Every once in a while, a business idea comes across my desk that just simply works. EmployeeSuggestionBox.com is one of those ideas.
When I was at Pepsi, I remember filling out employee surveys every year that detailed the quality of management, the level of productivity, our thoughts on our pay, and all kinds of other questions. I was more interested in the free donuts and coffee than in spending an hour reliving SAT memories, but what can you do. They paid us for it!
Now, being a business owner, I can appreciate the value of those survey responses because they give you a peak into what your employees (and by extension, you customers) are feeling about your company. They offer very valuable insight and data into what you are doing right, and what you need to change.
I was recently contacted about doing a review of EmployeeSuggestionBox.com, and I have to admit - I was pleasantly surprised. What they have going on over there is pretty creative. They term their online application to be an ‘On-Demand Idea Collaboration Suite.’ The thought is that by consistently soliciting employees for ideas on innovation, collaboration, process improvement, and the like, a more productive workforce will be built. I for one really like the model because the true successes in business come out of collaboration and not dictatorship!
The service offerings itself are split up into four categories:
Idea Center
The Idea Center is where you can:
- Solicit ideas for improvement from you employees
- Generate a free flow of uncensored ideas and concepts
- Manage new ideas
- Help you send a message that you value your employees’ creativity
Opinion Polls
Opinion Polls are used as quick voting by the masses. This looks extremely useful when looking into smaller ideas, but as we all know, ideas that carry weight impact the bottom line (and should be decided on by management).
- Allows you to vote on which ideas to support
- You have the ability to create a poll in seconds
- Real time tracking (perhaps the most important aspect)
Brainstorming Forums
This is probably my favorite feature because it’s hard to mimic the conversations that take place at a roundtable. With EmployeeSuggestionBox.com, you can have a very high level of group collaboration.
- Brainstorm a specific topic
- Utilize different thinking styles in the same environment
- Help shape unpolished ideas
- Leverage each others creative energy
Project Center
The project center is a great way to track projects while still leveraging creative input.
- Turn ideas into input
- Create and Track Milestones
- Share projects with other users
- Upload and manage project documents
In Summary
EmployeeSuggestionBox.com has a whole lot of things going for them. I like their thoughts on idea collaboration and utilizing the viewpoints of the masses to aid in innovation. My favorite aspect is the brainstorming forums where one can really get into creativity no matter where they are located!
For more information, check out EmployeeSuggestionBox.com!
