Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
(OP)
I guess many companies operate suggestion schemes of one type or another, ranging from anonymous drop boxes to intranet-based forums. These schemes offer modest prizes for good suggestions, if implemented. Suggestions in ours are normally one of:
- Trivial administrative suggestion; "Let's buy our paper towels from Towls R Us rather than Joe's Towl Shop. That will save us xxx per year.
- Disaffected person uses the scheme to rant: "I suggest HR get their act together and .... (insert something obvious)". Or more common recently: "I suggest we rehire all the admin staff we fired during the last cost-cut. That way engineers can focus on value-added work rather than delivering post."
Posting engineering-related suggestions isn't really sensible, because we're already paid to do this. And posting suggestions related to other departments is tantamount to criticism.
Does anyone have any good experiences of these schemes?
(I'm starting to feel that the story about the shop floor worker who suggested removing one of the striking strips from matchboxes is an urban legend.)
- Trivial administrative suggestion; "Let's buy our paper towels from Towls R Us rather than Joe's Towl Shop. That will save us xxx per year.
- Disaffected person uses the scheme to rant: "I suggest HR get their act together and .... (insert something obvious)". Or more common recently: "I suggest we rehire all the admin staff we fired during the last cost-cut. That way engineers can focus on value-added work rather than delivering post."
Posting engineering-related suggestions isn't really sensible, because we're already paid to do this. And posting suggestions related to other departments is tantamount to criticism.
Does anyone have any good experiences of these schemes?
(I'm starting to feel that the story about the shop floor worker who suggested removing one of the striking strips from matchboxes is an urban legend.)





RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
In another forum it was suggested that someone told Genberal motors how much money they'save by dropping the last "e" in "employee" and that I do find hard to believe.
I feel very strongly that suggestion schemes are a very good idea and should be strongly supported.
However, at some point or other management get an attack of the miser.
They wonder why they should pay good money for good ideas when they can pay just a nominal amount. Finally they decide that since they pay you a salary it is your duty to "give them" any good ideas you may have.
Of course, they have no way to test if you have a good idea unless you tell them. I'd bet there are many good ideas that remained ideas only.
In almost any job you can think of there are several ways to do things and none of them the best way.
The person who knows best how to improve the job is often the guy who has done it the longest.
In many situations I have known people who knew better but "I ain't getting paid to think".
Some companies have a requirement in the contract that any ideas, any ideas at all that the employee has while working for the company, belong to the company.
Including: if you work making gate hinges and think up a new dot.com idea....
Fortunately, in the UK, the 1977 patents act declares some inalienable rights, even for engineers, though mostly, engineers who come up with a bright idea where it is part of their job to have bright ideas ie. R&D engineers, get the right to be named on the patent and a generous bonus (£100) from management.
Suggestions boxes have little value unless there is alignment with the idea and commitment by managers.
Just like customer services, it has to be more than some PR waffle, it requires serious thinking about and some professional help to impliment a good "ideas scheme".
The problem is managers. They have the wrong mind set to foster this kind of initiative.
Some one invented a bolt on system for something or other for 4WD cars and offered it to a major manufacturer. They spent more money trying to develop their own version that broke his patent than it would have cost them to pay him royalties. What more can one say.
Ideas schemes remain a great idea but impractical until soemone can find a way to keep managers out of the loop.
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
In an industry where large machinery caused damage or where waste was visible this idea is good. Some things just could not be caught or determined in an ivory tower think tank. An employee who saw the same repetitive thing happening could envision a different way of doing things.
jsolar
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
I think it's a great idea to have some sort of scheme, people in general are both clever and lazy, so time/cost-saving measures will always fall out of that combination. I think both an anonymous option and a documented one should be available, with appropriate response given after review of the suggestion. Some comments won't get made if the person is accountable (don't shoot the messenger), but they could still be useful. Likewise if somebody (especially an employee) spends effort on an idea they deserve to be at least listened to.
For jmw, my contract specifies any ideas I come up "pertaining to company business" are then owned by the company (US R&D position) but at least if I invent the next Google I can retain control.
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
To quote VisiGoth:
Safety - "In an industry where large machinery caused damage..."
Ease of labor - "An employee who saw the same repetitive thing happening could envision a different way of doing things."
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
I was responding to ewh.
I wouldn't, it doesn't, and I don't.
In any case, I am glad you think differently than I on this topic. I just happen to be on the othe side of the arguement fence.
And, I too would like to express my opinion.
"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
There are no more personal monetary awards at the company I now work for and suggestions are encouraged from all disciplines, no matter how simple they may be. There are company goals for each person on submissions but the suggestions which save labor or burden receive the most attention.
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
Unmeasurable is how many they might get.
In all the dross you only need one really good idea to make it all work but management never quite get the hang of these schemes.
Actually, I should be fair to management (they always get the bad mouth from me) it's probably the accountants that actually to blame in thsi case as usually someone in management comes up with the idea for an ideas scheme in the first place.
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
There was a good program on TV over here in the UK where board members often the MD of larger companies went right back to the lowest jobs and worked as the people doing the jobs did. It was amazing how little they knew about the day-to-day frustrations of the workers and many of their ideas were implemented. A good few said they would carry on with this practice of sending a board member back to grass roots.
Is a suggestion scheme a good idea? Yes it is a very good idea, however only if all parties approach it with an open mind.
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
We have a quarterly employee newsletter in which a page or two are dedicated to rejecting the various suggestions and complaints.
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
the two positves have already been mentioned, listening to the employee's opinions and thoughts, and finding that 1 idea in 100 that's really useful. the problems have also already been mentioned, menagement must put themselves behind the program (else you'll get the cynical responses, or the "oh not the favour-of-the-month-qucik-fix-again" response); management have to provide the resources for analyzing the suggestions (as epoisses notes, it can take a lot of time).
As for the rewards, doesn't management deserve some reward for getting these ideas into reality; sure the guy who had the idea deserves some recognition, as does the guy who didn't say "this is a dumb-a$$ idea", but at the end of the day everyone gains 'cause your company can stay that much more competitive.
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
Also I've had very good experiences with Lessons Learned systems- saving time (and money) using new tools, different methods of doing things and so on, all suggested by the drill rig crew.
Again, in my opinion, feedback is the answer to getting buy in: hold a review of all the suggestions regularly, so that everybody sees that the suggestions are all considered; why some are acted on and some arren't.
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
Better still, compensate people in a real and significant proportion based on the financial performance of the company, and ensure all employees are shareholders as well. That's how our place works. Then you can throw away the suggestion box, because people will just spontaneously start doing things the most efficient way they can think of without being asked, and management won't even need to be involved in the decision-making process. It's amazing how cooperative and creative people can be when they benefit directly from their shared success. But it doesn't work if the initial shareholders are greedy- and by definition, that makes such a system virtually impossible for any publicly traded company.
RE: Suggestion Schemes - worthwhile or not?
As the frog newly placed in the hot water, I made a bunch of suggestions, got a lot of money and made myself extremely, unpopular, amongst my coworkers who wondered why, they should change since they had done it that way for years.It got to the point where peer pressure stifled the suggestions.
B.E.