The average American worker makes 1.1 suggestions per year where he or she works today--one of the lowest suggestion rates of any industrialized nation.
Would you like more ideas at work? Ideas for saving money, improving customer service, streamlining processes and so forth? What business wouldn't? I'm convinced that every employee has at least one $50,000 idea inside of them. The trick is to find a way to get it out.
Boardroom Inc. in Greenwich, Conn., has found a way to get ideas out. It's a program they call "I Power" and they credit the suggestion program with a five-fold increase in their revenues in under four years--as well as untold benefit to the morale, energy and retention of their employees.
Each employee is asked to turn in two suggestions every week, which are evaluated the same week by an employee volunteer. For many of the suggestions, the evaluator says "What a great idea!" and then returns the idea to the person who suggested it with the implicit permission to proceed in implementing the idea. "Let us know how we can help!" After all, who has more energy for an idea than the person who initially came up with it?
As Martin Edelston, chairman and CEO of Boardroom says, "Sometimes the best idea can come from the newest, least experienced person on your staff." Like the hourly paid shipping clerk who suggested that the company consider trimming the paper size of one of its books in order to get under the four-pound rate and save some postage. The company made the change and did indeed save some postage: a half a million dollars the first year and each year since. Explains Marty: "I had been working in mail-order for over 20 years and never realized there was a four-pound shipping rate. But the person who was doing the job knew it, as most employees know how best their jobs can be improved."
The first year of the program, suggestions were limited to one's own job. Then as employees got the hang of the program, suggestions were encouraged for any aspect of the operation. The company now even has group meetings just to share and discuss ideas related to specific problems and issues facing the organization.
And the benefits of the suggestions are not limited to only saving money. Says Antoinette Baugh, director of personnel, "People love working here because they know they can be a part of a system where they can make a contribution." Adds Lisa Castonguay, renewals and billing manager: "My first couple of weeks I was kind of taken aback because everyone was smiling and everyone was open." She recalls her first day of work in which she was pulled into a group meeting and within 30 minutes of walking in the front door was asked, "What do you think we should do about this problem?"
Lisa almost fell on the floor. Why? Because she had just come from a company where she had worked for eight years and no one had every asked her opinion about anything. Once she got over the initial shock, it felt pretty good to have her opinions and ideas sought after and valued by those with whom she worked. As a result, it was easy for her to want to think of additional ways to help the company.
The impact is both positive and contagious. "People became agents of their own change," says Marty. "There's so much inside of all of us and we don't even know it's there until someone asks about it. And in the process it just builds and builds."
No comments:
Post a Comment