Employee
Idea Strategies
by Jim Collison
Use problem-solving
and creativity strategies to stimulate employee ideas and to create
a workplace environment that makes it possible for a suggestion
program to thrive.
Two important
books for those wanting to create dynamic employee involvement programs
and employee idea suggestion programs are: “Heads You Win:
How the Best Companies Think,” by Quinn Spitzer and Ron Evans,
and “Aha! 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your
Great Ideas” by Jordan Ayan.
Employee
Idea Example
An
example of how to stimulate good thinking and help employee ideas
flow freely:
Chrysler’s
president and COO Robert A. Lutz once told of a problem his company
had with Jeep Cherokee sun visors. The padded visors were bursting
open at the seam after delivery. Product engineers set to work reengineering
the whole visor.
Lutz asked
questions: “How long have we been building the Cherokee?…Has
it been the same design all along?…When did they start bursting
open?…Have we asked ourselves why it worked for 10 years and
now they’ve suddenly started popping open?”
The answer
wasn’t reengineering, but replacing a worn tool at the supplier.
“The absence of rudimentary problem-solving capability on
the part of otherwise good and well-trained engineers was just profoundly
disturbing,” said Lutz.
Creativity
for Suggestion Program
You need a
lot of creativity throughout your workplace. You need creative contributions
from all of your employees for a successful suggestion program.
It’s important,
then, to know that creativity is cultivated, not inborn, according
to author Ayan. Ayan’s tips:
- Allow
time to have fun. “When the going gets tough, laugh. ‘Ha
Ha’ leads to ‘aha!’” said Ayan.
- Enrich
the environment to stimulate thinking. Try a ‘tool box’
of toys (Slinky, Silly Putty, Play-Doh, Legos, puzzles). Some
people think more clearly while they’re moving, or with
something in their hands to manipulate.
- Capture
ideas immediately. Get them on paper quickly, or they’ll
be lost forever.
- Avoid
creativity-killing comments: “We tried that…It costs
too much…It’s not practical…It’s not
our problem…Quit dreaming…Put it on the back burner
for now.”
- Feed your
mind with reading, travel, music, the arts.
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