Knowledge Base · Engagement
Why do suggestion schemes die, and how do I keep ours alive?
They die when ideas vanish without feedback. Chapter 10 of the book builds the Idea Box on one commitment: the leader reviews every idea and responds to it. Chapter 5 adds the law underneath, that effort disappearing into a black hole is what kills engagement, so the loop must close visibly, with recognition for what gets implemented.
Suggestion schemes die in a predictable place: not at the box, but after it. Chapter 10 of the book describes the Idea Box, a physical or digital place where anyone can drop an improvement idea, and states the condition the whole system stands on: the leader commits to reviewing every single idea and providing feedback on it. Without that commitment, the box becomes a black hole, and people stop feeding a hole.
Chapter 5 supplies the wider law: people stop contributing when their effort disappears without feedback. Engagement is a loop, and the loop has to close visibly. That means every idea gets a response, including the no ideas, explained kindly and specifically. A rejected idea with a reason teaches the team what a strong idea looks like. Silence teaches them to stop.
Recognition is the fuel for the next round. The book's engagement chapters return to celebration repeatedly: implemented ideas acknowledged publicly, small wins named, the person who spotted the problem credited by name. The cost is trivial; the effect on the next month's ideas is not.
Keep the intake effortless and the review rhythm fixed, weekly is fine: ideas reviewed, responses sent, the best ones tested through a PDCA cycle or scheduled into a rapid improvement event, results posted where the box lives. A suggestion scheme is really a promise with a process attached. Keep the promise and the ideas keep coming.
Related questions
- How do I involve frontline staff in solving problems?
- How do I recognise and thank people for improvement ideas?
- How do I turn employee ideas into real impact?
Source: Continuous Improvement in the Workplace, Ch. 10 (Engaging Activities for Continuous Improvement) and Ch. 5 (Measuring Success and Ensuring Sustainability).