Time to bring back staff suggestion boxes?
Time to bring back staff suggestion boxes?
Amazon and JPMorgan Chase have both reintroduced suggestion boxes for their staff. What are they and how might they assist you in improving the operational effectiveness of your business?
What are suggestion boxes?
Traditionally, these were physical locked boxes into which employees could post their written feedback to the management team on ways to improve the business, e.g. through ideas for operational improvements, suggestions about health and safety, recommendations for enhancing the customer experience or just general comments. Modern suggestion boxes are virtual rather than physical, e.g. ask employees to send in an email or to complete an online form.
Why use suggestion boxes?
A staff suggestion box is a simple and inexpensive but potentially valuable tool. Asking employees for their feedback, and then listening to it, can: (1) build employee engagement and loyalty: if employees are asked to contribute their ideas, they are more likely to feel valued; (2) help your business run better. Workers on the frontline of your day-to-day operations are well-placed to give insights into inefficiencies and suggest solutions; (3) foster innovation. Employees could come up with ideas for new products/services or for improving existing products/services, and asking for their input signals that you are open to change; and (4) save you money through cutting bureaucracy and implementing other cost-saving ideas.
Tip. If you request suggestions to be submitted by email, also provide an anonymous suggestion channel and make it easy for staff to access. This may enable issues to be uncovered that otherwise may not have been raised, such as health and safety concerns.
Tip. Be clear about what types of suggestion you are seeking, e.g. cost savings, new products, etc. Employees need to understand the purpose of your request if they are going to constructively contribute, plus you don’t want to be inundated with a flood of impractical or irrelevant suggestions. Send an email to staff explaining what types of suggestion are welcome and how they will be assessed.
Trap. A lack of follow-through on suggestions can undermine employee trust. So, ensure you have a clear process in place for acknowledging all the suggestions received, reviewing them and giving feedback.
It’s then up to you whether your staff suggestion box is to be a one-off exercise or whether you will continue to encourage ongoing participation, such as through regular emails or team meetings.
Feedback on staff suggestions
Where any staff suggestions are to be implemented you should ideally highlight this success to everyone, together with a timeline for change, as this reinforces the box’s value. Do get the employee’s consent first before including their name as the author of the suggestion as they might not want to be publicly named.
Tip. You don’t need to reward employees for their ideas, but you should give them recognition.
Even if a suggestion isn’t implemented, it’s still advisable to thank the employee for their input.
Suggestion boxes offer a simple way to help you improve employee engagement, identify business inefficiencies, make cost savings and foster innovation in the development of new and existing products/services. But ensure that your scheme is more than just a symbolic gesture.