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PDF Employees’ ideas should be taken into consideration because:
- Employees have a stronger psychological attachment to a project when they were able to express their opinions.
- Their ideas are often excellent because employees know their tasks well.
- There is a better chance that an employee will put an idea into practice simply because it is “his or her idea,” or he or she has collaborated in finding a solution.
- Trying out employees’ ideas in a real situation increases their pride as well as their sense of belonging in the work group.
Key elements for a work environment that encourage employee participation:
- Official and continuous circulation of information
- Regular consultation
- Mobilization of employees toward specific objectives
Here are certain basic rules to respect:
- The leader(s) must be convinced
Share information; that is, share the “power.” The employer must be ready to consider employees as actual partners.
- Choose files that lend themselves to this type of management.
It is important that the kind of improvements researched correspond to business priorities and that the objectives are clear; e.g., anything that touches on improvement in production, efficiency, the work environment, workplace health and safety, customer service, reduction of costs and wastage.
- Have confidence and act on recommendations
The employer must act quickly on selected suggestions and have employees participate in implementation. If an idea is not chosen, the reason must be explained to the employees concerned.
Some suggestions to encourage consultation:
- A classic or “modern” suggestion box
Create an e-mail address specifically for suggestions, an Excel file available to everyone, an internal network, a white board in an accessible area where all employees can write down their ideas
- Sharing of ideas and discussion (brainstorming)
Assign a work team to a particular problem, followed by suggestions to the employer
- Joint employer-employee committees
Appoint committees charged with specific mandates; e.g., a workplace health and safety committee