Gain new ideas through suggestions from your own employees

A company suggestion scheme is an optimization system with the aim of utilizing the idea potential of all the company’s employees. It is a component of idea management, which deals with the development, collection and selection of ideas.

In practice, this means motivating employees to submit ideas for improving products or processes. In order to achieve the greatest possible benefit, the potential ideas are not limited to specific areas, but can relate to all areas of the company.

The spectrum thus ranges from ideas for improving the working atmosphere and saving resources to optimizing entire work processes.

The ideas submitted are reviewed for feasibility by an established committee or the management. In the case of labor law issues, the works council is consulted. If a suggestion is implemented, the employee in question can, under certain conditions, be rewarded with financial bonuses.

The employee suggestion system gives employees the opportunity to contribute to an improvement in the company’s development and to take responsibility for shaping their own working conditions. This can lead to additional motivation on the part of the employee and to greater employee loyalty. The employee suggestion system thus also serves as an effective personnel management tool.

The main objective of the employee suggestion system is to optimize products and processes in cooperation with employees. Other possible goals include increasing safety in the company, strengthening environmental awareness and saving resources.

One of the benefits achieved through the introduction and implementation of the employee suggestion system is the increase in employee loyalty. The fact that employees can actively contribute their ideas and are involved in helping to shape the company leads to an additional boost in motivation and stronger identification with the company. This also gives employees the opportunity to contribute to shaping working conditions on their own responsibility.

Another major advantage of the company suggestion scheme is that this practical instrument draws on the knowledge of employees. The suggestions are therefore very practice-oriented, as the company’s employees are closest to the internal workflows and processes and can therefore often identify potential for improvement more easily than the management level or external consultants.

Moreover, the introduction of a suggestion system is possible without major cost and time expenditure. And, conversely, a good idea can in turn save enormous costs.

In addition to the company, employees also benefit from the company suggestion scheme, for example through financial bonuses and an open corporate culture. Customers benefit, for example, through improved product quality or shorter production times. In this respect, it is a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Ideas management is generally concerned with developing, collecting and selecting ideas with the aim of implementing quality improvements within the company. It also stands for the willingness to change, a cooperation and communication across hierarchies and the continuous search for improvements, potentials and opportunities.

In contrast to this, the company suggestion scheme represents a form of institutional realization of idea management.

Idea management should therefore be understood as an umbrella term, and the company suggestion scheme is one of the sub-areas of idea management, along with the continuous improvement process .

There are many different methods how you can establish the company suggestion scheme in your company. We have compiled five suitable methods for you below:

1. Virtual platforms
Employees can collect suggestions on internal virtual platforms, exchange ideas with each other and develop ideas together.

2. Workshops
Interested employees can work out suggestions on specific topics in groups.

3. Ideas mailbox
Employees of the company have the opportunity to post their ideas in a mailbox on an ongoing basis. Anonymous submission is also possible.

4. Ideas competitions
Company employees have the opportunity to work out detailed suggestions for improvement and ideas on a previously defined topic and then present them. A winner of the competition is then chosen.

5. Questionnaires
Invite your employees to take part in a survey on a topic where you have a need for improvement and ideas. Based on the questions asked, the employees have the opportunity to formulate their ideas and submit them. With easyfeedback, you can set up such a questionnaire quickly and easily without any prior knowledge and reach your employees in different ways. For example, you can send the questionnaire by e-mail or make it available on your company’s intranet.

As a general rule, design the questionnaire for the company suggestion scheme in a clear and structured way. Ask open questions so that your employees have the opportunity to formulate their ideas.

It is also important that you establish the suggestion scheme in the company accordingly. The easiest way to do this specifically is with an online questionnaire, as your employees can access the template at any time. Asking all employees for an idea once a year is not very promising.

An idea usually comes up spontaneously, possibly during a specific activity in which the employee would like to see an improvement. In this case, the corresponding questionnaire should be immediately available to the employee, otherwise there is a risk that the idea will not be noted down and will therefore be lost.

For example, your questions could be designed to first ask about the affected area. Then you can use open-ended questions to guide the employee to the specific idea. For a possible reward system, it is also important that you can assign the idea to the appropriate employee.

For more ideas and inspiration, we invite you to use our sample template for the company suggestion scheme or simply design a questionnaire yourself using our tool.