Value Ideas And Staff Suggestions

Value Ideas and Staff Suggestions

Many of the success stories begin with simple ideas. In the course of work, your employees or staff may likewise have creative ideas and innovative solutions to carry out their work more effectively and efficiently. Sometimes, they improvise the processes without the Management being aware of it. It could very well be that the same improvisation can be applied to other work processes across the departments and can translate to cost savings for the company. Like Pemberton in our Coca-Cola® story below, they may lack the foresight in knowing the true worth of their ideas. Story:

The Cock and the Jewel

(Illus by Arthur Rackham)

A Cock was busily scratching and scraping about to find something to eat for himself and his family, when he happened to turn up a precious jewel that had been lost by its owner. "Aha!" said the Cock. "No doubt you are very costly and he who lost you would give a great deal to find you. But as for me, I would choose a single grain of barleycorn before all the jewels in the world." Moral: Precious things are without value to those who cannot prize them. Quotable Quotes:

“Every really new idea looks crazy at first.” ... Alfred North Whitehead “In a restless, creative business with an emphasis on experiment and development, ideas are the lifeblood.” ... Richard Branson “If new ideas are the lifeblood of any thriving organization ... managers must learn to revere, not merely tolerate, the people who come up with the ideas.” ... Mark McCormack “The point of work-out is to give people better jobs. When people see that their ideas count, their dignity is raised. Instead of feeling numb, like robots, they feel important.” ... Jack Welch “A powerful new idea can kick around unused in a company for years, not because its merits are not recognised, but because nobody has assumed the responsibility for converting it from words to action.” ... Theodore Levitt “If you go through life convinced that your way is always best, all the new ideas in the world will pass you by.” ... Akio Morita [browse collection of quotes and quotations] Lessons in life: This is a short story, but it illustrates an important lesson, that people attach different values to ideas and things. One may see an idea as worthless and ridiculous, yet another might turn that same idea into multi-million dollar businesses.

Every new invention in the market starts off with a thought, a possible solution to a problem, which may not seem feasible at first. We have heard of these inspirational stories:1. The adhesive used in Post-it® Notes was invented by 3M's research scientist, Dr. Spence Silver. He knew it was special although he had no clue as to what he could do with it. Art Fry was a 3M new product development researcher. He wanted to find a solution to prevent the scrap bookmarks from falling out of his church choir hymnal. That was how he put the special adhesive to good use and Post-it® pads were an immediate success. 2. The popular Big Mac at McDonald's restaurant was put together by an Italian-American, Jim Delligatti, who owned a McDonald's franchise in Pittsburgh. His customers longed for a big sandwich, but he was not allowed to have that on the menu. Two years down the road, he was finally permitted to create that and he sold the first Big Mac in 1967. Today, the Big Mac is so successful worldwide that The Economist came up with a “Big Mac Index” to compare prices of Big Macs sold in various countries to determine the cost of living. 3. When Sony introduced Walkman in 1979, it revolutionized the music industry altogether. Back then, Sony had only a Pressman which reporters carried around. These were recorders which had no stereo sound and used microcassettes. Sony Founder, the late Masaru Ibuka, wanted a small tape player for his personal use and got Kozo Ohsone from the tape recorder division to work on it. The then Honorary Chairman and Sony Founder, the late Akio Morita, liked it too and despite skepticism from the staff and the media, rolled out the first Sony Walkman - a cheap, stylish, and light cassette tape player. 4. Clarence Birdseye noted how the people living in the Artic preserved fresh food by freezing them in sea water and

understood that rapid freezing would retain the food's freshness. He brought into the market the Birds Eye line of frozen vegetables, seafood and meat that can retain their freshness for months. 5. An American chef at Saratoga Springs in New York, George Crum, responded to customer complaints about the thickness of his french fries. He sliced thinly the potatoes, deep fried them, and his “Saratoga Chips” became the first potato chips. 6. Have you seen “Biro” ballpoint pens? Laszlo Biro, a Hungarian journalist, invented the ballpoint pen when he was fascinated by the newspaper printing ink, which dried quicker than the conventional writing ink used in those days. To make the thicker ink flow, he fitted his pen tip with a ball bearing that could transfer the ink onto the paper when it rolled over. 7. In 1886, Dr. John Pemberton, a pharmacist from Georgia, produced the syrup for Coca-Cola®. His bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, thought of the name and wrote the nicely scripted word which we see today as the famous trademark. When the drinks were first sold, Pemberton suffered a loss. Pemberton did not know that he had a gem in his hand and sold his business interest. A pharmacist and businessman from Atlanta, Asa Candler, saw enormous value in the product and by 1888 had acquired all the interests in Coca-Cola®. Companies that appreciate and value these ideas roll out schemes to tap on the brains of their staff. Call that a “Staff Suggestion Scheme” or an “Ideas Scheme”. Staff are encouraged to write in printed or online forms their ideas and recommendations for improvement. The usual areas that they can talk about are work procedures, work environment, quality of goods and services, customer care, cost savings, revenue generation, and company issues.

A few tips that can make the scheme successful:1. The top Management must be actively involved and be openly supportive. An otherwise good idea may be thrown out by the ideas reviewer either due to office politics or personal differences. For instance, a senior manager may reject a good idea to tweak the work process for fear that he will be chided by the top management for not having thought of it all along. If the person at the helm of the corporate hierarchy makes it a point to check on the submissions, staff will be more inclined to offer participate in the scheme. 2. Every submission has to be reviewed and replied to promptly. It is incorrect to place high priority to ideas from supervisors and low priority to ideas from the cleaning staff. Whether or not the idea is accepted for implementation, as well as the reasons for acceptance or rejection, must be communicated to the suggestor. If the idea cannot be implemented, thank them anyway. Let them know how much the company treasured their input and urge them to continue contributing their valuable ideas and suggestions. 3. The issue of incentives often come into play. Why would the staff take the time and trouble to pen their suggestions unless there is something in return for them. Monetary incentives, promotion prospects, career enhancement, and self esteem are some of the motivating factors. Offer them cash for every suggestion, certificates and awards at annual functions, publicity in inhouse newsletters, unrecorded leave, special mention in the staff assessment and appraisal. 4. If properly managed, a scheme like this can reveal talents among the staff, recognize their importance to the company, and foster a closer bond between the Management and the staff. Good ideas can also cut costs, increase profits, or provide better customer service.

Related Articles: Staff is the most valuable asset Value every team member Teamwork - A Competitive Advantage Books worth reading: Sam Harrison in Ideaspotting: How to Find Your Next Great Idea lets you know that there are great ideas everywhere and all you have to do is to know how to spot them and work on them. A corporate culture that recognizes and implements improvements based on the employees' ideas is one that can bring in more profits and cost cuts. Read Ideas Are Free: How the Idea Revolution Is Liberating People and Transforming Organizations by management academics Alan G Robinson and Dean M Schroeder for the steps that corporations can take to put in place and successfully implement a corporate idea program.