There are still many companies that have a good old-fashioned suggestion box, but there needs to be more than a box for these programs to work. Sticking a box at the front desk and then treating it like a potted cactus is not exactly the way to go.
For these suggestion boxes to work, there should be publicity for the program itself, clarification of the goals, regular review of the suggestions, feedback to all employees who submit ideas, and rewards and publicity for the employees who come up with suggestions that can actually be implemented.
Although a company's intranet can certainly include a virtual suggestion box, there may be some employees who do not have computer access. In addition, although this is not the purpose of the suggestion box, some employees prefer to present certain sensitive suggestions anonymously,
These boxes are yet one more way for employees to be heard, and truly operational suggestion boxes send a message that tells the employees they are important and highly valued resources. If a company has a suggestion box and nothing more, then the best suggestion is to get rid of it.
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