QED, a high participation suggestion scheme
Most workplace suggestion schemes get about 5% of the workforce putting in ideas. The QED scheme claims to raise this to about 75%, and does so by putting the workforce into competing small teams (of up to 12 members) with funny names and a league table; using humour so people will not feel silly about having ideas; plastering the workplace with dramatic stickers about the scheme; going for quantity not quality of ideas, over a concentrated four weeks, with small prizes for every idea submitted (a mug, supplemented by a random prize draw); public announcements and recognition; and persuading the employer to try QED in the first place by distributing a cassette tape in which employers who have tried QED tell of their successful experience.
'Small prizes for every idea submitted'
Nick Thornely, the QED managing director, has identified what he terms the 'non-financial motivating factors' which the scheme makes use of: curiosity, surprise, recognition, publicity, pride, status, fear (of not taking part), money, greed, challenge, involvement, humour, leadership, planning and having a deadline.
'The 'non-financial motivating factors': curiosity, surprise, recognition, publicity, pride, status, fear (of not taking part), money, greed, challenge, involvement, humour, leadership, planning and having a deadline'
Some of the biggest firms have called QED in - Vickers, GEC, RTZ, etc - and now health authorities are beginning to. The charge is a rather stiff minimum L15,000 but they guarantee to return any shortfall if the firm does not save at least this much. Such a sum would obviously be beyond many smaller firms and organisations, but there seems no reason why they should not design a similar approach for their own use.
QED, Industrial Motivation Ltd, 40 High Street, Thornbury, Bristol BS12 2AJ (tel 0454 418855).
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