The Anonymous Employee Tip Box
Every company can benefit from the “on-the-ground knowledge of their staff. Not all companies realize just how beneficial this knowledge can be, however. In fact, there are even employers who frown upon advice, suggestions, or information from their staff. That is an unfortunate occurrence, but there are sometimes valid reasons for the frown as well.
The solution to being able to deliver on-the-ground knowledge that benefits the company and prevents the frown has been the development and use of a system that allows employees to provide suggestions, remarks, feedback, ideas, or information without having to reveal to their bosses or to their co-workers who they are.
There is a drawback to it as well, the drawback is if your tip take the company to a new level of gross receipts that you are not benefiting from. You may feel resentful. Here’s some thoughts on how you and your company can benefit.
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Suggest to the management or employer the idea of creating a “Staff Suggestions Box” that can be placed in the lunch area or some other group-based location. This box should be similar to a lockable mailbox, where only the authorized person can gain access to it.
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Suggest to management that employees be allowed to provide their suggestions – in typewritten form with no signature.
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Provide guidelines for the suggestions – try to make it clear that this is not an employee complaint system. This is a system that allows employees to quietly review their work environment and find ways to improve it for the benefit of all. Valid suggestions would include things like equipment that could be updated and what may be a good type of update (older style monitors retired for flat screens, providing better visibility, and more desk space, or work flow interruptions such as incorrect multi-tasking functions leading to stress and incomplete work load). Make it clear that complaints about management or co-workers or conditions can be accepted, but only if a) they are not negative and b) they provide a solution.
Example: My co-worker has consistently had a quality issue with project X, despite my attempts to correct the quality point, the problem persists. When we spoke of this, she explained that she was struggling with a keyboard that keeps sticking and causing untold trouble for her. If we could have somebody take a look at providing some kind of routine maintenance on heavily used office equipment, this problem would not crop up for employees.
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Ask the management to implement a policy that if Management likes the suggestion and would like to implement it into the company, that the person then could reveal that the suggestion was theirs. They can inform management of the date and time that they offered the suggestion. This should have an expiry date for coming forward as well – for example, two weeks.
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Ensure that employees know that this is a completely voluntary program and the person can continue to remain anonymous if he so desires. It is also important for the employee to understand that there is an expiry date for a number of reasons.
Systems like this one are becoming more and more popular in the work place. Management can’t be everywhere all the time, solving every problem that crops up. Employees want to solve problems but don’t always feel like the have the right or authority to do so. Safe and anonymous tips can be a real problem solver for all.