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Suggestion box

Shweta Thorat

| 0 Posts

16 Jul, 2019 10:18

Hi,

We are a US-based organisation and have an office in the UK and some employees in a few countries of Europe. The management team in EMEA/Europe wants to set up a physical suggestions box in the UK office which has the largest population to have an employee voice on an on-going basis. I feel suggestion boxes are a thing of past and they end up being a complaints box. 

Any suggestions for alternatives?

Thanks

Shweta

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  • Will

    | 0 Posts

    16 Jul, 2019 11:28

    How about some 'Engagement Champions' (call them whatever you want) who consult with the workforce and then feed back to the management team regularly to a set timescale? Or some kind of continuous improvement recognition scheme where the best monthly improvement idea gets some kind of recognition.
  • Robey

    | 0 Posts

    16 Jul, 2019 12:29

    Does the organization have an HRIS? These will usually include a digital "suggestions box" which means that all suggestions are public and none are anonymous, but the company can be more accountable to responding to them.

    Alternatively, I have found a bi-annual H&S Forum to be an excellent place for things that aren't, strictly, H&S to get an airing and formal hearing.
  • Nina Waters

    | 0 Posts

    16 Jul, 2019 12:35

    What about something like Receptive - a bit of software I came across recently because our new HR database is using it to allow customers to suggest enhancements to the product that others can then agree with/prioritise/disagree with.
  • Stacey

    | 0 Posts

    16 Jul, 2019 13:54

    We have one where I work, but the caveat is that they are only properly looked at if someone puts their name on the form.
    Luckily, we don't have that many.
  • Shweta Thorat

    | 0 Posts

    17 Jul, 2019 08:46

    In reply to Will:

    Hi Will, I like the idea, my only concern will be, will the employees be happy to share open feedback even with the engagement champions.
  • Shweta Thorat

    | 0 Posts

    17 Jul, 2019 08:47

    In reply to Robey:

    Yes, we do have an HRIS, I'll check on that capability.. thankyou for the suggestion.
  • Shweta Thorat

    | 0 Posts

    17 Jul, 2019 08:52

    In reply to Stacey:

    Thats where I get confused when having a suggestion box and asking employees to name it. Its as good as sending an email. I have seen that when employees want to complain, they dont want to stamp their name.
  • Shweta Thorat

    | 0 Posts

    17 Jul, 2019 08:53

    In reply to Nina Waters:

    Thanks Nina, I'll explore.
  • Johanna

    | 0 Posts

    CIPD Staff

    17 Jul, 2019 09:01

    Personally I feel that an actual suggestion box is a bit of a low tech solution - maybe you could explore something like an online innovation and improvements wall. (I say this without knowing if such a thing exists!!) If you google 'online suggestion box' it's surprising how many are available! Might be worth a look. Easier to sort and manage too and interactive to use.
  • Shweta Thorat

    | 0 Posts

    19 Jul, 2019 09:28

    In reply to Johanna:

    so simple yet so powerful
  • Daniela

    | 0 Posts

    26 Jul, 2019 15:12

    I have recently used DiBoks and launched a suggestion scheme to staff. Staff has the option to give their name or keep their suggestion anonymous. As they have the opportunity to say their opinions in our staff survey and pulse survey checks, the suggestion box has been created as an opportunity for staff to submit their ideas on a given topic rather then submitting complaints. They have the deadline by 1st August to submit their ideas. A committee will look at the ideas and select the best ones.
    I hope that helps.
  • Andrea Lechner

    | 0 Posts

    26 Jul, 2019 16:36

    We hold a quarterly leadership team and staff meeting (we have nearly 300 staff across three sites with around 30 staff based at home). We inform staff what is going on in the organisation, for example we presented a draft People/HR Strategy at one meeting to show staff what we were thinking and encourage them to feed into the strategy. At the meeting staff are encouraged to ask questions of the leadership team member who is present, make comments and suggestions. We are unionised, so we meet regularly with the union to discuss a range of issues. We encourage two-way communication through the annual PDR and 121 meetings with managers (mixed success with this as some managers escalate everything up, some don't hold regular 121 meetings and some don't escalate anything up - to be addressed through management development and holding managers accountable).