Success Through Suggestion Systems

03/05/07

A worker in G.Neil’s receiving department, upon opening a box from another company, saw something interesting: The packing material consisted of a shredded G.Neil box.

The worker eyed a nearby pile of flattened, corrugated cardboard boxes, destined for the dumpster, and wondered: Couldn’t the company save money by shredding the boxes to use as packing material instead of paying to have them hauled away?

He wrote up this money-saving suggestion and dropped it in a company suggestion box. Word came back swiftly: “Look into what it would take to turn cardboard into packing material and report back.”

He did and, to make a long story short, G.Neil bought a $1,500 shredder that saved the company tens of thousands of dollars a year in packing material and garbage hauling.

The worker got the recognition he deserved in front of everyone in the company, not to mention a fat check. Most important, he got the chance to contribute in a meaningful way to the company’s success.

Suggestion Systems Motivate
In many companies, this good idea might never have see the light of day. But G.Neil’s suggestion program encourages employees to help solve two problems facing any organization: How to reduce costs, and how to boost revenue.

Such programs, well executed, can contribute to both top and bottom line results. One estimate pegs the cost savings due to suggestion systems at as much as $50,000 a year per hundred participants.

Suggestion systems are also good morale boosters. Empowering employees to make suggestions and decisions motivates them. When employees become more involved, their sense of ownership benefits the business.

Systems Pave the Way for Ideas
Installing suggestion boxes is a simple idea. But simple ideas sometimes require hard work to put them into practice. Boxes are the visible portion of a system that requires good thinking, good planning, and most important the long-term commitment of an organization’s most senior executives.

Here are the basic components of a suggestion system. Each aspect is customizable to reflect the nature of your business and organizational culture.

1. Criteria. In most systems, the criteria for getting suggestions approved is simple: Implementing them would either save the company money or increase revenue.

But your acceptance criteria shouldn’t limit suggestions to direct money savers or revenue enhancers only. Worthwhile suggestions include those that improve customer relations, employee morale, working conditions, or anything else that contributes to organizational health. A suggestion to improve lighting in the parking lot will increase expenses, for instance, but employees’ heightened sense of security may add to the bottom line through better retention or productivity.

2. Awards. With criteria in place, come up with awards that will encourage participation. Cash is a dependable motivator, but so are gift certificates, simple tokens of appreciation, and recognition.

Consider offering significant awards for suggestions that result in significant savings. Some companies offer a flat award of $250 or $500 no matter the size of the savings (above a certain level). Others give employees a percentage usually between 10 and 20 percent of the money gained or saved.

For suggestions resulting in quality-of-life improvements, plaques, mementos, or t-shirts are usually adequate awards.

Because the sheer quantity of suggestions can result in dramatic financial improvement and employee participation levels, you might consider offering extra rewards to those who submit the most acceptable suggestions.

3. Boxes. Place suggestion boxes in strategic locations such as lunch or break room, front entrance, near washrooms, or anywhere else people will see them on a regular basis. Make sure each location is well supplied with pencils and forms for offering suggestions. Highlight the location by placing a colorful poster above it that encourages suggestions. Plan to scoop up suggestions on a regular basis — anywhere from once a week to once a month.

Note: Make sure employees not confident of their writing skills have an opportunity to participate. Some people would much rather make suggestions verbally to supervisors. Or you might designate someone “suggestion coach” whose job it is to help people put their thoughts into words.

4. Review Committee. Set up a committee or task force to review suggestions. This committee should meet at least monthly to review and decide upon suggestions.

Beyond giving the thumbs up or down on suggestions, the committee should be prepared to send ideas back to the suggester for refinement or more information. “Look into the cost of buying such a machine,” the committee might say. Or, “Do a brief phone survey of customers to see if they like the idea.”

The information not only helps the committee make a better decision, but you’re showing respect for the person’s idea, a great motivator.

Communicate!
With the architecture of the system in place, tell employees all about it through the company newsletter, intranet, training sessions, or departmental meetings. Everyone should understand what is expected, what the rewards are and when they are awarded, and how to make a suggestion.

Communications about these things is something you need to continue to do throughout the life of the program. Communication includes encouragement. That means never belittling or devaluing a suggestion.

And managers should encourage suggestions even in areas beyond the department. The message: Make sure any idea that can help us gets in the suggestion box.

Acknowledge All Suggestions
Lower and mid-level managers and supervisors reflect the views of senior management, which is why the support of those at the top is essential in getting valuable ideas from all employees.

One way senior executives can show their commitment is to acknowledge suggestions, even if it’s nothing more than a simple thank you note.

Potholes in the Pavement
It happens so often it’s a cliché: A company gets a bunch of suggestion boxes and launches a program with great fanfare. Two months later, the boxes are dusty from disuse. How can you avoid this fate?

You should be consistent in applying the criteria for accepting suggestions, offering awards, and acknowledging and reviewing suggestions.Management needs to be open to new ideas, and it needs to review and implement suggestions and recognize the people making them on a regular basis.

Celebrate!
The most important part of the system is recognizing those whose suggestions are accepted and implemented. One way to do so is to carve out time quarterly to bring the whole company together to recognize those who make valuable suggestions.

Describe the suggestion for the group, how it was put to use, and the benefit for the company. If appropriate, you might ask the person, “How’d you think it up?” Present the award in front of everyone.

Such events are the best way to keep the program going because they reinforce the idea that the company wants employee input and encourages others to contribute suggestions.