Eliciting Ideas from Employees

Celeste Blackburn SPHR

I just finished reading [URL="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704304504574610220160969020.html"]an article in the [I]Wall Street Journal[/I][/URL] about employers that give incentives to employees who come up with ways to save money, improve processes, etc. The success stories in the article included:

[LIST]
[*]The owner of a candy business who offered a $50 bonus to assembly-line workers who came up with successful ideas for cutting costs. He was able to reduce the number of employees needed on an assembly line and improve packaging to decrease candy breakage as a result of employee suggestions.
[/LIST]

[LIST]
[*]The founder of a market-research firm who says a quarterly contest with a $150 gift certificate as the top prize has netted ideas that have saved the company "in the six-figure range."
[/LIST]
An expert interviewed for the article says such programs "foster esprit de corps. 'It's why a lot of people work for small businesses in the first place; there's a closer connection in the effort they put forward and the final product.'"



Do you have any such programs at your company? Ever considered one?

What sort of incentives do you offer? What sort of ideas are you looking for? What are the best (and worst) ideas employees have turned in?

plynnl

A couple of years back we initiated a similar program. Employees would suggested a cost cutting measure, approximate savings over one year and whomever had the most yearly savings would receive a cash prize. It was nominal but we had a lot of suggestions and many worked.

ACU Frank

In 2008 I recommended (and our president approved) the development of such a program. I wrote the objective, and it was assigned to two of our VPs to develop. 18 months later, I'm still waiting. *sigh*

Edited to include the objective itself:

[FONT=Arial][I][COLOR=#000000]Develop a procedure to facilitate and encourage innovation and process improvements at all levels. The procedure will address methods of gathering, evaluating and implementing suggestions, as well as rewards and recognition for employees who demonstrate a commitment to the process. Measurements of this initiative’s success would include quantity and quality of suggestions, the number of levels/departments making suggestions, and tangible results of suggestions implemented. [/COLOR][/I][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][/FONT]

Paul in Cannon Beach

US Post Office will reward employees who make cost saving suggestions with 1 percent of the savings. That could be a lot if you suggest something that could save money on a national scale. A family member of mine works for the post office and he has made several suggestions over the years motivated by this incentive.

One of my questions is how do you accept submissions and are there ever problems with who really deserves the credit for an idea?

Personally, I dont believe you need to pay employees to make these suggestions (not that its a bad idea). I think if you simply consistently ask them for their ideas and then consistently follow up on them you will get plenty of feedback and suggestions. If you choose to reward some of the better suggestions, thats always nice but I dont know that it has to be a formalized program.

NaeNae55

My husband works for the state which has a similar program, and has submitted at least 2 ideas over the years. The first idea earned him $500.

The 2nd idea was something he kept putting forward to his supervisor over and over again. The supervisor was too busy to implement it, so hubby submitted his proposal through the program. It saved the state a cool million every year. Since it was really part of his job at the time (program analyst) he didn't get the financial reward. However, he was happy to see his idea implemented. It was frustrating to know the state was wasting so much money and to have the supervisor ignore him.

After my hubby's experience I would have to argue that programs such as these are good things. Sometimes you need a fresh perspective, either from the employee or from someone with authority, to get an idea up and running.

Sharon McKnight SPHR

[quote=ACU Frank;718670]In 2008 I recommended (and our president approved) the development of such a program. I wrote the objective, and it was assigned to two of our VPs to develop. 18 months later, I'm still waiting. *sigh*

Edited to include the objective itself:

[FONT=Arial][I][COLOR=#000000]Develop a procedure to facilitate and encourage innovation and process improvements at all levels. The procedure will address methods of gathering, evaluating and implementing suggestions, as well as rewards and recognition for employees who demonstrate a commitment to the process. Measurements of this initiative’s success would include quantity and quality of suggestions, the number of levels/departments making suggestions, and tangible results of suggestions implemented. [/COLOR][/I][/FONT]
[/quote]


Frank,

I have a suggestion. Simplify.

Order wall mounted box with a slot in the top (available from almost any office supply company). Hang it on a wall and attach a small sign reading "Suggestion Box" with, in one sentence, a statement that suggestions which are implemented will be rewarded with ...

Project completed.

Sharon

PS: I've done this and it worked very well. (No VP's involved.)

Library HR

I work for a public library. We have no money for incentives but a suggestion box. Every suggestion is turned in by me to the Director, who then answers the suggestion on the Library's Wiki. The employees love have the ear of the Director and she is able to explain why an idea will or will not work but everyone knows they have a voice and will be heard.

I have had employees comment on that Wiki page, that the page is one of their favorites.

Celeste Blackburn SPHR

Would anyone mind sharing specific ideas and changes that were made through these programs and the cost savings or other positive effects they had?
I think this is a great idea and would like to write some articles about it (for [URL="http://www.hrhero.com/insight"][I]HR Insight[/I][/URL] and the free monthly ezine [I][URL="http://employmentlawpost.com/diversity/"]Diversity Insight[/URL][/I]). I think having some case studies to cite would help our HR readers sell such programs to the higher ups.

Celeste

ACU Frank

[quote=Sharon McKnight SPHR;718684]Frank,

I have a suggestion. Simplify.

Order wall mounted box with a slot in the top (available from almost any office supply company). Hang it on a wall and attach a small sign reading "Suggestion Box" with, in one sentence, a statement that suggestions which are implemented will be rewarded with ...

Project completed.

Sharon

PS: I've done this and it worked very well. (No VP's involved.)[/quote]

Great idea! Maybe I could even use the suggestion boxes that are already hanging in the break rooms!

hehe

I'm not sure how I would implement a suggestion program without the VPs' involvement or support. For example, if a teller has an idea on how to reconfigure workstations to reduce waiting times... I have to involve the facilities manager, the VP-Ops, and the Branch Manager - at minimum. We had a process improvement committee, which is where ideas go to die. My challenge to the VPs was to develop something that would work for them. Obviously, that's why we don't have anything yet... because [B]nothing[/B] will work for them.