My best HR management idea: Livening up the old suggestion box
June 9, 2008 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Communication, In this week's e-newsletter, Incentives, Latest News & Views, Money, My best management idea
When HR exec Peter Tortorice came to his company, the suggestion box was something most employees avoided. One change, however, turned that around and resulted in great responses.
What we did
Our employee suggestion box was gathering dust, and we thought we knew why.
We had asked employees to give us any idea they could think of for improving the environment here or changing a policy. Most of the ideas were, honestly speaking, a bit farfetched and of little value.
To try to stoke enthusiasm, we handed out small awards even when an idea didn’t make the cut, but that didn’t seem to help much.
Then, during a meeting where we were trying to solve a narrow problem, it hit me: Maybe we needed to narrow our approach.
The campaign trail
With that in mind, we relaunched our suggestion box with a themed three-month campaign focused on getting suggestions for cutting costs.
We got lots of good ideas, and a couple really made a difference. So we gave out awards and then we moved on to the next themed three-month campaign: improving our retirement plan.
Again, good ideas flooded in. And they keep coming in every time we run a new campaign.
It’s hard to explain why the new system works so well, except that maybe when we provide direction, people are better able to formulate good ideas.
Whatever the reason, we’ll accept the results.
(Peter Tortorice, HR administrator, Chicago)
Tags: costs, retirement, suggestion box
June 9th, 2008 at 11:41 am
try using http://www.employeesuggestionbox.com it has worked for us quite well.
June 16th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
When we hire sub-contracted labor do we need and I-9 or W-4 or a employment application?
June 25th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Catherine…if you are hiring sub-contracted labor that you will be paying through accounts payable and providing a 1099 at year end, and NOT through payroll and NOT providing a W-2 at year end, you do not need an I-9 or a W-4. You DO need a W-9 form filled out. Eventually if the taxpayer ID number/name on the 1099 does not match IRS records, the IRS will send you a letter and you must attempt to rectify the error. Which usually runs about 2 years behind. So it can be time consuming to try to rectify the records, and costly as you are required to mail notices to the person/company that provided incorrect information. You can still verify validity of the TIN with Social Security or other avenues. Just a side note…you do open the door for a lot of other issues that could be found upon audit and be very costly. Depending on the outcome, you could still be liable for unemployment insurance, worker’s comp insurance, etc., etc. The very things you are undoubtedly trying to avoid. And if you get audited there will be additional fines and penalties. I would suggest consulting with your accountant.