Communication is the key to the success of the Employee Involvement and employee idea program at Shurtape Technologies, Inc. in Hickory, NC. Shurtape manufactures tape products, paper tapes, duct tape and carton sealing tape. They have three manufacturing plants and one converter plant.

The first thing the company did was to set up teams of employee volunteers. Each department has their own team. These teams come up with employee ideas and employee suggestions for management. Each team has a budget for implementing ideas.

Then the company decided to make team

membership a requirement for all employees, in each department. Volunteerism was not working.

Teams for Suggestion Program

At first the employees at Shurtape resisted the team idea. They were worried about having to rely on a co-worker for bonuses and rewards. But after working in the system for a few years, employees began to think, act and work as teams.

Shurtape has a bonus system to reward employees. Each employee gets quarterly bonuses and a year-end bonus. (These do not include the Christmas and July bonuses each employee receives.) The bonuses are based on net sales. The better the company does, the better the bonus. The company has a "threshold" of sales that has to be met. If met, then employees receive a bonus based on a percentage of earnings. The highest bonus given yet was 5.7% of annual earnings.

Shurtape also has a reward system. Each team is able to put all accepted employee ideas into a drawing for a prize. The prizes are different every time. The latest was dinner at one of the better area restaurants and a movie of choice.

Employee Suggestions

Some of the many successful employee suggestion and employee ideas from employees at Shurtape:

• One employee suggested putting airguides on two rollers on a machine in the manufacturing plant. The cost to implement the idea was $4,000, the savings was $800,000.
• One young lady's suggestion was to put a filter on a latex tank. The cost was $400, the savings was $70,000.
• Another suggestion was to put an electronic switch on a packaging line. This idea saved on machine down time.

HOME | SUGGESTION PROGRAM | EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK | JOB DESCRIPTION
PERFORMANCE REVIEWS | MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES | COACHING TRAINING | LINKS | CONTACT US

You can contact us by...
E-Mail: employer@employerhelp.org
Phone: 800-728-3187 or 641-424-3187
310 Meadow Lane
Mason City, IA 50401

"Employers of America", and "HRmadeEasy," "Idea-Tool-Kit" and "BizTrain" are trademarks of Employers of America, Inc.

©Copyright 1998 -2007 Employers of America. This web site was designed by and is maintained by Kimberly Conway. To report any problems with this site, please contact Kimberly Conway at Icon Internet Solutions.