The Sums of Silence

Failure to cultivate employee idea programs could be costing agencies millions.

In this spiraling climate of shrinking budgets, downsizing, outsourcing and chronically limited resources, meeting the needs of the public can be overwhelming. Yet the solution might be right under agencies' noses.

Managers are trained to set goals and evaluate where their programs should be in one, two or 10 years. Such yardsticks might include improving efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee morale and public relations, or reducing maintenance costs, fleet management investments and paperwork.

The question of how to achieve these goals with steadily declining resources remains a paradox. Government differs from the private sector, but turning to the business world might provide some insight. Corporate management experts Alan G. Robinson and Dean M. Schroeder studied suggestion systems at 150 companies in 17 countries for their book, Ideas Are Free: How the Idea Revolution Is Liberating People and Transforming Organizations (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2004). At the Technicolor Corp., for instance, 80 percent of newly identified cost savings have come from employee ideas. Conversely, that means agencies could be operating at only 20 percent of their capacity for improvement if they don't have a mechanism for gathering, evaluating and sharing employee ideas.

Consider another example from the book: An appliance salesman at a national retail store found that customers often bought products that wouldn't fit through the doors of their homes. The costs of delivery crews, trucks, time and even damage from trying to fit oversized purchases through narrow doorways amounted to millions nationwide. The salesman's solution? Whenever someone bought an appliance, he cut a piece of string measuring its width and stapled it to the receipt. He asked the customer to use the string to test every doorway the appliance would have to be moved through, and to call if there was a problem.

The idea was small and simple, but the potential savings were impressive. Yet there was no mechanism in place for sharing the idea nationwide at the chain's other 2,000 stores. One manager later calculated a loss of $8 million because 99 percent of the idea's potential was wasted.

Many agencies face similar problems and find themselves reinventing the wheel, or worse, just coping with the status quo. An idea system allows solutions to be passed around, maximizing the benefits.

If you were the top manager in your office, would you view employee suggestions as unwelcome potential headaches or the keys to increased efficiency? Many offices still have a seldom-used wooden box stuck in the corner behind the vending machine, and employees rarely are encouraged to submit ideas. This approach fails to utilize those who know best how to boost efficiency-the people doing the work.

Progressive agencies understand the value of listening to their employees. Some allow workers to e-mail ideas for conserving resources, saving money or improving safety. These programs often include a way to track suggestions and document what gets tested. The Army Corps of Engineers, NASA, Social Security Administration and U.S. Postal Service all have active employee idea programs. In 2003, the Social Security Administration converted to an online suggestion program, which generated ideas that saved more than $1.5 million in its first year.

But other agencies continue to stifle good ideas. Reaping the rewards involves more than nailing a box to the wall; it requires a shift in thinking and culture. Ideas must be welcomed-even required. An effective program makes it easy to submit and implement ideas and celebrates the successes.

Consider the morale factor. "People who are doing wasteful things know it-and they hate their work," says management expert Robinson. An office rich in appreciation for employee innovation increases satisfaction and adds to the organization's creativity and productivity, he says. Giving employees the chance to improve their work environment promotes a sense of ownership and belonging. And getting workers used to adapting to new ideas makes them more receptive to management-initiated change down the road.

For government agencies, these are trying fiscal times. Yet despite the evidence of cost and resource savings, some agencies still resist tapping into this potential ideas gold mine. Public agencies should be setting an example, striving for improvement and maximum efficiency in managing tax dollars. That means listening to innovative and dedicated front-line employees. Their silence is costing millions.