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MAKING YOUR SUGGESTION
SCHEME MAKE SENSE
Harness the power of your in-house creative ideas.
Markets today demand greater innovation. Changes are
coming
faster than ever before. Your competitors are ever more
nimble.
Customers have rising expectations. You need new ideas,
better
processes, more innovative products and services, and
more
effective ways to build strong futures with those
customers.
Companies can no longer survive with staff members who
expect
management to provide "all the right answers". Today,
companies
require a steady flow of ideas and solutions from those
who are
closest to the processes and the customers, those with
their
"ears to the ground".
To maintain an adaptable and responsive organization,
you must
develop a culture that actively solicits input and
recommendations from every level of your staff.
Fortunately, senior managers are more receptive to this
approach
than ever before. But how can you transform the mindset
of staff,
who, for years or even generations, were trained to
"keep your
mouths shut, lay low, just follow orders"? How can you
encourage
your frontline staff to open their minds, explore new
ideas and
share their best recommendations?
One technique is the "Staff Suggestion Scheme"; a time
honored
process of wooden boxes and pre-printed forms for staff
to write
out their ideas and submit them for management
consideration.
Many companies have tried this approach, but few can
report real
satisfaction with the number, consistency, or quality of
staff
contributions. Even fewer can report widespread
enthusiasm for
their "Suggestion Schemes" at all.
Here are six ideas you can implement right away to make
your
suggestion scheme more effective:
1. Respond to all written staff suggestions immediately
(within
one week) and in writing.
Be candid. If the answer is no, say so. If the answer is
yes, state when staff will see implementation. If the
answer
is maybe, explain the issues involved and give a date
for
further reply. And stick to it. Nothing builds trust and
credibility faster than making new promises... and
keeping
them.
One exception: do not reply to obscene or abusive
suggestions. A strong company culture has no place for
such
destructive "input". Your best response is not to reply.
2. Respond to suggestions publicly, for all to see.
Usually, when one staff member writes, she speaks what
is on
the mind of many. Reply openly on a designated bulletin
board, in a weekly printed update, or by electronic
mail.
Thank the writer(s) for their query or contribution.
Include
staff names on suggestions to be implemented.
3. Give an award, prize or monetary incentive for best
suggestions, and give it right away.
Many Suggestion Schemes invoke a multi-step process for
evaluation and eventual granting of an award. First, the
suggestion boxes are emptied (sometimes only once a
month).
Second, a Committee sifts and sorts for "realistic"
submissions. Third, a Management Committee appraises the
freshness, viability, cost savings or increased revenue
from
each suggestion. Fourth, someone in "Senior Management"
decides upon the amount of reward to be given to the
appropriate staff members. And finally, an actual
awarding
of the "prize" is conducted.
The cycle time for this process is usually four weeks or
more. In some cases the senior management review is only
conducted once a quarter. What is your company's cycle
time
for awarding prizes to a staff suggestions? Would you be
inspired if you had to wait that long?
Try this approach: Dedicate $1200 to the project. Give
the
money away in $100 increments every month for one year.
Each
month, give $50 to the best idea, $20 for the second
best
idea, and $10 each to the 3rd, 4th and 5th best
suggestions.
In the first months, few may believe that you will give
out
the money in a timely manner, and possibly only a
handful of
staff will participate. But no matter how small or
meager
the suggestions, give out the money anyway! As soon as
staff
realize you are serious, the boxes will be filled with
suggestions.
4. Establish categories for regular awards.
Categories can help staff focus and generate new ideas.
Here
are examples of categories that you can use: Ideas that
can
be implemented immediately, ideas for getting closer to
our
customers, suggestions for cost savings or increasing
revenue, new ideas focusing on a chosen theme for the
month,
ideas that most dramatically challenge the current
paradigm
of our thinking, recommendations for the future
direction of
our business.
5. Make a big event out of awarding your suggestion
scheme
prizes.
Some companies use lunches, staff teas or monthly
meetings
to award prizes. One company makes up large, special
"dollar
bills" for each winning suggestion. In the center is the
face of the staff member who contributed. In the corners
is
the amount of money his or her suggestion earned. And
surrounding the portrait is a description of the
suggestion
itself. These "dollar bills" line the wall of the staff
lounge and company cafeteria. The result is popular
group
recognition for winners and a "culture building" impact
that
keeps the suggestion scheme going strong.
At the end of the year, give recognition to the volume
of
suggestions received, the winners who have been
rewarded,
and the changes enacted as a result. Then, pose a
challenge
to everyone to double the volume of suggestions in the
coming year.
And, if the quality of ideas warrant, double your cash
prizes, too. Four winners a month last year? Increase it
to
eight winners per month next year.
6. Most of all, implement.
Act upon what your staff suggests. Nothing demonstrates
your
commitment to this approach better than a staff
suggestion
recognized, rewarded and immediately put to work.
Are there even more practical ways to improve your
company's
suggestion scheme? Sure there are. Got a suggestion?
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- Ron's successful background includes high-impact special events at the
Rose Bowl, the Great Wall of China, St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and on the Capitol
Mall in Washington DC. His unique approaches to leadership and learning have been featured
in LIFE Magazine, the New York Times and frequently on TV. A graduate of Brown University,
USA, Ron is certified in Applied Neuro-linguistics and is a professional member of the
National Speakers Association. For more information please visit his web site: http://www.ronkaufman.com/
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