• To focus on creativity and innovation within organisations, private and public sector

• To understand that there is a vast untapped resource of creative ideas

• To encourage organisations to implement programmes to harvest employee’s ideas and turn creative thought into innovation

• If you are launching an ideas scheme, arranging a special marketing event for your existing ideas programme or a campaign seeking ideas on a specific subject area or problem, why not promote this during ideasUK National Ideas Week™? 

Having a nationally recognised ideasUK National Ideas Week™ can help promote suggestion schemes. It gives us a wonderful opportunity to advertise our own schemes and to encourage employees to submit new ideas.

It can be used to encourage employers to start new schemes or to rejuvenate old ones.

It can be used to encourage new members to ideasUK thereby adding to the wealth of experience and benchmarking opportunities available to all members.

Management support is vital to the success of suggestion and recognition programmes. A special event can be used to invite renewed interest and support from management.

By reminding them of the contribution ideas from employees have made to efficiency and profitability over the last year, as well as the positive impact on staff morale and improved communication, can encourage them to take a more proactive role in supporting and developing the scheme.

It may be helpful to remind managers of the commitment given by other leading organisations (including competitors) and the CBI to supporting employee involvement in suggestion programmes.

We can all benefit from reviewing our programmes regularly. In fact this is essential in order to maintain the momentum and ensure we are achieving targets in line with aims and objective of the organisation.

ideasUK National Ideas Week™ provides the opportunity to promote changes and increase publicity.

It can be useful to utilise a ‘special week’ to encourage employees to make that special effort to submit ideas, so use this week to tap into that special reserve of talent within the workforce.

This can be publicised in a number of ways such as email messages, articles in company newsletters, magazines, posters, notices on pay slips or menu cards in staff restaurants. 

There are still many UK employers who do not operate reward and recognition programmes or whose schemes have fallen out of use due to lack of support.

One of the objectives of ideasUK National Ideas Week™ is to highlight the benefits of an efficient and effective ideas scheme and to encourage employers to make employee participation an integral part of their management and business strategies.

Peer pressure, through the example of those market leaders who do operate such programmes, will play a part in this.

The millions of pounds in savings and increased profitability are a powerful testament to the part which ideas schemes can play in the success of any organisation. This is because employees are ideally placed to identify opportunities for improvement as part of their daily life, and to develop winning solutions.

But this creative talent will be wasted unless employers recognise the need to build ideas schemes into their management and business strategies