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CCH® HR MANAGEMENT - 02/24/10

Majority of employees make regular suggestions at the workplace

Fifty-seven percent of employees say they regularly make suggestions in the workplace, according to a survey by Right Management. In fact, 27 percent claim to offer more than 20 suggestions every year. Right Management is the talent and career management expert within Manpower, the global leader in employment services.

The firm analyzed responses from more than 600 individuals throughout North America via an online poll conducted in partnership with LinkedIn. “We find that employees really want to be heard,” said Deborah Schroeder-Saulnier, senior vice president of Global Solutions at Right Management. “Making suggestions signals they are thinking about the performance of the organization and want to contribute over and beyond the requirements of the job. And this can be seen as a great opportunity by employers—if they know how to take advantage of it.

Among key findings:

• Nearly one-third of respondents indicated they offered more than 20 suggestions last year.

• And 30 percent made more than ten suggestions, but fewer than 20.

• Only 6 percent offered no suggestions at all.

• Management and C-level executives were most likely to offer more than 20 suggestions a year.

• The number of suggestions made does not vary by company size.

• By function, sales people were most likely to make the most suggestions (50 percent) followed by HR professionals (28 percent).

• Women were more likely to make more than 10 yearly suggestions (61 percent) compared to men (46 percent).

• Workers aged 55+ were more likely to make ten or more suggestions (76 percent) than those aged 25-34 (51 percent).

“Our findings suggest a surprising number of employees go the extra mile by making suggestions in the workplace,” noted Schroeder-Saulnier. “At the same time, however, in our experience there is little evidence that companies really listen to employee suggestions—or, more important, try to benefit from their perspective and enthusiasm.”

Schroeder-Saulnier cautioned that companies often lose out on this opportunity to engage with their workforce. “We know from our research that two top drivers of employee engagement are feeling valued by senior leaders and having employee opinions count. Listening to workers is especially important because more and more people want to feel they are playing an active part in what happens in the organization.”

“For employers the implications are pretty clear,” advised Schroeder-Saulnier. “Be sure employees feel heard and have the chance not just to share ideas, but to make them happen.”

Source: Right Management; www.right.com.

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