Inviting Employees inputs and suggestions
We recently came up with a suggestion box at our canteen to encourage the employees to submit their ideas, complaints or comments anonymously.
Are suggestion boxes effective?
There are many ways to engage employees and get them involved into the day to day activities of the company. We have over 100 employees on both casual work and contract basis working at the farm. 85% of the work force is derived from the locals and most of them do not have smart phones that can enable them to communicate to management via WhatsApp or emails. We so it fit to put up a suggestion box at our canteen where employees get an opportunity to write their thoughts on paper and drop it into the suggestion box.
Digital junkies will find this system very old school but it works perfectly for us considering our farm is located in the village and some employees have never owned a smart phone and we do not want to leave anyone behind.
We find it very important to gather feedback from employees because it helps us with continuous improvement and gives them a sense of inclusion because they are given a chance to be part of decision making process even though they do not seat at board rooms. They are part of the family and not just ‘workers’
of course not all ideas are implemented, but the fact that we read every letter and respond to them on actions we will take or improvements we will make gives them a feeling that they are being heard and it encourages them to keep writing.
As we continue to grow the business, increase our work force and serve the community, we will find it even more useful when we get mind blowing ideas on how our company can play a role and make a difference in the community at large.
