Can be Good for Your Career
  Outside The Box
  How To Wear Your Sales Message
  Helping Kids With The Process Of Moving, Home Staging Helps!
  How Do I Start A Going Green Business?

Article Tags: employee suggestion box, employee suggestion system, suggestion box, suggestion program, suggestion system



Related Forum Posts
Top Franchises For 2007 - Entrepreneur came out with a list of the top franchises for 2007. They are: 1. Subway 2. Dunkin' Donuts 3. Jackson Hewitt Tax Service 4. 7-Eleven Inc. 5. UPS Store, The/Mail Boxes Etc. 6. Domino's Pizza LLC 7. Jiffy Lube Int'l. Inc. 8. Sonic Drive In Restaurants 9. McDonald's 10. Papa John's Int'l. Inc. It still seems to be dominated by food companies (70% of the list!) Can non-food companies make it as a successful franchise?
Re: Top Franchises For 2007 - [quote="Evan":3anvjxpw]Entrepreneur came out with a list of the top franchises for 2007. They are: 1. Subway 2. Dunkin' Donuts 3. Jackson Hewitt Tax Service 4. 7-Eleven Inc. 5. UPS Store, The/Mail Boxes Etc. 6. Domino's Pizza LLC 7. Jiffy Lube Int'l. Inc. 8. Sonic Drive In Restaurants 9. McDonald's 10. Papa John's Int'l. Inc. It still seems to be dominated by food companies (70% of the list!) Can non-food companies make it as a successful franchise?[/quote:3anvjxpw] Could be the convenience factor. I live in a reasonably small town, yet we have an unreal number of restaurants and there are so many restaurant franchises. All the food businesses shown in the top 10 are fast food and with Domino's and Papa John's, they even bring dinner to your door. Everyone eats - and more people seem to eat out all the time. Shri
Workplace Warrior: Insights and advice for winning on the co - Workplace Warrior: Insights and advice for winning on the corporate battlefield Kay Hammer 2000 From the inside jacket: Successful people don't get to the top without struggles. But few are willing to expose the failures and setbacks that have lined their paths through the battle zones of business. Kay Hammer is that rare breed. With startling candor and penetrating intelligence, this "very modern, very American heroine (Forbes) gives a frank and full recounting of her mid-career reinvention, from a linguistics professor alone to the President, CEO, and co-founder of Evolutionary Technologies International... Hammer's new life began with an epiphany - that nothing substantive in her life would change unless she made it happen. There would be no Prince Charming. From that moment on, she began a long, ardous journey to carve for herself in the youthful, male-dominated software industry-a journey which she likens to serving the apprenticeship of a medieval warrior... Her strategies are geared for battles on all fronts: not only for disarming foes, gaining allies, and winning battles in the boardroom, but also for confronting the internal enemies of self-doubt, fear of failure, and unresolved anger.
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Severance and Separation Agreements

Ask All to Buy!

3 Pointers to Recruiting and Retaining Good Staff

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.