IdeasUK, the national association for ideas and suggestion schemes at work, is urging employers to be inspired by Einstein’s birthday next month.
As part of National Ideas Day on 14 March, ideasUK is inviting senior managers to a free event explaining the value of their people’s ideas.
“Everyone in industry is concerned about competitiveness,” said Steve Procter, operations director at ideasUK. “This particular element of improving processes from within is something your competitors can’t see.”
IdeasUK provides a programme methodology for employers to set up successful programmes. In terms of people development, such schemes are an easy and effective means of engaging the workforce, but Proctor said employers can often fall short on acting on the suggestions.
“The problems they will run into are getting the ideas evaluated, deciding whether to go ahead, and getting them implemented.”
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At Ricoh UK Products Ltd, staff are encouraged to put forward ideas as part of the company’s larger staff reward and recognition scheme.
“There’s a formal system in place,” said Andy Lovett, continuous improvement manager at ideasUK. “We have a functional committee in place to evaluate. That is key.”
