The employee suggestion box has almost become a cliché for employers going through the motions of listening to employees but not really paying much attention to suggestions, assuming any suggestions are actually submitted. The idea behind an employee suggestion box is good though – you want to get ideas from employees that are in the trenches doing the jobs that make the company run. Whether they’re producing products or interacting with customers, these are areas of the business you should want to monitor and improve.
Some Reasons Suggestion Boxes Aren’t Effective
Why have employee suggestion boxes become meaningless or ineffective at the job of generating useful ideas to improve business? Here are some common reasons they fail to generate value:
• Lack of transparency and feedback – When employees aren’t sure how suggestions are reviewed or who will review their ideas, they may feel it’s pointless to contribute ideas.
• Company culture – Is there really a culture of rewarding ideas at your business and is employee engagement sufficient to make employees want to contribute ideas?
• Lack of structure and guidance – Sometimes employees may not really understand the purpose of the suggestion box or what they’re expected to contribute to it. This lack of structure or guidance can lead to suggestions being submitted that are not constructive and then management may lose interest.
If your employee suggestion box is not producing results, then you may want to look for ways to set up a suggestion box or “idea management system” that will make a positive impact and generate more engagement from employees. It doesn’t really matter whether or not the box is a physical box or something virtual, like a designated email address. What’s important is what happens to the suggestions after they’re submitted. Employees who work in the trenches can have great ideas that could really benefit your company, but the caveat is that they actually have to be put into use to see any benefits.
Here are steps for creating an idea management system that takes advantage of employee ideas, whether you already have a suggestion box or are thinking about starting one.
1. Provide employees with guidance about the types of suggestions you want. For example, tell them that your pallet company needs their ideas related to cutting costs, increasing efficiency, improving customer service or boosting morale.
2. Let employees know that you’re serious about their suggestions and that you want them to take ownership of their ideas. And ask that they flesh out the ideas they want to promote. For example, the idea submission must include why and how the idea will benefit the company. If the idea has a cost that they can ascertain, it should be included and perhaps an initial cost benefit analysis. In addition, some companies require that employee suggestions be pitched to other employees to gain additional sponsorship before the idea is submitted. This exercise lets employees vet ideas first to ensure they have merit. The point is to put some hurdles or guidelines in place to emphasize quality in the suggestions vs. quantity.
3. Set up a clear process for reviewing suggestions, including how often they’ll be reviewed, and put a designated team in place to review them. This team should include representatives from each major department, including someone from finance.
4. Make employees aware of what happens to their suggestions after they’re submitted, such as who will review their suggestions and when suggestions will be reviewed. Provide written feedback on ideas to let an employee know the outcome of the review. Acknowledge a great idea even if you decide not to implement it.
5. If an employee suggestion has merit for implementation after review, have your suggestion review team meet with the employee to gather more details about how the idea might actually be put into place. They probably have more thoughts than what they’ve written down.
6. If you decide to implement the idea or give it a trial run, give the employee who suggested the idea an opportunity to be involved. This allows them to take ownership of their idea and see it to fruition.
7. Foster a company culture that encourages ideas and innovation, so employees want to submit ideas to improve the business. Ideas, suggestions and constructive input from employees can mean the difference between growth and stagnation for your pallet company. That’s why an effective suggestion box or “idea management system” can be worth the extra effort.
