DataPalooza 2022

Provide an employee suggestion box To generate ideas for innovation, a traditional employee suggestion box can be an easy starting point. This can be accomplished through a simple online form that provides some guidance on what type of ideas are desired, such as improving existing services or developing new ones. Organizers should acknowledge all suggestions sent and follow up describing how they will be used. Combine with: Confer employee awards – Can give award for suggestion that provides the greatest benefit. Good when: You want to capture ideas from the front-line employees. You want to improve employee engagement. Schedule a recurring Innovation Hour Employees in individual teams schedule a recurring meeting to share innovative ideas and discuss new techniques or tools. Employees are encouraged to “show and tell” about creative ideas they have tried or would like to try. You will need a few employees to spearhead this effort and encourage participation. Variations: Employees, as a group, identify a problem (e.g., improving customer satisfaction scores) and use Innovation Hour to work together to solve the problem and recommend/build a solution Employees, as individuals, identify their own project outside of their typical scope of work (e.g., streamline team communication procedures, research new technologies for work) and make progress on that project during scheduled Innovation Hours Good when: You want to build a culture encouraging generating new ideas and celebrating your team’s creativity. You have limited time or resources to commit to innovation projects.

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