One reason the company regimented its suggestion program is because many ideas in the old system were getting killed at the supervisory level, says James Hoyt, ideas coordinator. Ensure that all suggestions are reviewed and acted on soon after they are submitted. Make sure you respond to, and ac tually try to use, as many suggestions as possible. Remember to thank those who submitted them. Widely publicize suggestions used and their positive impact on the organization.
Stuff goes in and never comes out.
Suggestions should be acknowledged within 24 hours, says Tom Jensen, a former suggestion program administrator who now runs The Center for Suggestion System Development in Orlando. He helps companies implement or improve their systems. Within 30 days, the employee should be told whether the idea will be adopted and if not, why. Every program should have an administrator and evaluators to sort through the ideas, and every manager should know the program rules. Mich. Last year, the company s suggestion program had a participation rate of 50 percent-double that of the previous year.