Employees' Successful Suggestions Build Business and Morale

Old-fashioned suggestion boxes are disappearing from the corporate landscape, and Paula Ann Hughes, dean of the Graduate School of Management at the University of Dallas, says that too many managers aren't paying enough attention to employee suggestions.

She says that employee suggestions are important because your employees are the people closest to customers and processes. "Too often, what employees have to say never makes it to the back offices," Hughes says. She adds that employees often come up with ingenious and money-saving or revenue-generating ideas, and she cites studies to prove it. She thinks that employees often feel that even if they make a suggestion, they won't be heard or that their suggestion would never be acted on. "That creates a sense of rejection, and no one wants to be rejected," Hughes says.

For an employee suggestion program to work, managers must demonstrate that they are willing to act on good ideas. "That is the greatest encouragement management can provide," Hughes says. For companies wanting to do a better job with employee suggestions, Hughes offers these tips:

Set up a formal means of tracking employee ideas

In a large business, this means a standard place or a form that employees use. In a restaurant with relatively few staff, allow some time during lineup or preshift meeting to share their ideas with the owner or manager. When an idea is just spoken to a manager in an informal setting, such as while walking to the parking lot, it's easy to forget about the suggestion. It's also valuable to have ideas kicked around when other employees are there to provide validation or improve upon it with a suggestion of their own. A simple suggestion can give rise to a brainstorm that solves a difficult problem.

Managers might also want to do some simple measurement of the suggestions: how many are received compared with how many are implemented or the percentage of employees who participate. Understanding these numbers can help you fine-tune your program. Be proactive in seeking input.

Encourage ideas

Make sure your employees understand that you are looking for ways to improve how your restaurant is managed or how work is accomplished. State your desire for ideas in lineup, in staff meetings or in one-on-one discussions with employees.

Respond quickly to suggestions

If you like an idea, incorporate it into the business as soon as possible. This encourages other employees to come up with their own suggestions, and shows that you take good ideas seriously, not just to placate your staff. If an idea is not workable let the person who suggests it know why promptly, so that they can move on to the next idea.

Part of good management is to help staff gain judgment

Having an "idea" get shot down (for a well-explained and practical reason), may seem demoralizing at first, but it helps the staff understand why some things will work and others won't, and encourages better thinking over time. "Quickly" doesn't have to mean the same day, or even the same week. At the companies where employee suggestions are successfully put into practice, managers typically react within days, not weeks or months, on all ideas. "The best ideas are enacted rapidly," Hughes says. "Moreover, management responds to all suggestions by making certain employees know why their ideas are good or impractical."

Make sure everyone knows what restaurant priorities are at any given moment

For suggestions to work, employees have to know what the priorities are at your restaurant. No strategy works if it is not communicated from the top down. In effective companies, every person in the organization, down to the most junior clerical staff, is supporting the larger goals of the business in some fashion. Do you want to attract more business travelers? More families? Tap into the college population? Publicize your wine dinners? Are you trying to adjust your concept, cut food waste, attract a certain demographic? When employees understand what you're trying to accomplish at your restaurant, they can better target their suggestions.

A genuine thank-you

Having your servers thank their customers at the end of a meal as they are walking out of the restaurant is a good habit to get into. People like to know that their business is appreciated. What's best about the strong finish is that it can be accomplished in three seconds -- no longer than a weak finish where the server turns his back and attends to other customers. The best benefit, though, is that your customers leave happy and well cared for and know how important their business is to your restaurant.