The problem with suggestion boxes

I’m a newly hired human resources (HR) manager. One thing that I noticed with my new employer is an old-fashioned belief in the suggestion box. We have around 10 wooden boxes distributed inside the cafeteria, hallway and office entrance near the attendance biometric machine. I told the chief executive officer (CEO) that the suggestion box is ineffective, judging from the average of two ideas a month that we’re getting from more than 1,000 workers. The CEO is not convinced. He says it’s better than nothing. How do I deal with this issue? — Banana Boat.

Is “better than nothing” the only argument of the CEO? Is he happy with two ideas a month? Why? If you’re not happy with it, present a better option. What did you have in mind? Chances are you want to make a splash with accomplishments in the first few months of your employment.

If that’s the case, I imagine that your new employer lacks a proactive two-way communication system that’s being observed on a regular basis — such as employee birthdays during town hall meeting. The point is to hit two birds with one stone. Read more about this in my Oct. 6, 2023 piece in this space.

Beyond celebrating birthdays, you must come up with a strategic bottom-up communication system designed to get maximum worker participation in problem-solving and decision-making. It’s not a new idea. Industrial democracy has been around for some time now.

Today, it’s known as participative management, where the workers are given the chance to voice their position or opposition to matters affecting their job security, health and safety, compensation and many more. This puts workers in a position to increase their productivity and reduce product or service defects.

EMPOWERMENT
Also known as employee empowerment and engagement, the system assists management in reducing employee turnover and absenteeism, among other advantages. By and large, there are three approaches toward this — the annual employee morale survey, problem-solving teams and the suggestion system which may not be limited to a standalone suggestion box.

If you want to influence worker behavior and motivate them at the same time, you must come to understand why the suggestion box is wrong. Let me count the ways:

One, the suggestion box is a reactive tool. It’s always available, but it’s not enough to encourage people to submit their ideas, suggestions and concerns in writing. Its passive nature, and the fact that submissions are protected by lock and key, tends to attract poison pen letters rather than good ideas.

Two, workers are not encouraged to contribute their ideas. When I say “encouraged,” I mean, the line leaders, supervisors and managers are not trained to coach their workers on how to come forward with their suggestions and how to polish them to make them acceptable to management.

Three, the absence of a formal system explaining the mechanics. Related to number two above, this happens all the time in the absence of a simple template or form to make it easy for workers to summarize their ideas or concerns. In many cases, HR managers believe there’s no point in coming out with a formal mechanism and form because of the following:

Four, coming up with ideas is not among the performance targets. This is the downside when you allow anonymous ideas, even complaints to flourish in an environment where employees are instructed to follow the dictates of their job description. Also, the workers would rather not give their ideas for fear of revealing their ignorance or committing mistakes.

Five, possible loss of ownership. When an excellent idea comes along, the anonymity gives license to line leaders, supervisors and managers to steal ideas from their own people. If this is perpetuated, there could come a time when the flow of ideas come to a full stop.

Six, management takes time to respond. That is, if it cares to reply at all. Management sometimes justifies it by saying that all concerned stakeholders must be consulted from the line leader up to the department head, regardless of the nature of the idea, even when the suggestion addresses trivial concerns. If the employee idea needs to be rejected, some managers would rather keep silent than explain the reasons behind the disapproval.

Last, lack of reward and recognition. Some organizations give token gifts like coffee mugs, t-shirts, or umbrellas with the company logo. Would this encourage people to give their excellent ideas? Maybe. Maybe not. The trouble is that the suggestion box is rooted in a system where anonymous ideas are acceptable. So, who are you going to recognize?

BEST OPTION
Do you want to prod workers to give their best in helping to solve problems? There’s no better way for management but to throw away the old-fashioned suggestion box. Allow people to come out into the open with their well-meaning ideas, suggestions, even complaints. That way, the concerned boss may get the chance to review them all.

Management can always preach empowerment and engagement. But in nearly every case that I’ve encountered, incentives are what makes things move. They include monetary or non-monetary perks. In most cases, it takes giving special treatment to deserving employees. These include merit increases and promotions.

Chat your workplace concerns with Rey Elbo on Facebook, LinkedIn or X (Twitter) or e-mail your feedback to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.com