How to Get the Most Out of a Suggestion Box in the Workplace (13 Best Practices)

Rolling out a suggestion box in your workplace? Wondering what are the best practices to follow?

You know – A few simple steps can mean the difference between getting lots of valuable suggestion box submissions and being out of sight, out of mind.

Here are 13 best practices for suggestion boxes in the workplace to ensure that your employees use it, remember about it, and enjoy sharing feedback.

A quick note before we begin – I’ve split those best practices into two sections – things to do, and things not to do.

Please review both lists carefully. After all, it’s easy to focus on the best practices, implement all the do’s and think that your suggestion box will me a massive success. But there are also things you should absolutely avoid because they can have the opposite effect on the suggestion box in your workplace.

So, with that in mind, let’s start with the do’s.

Part 1. The Do’s

1/ Announce your new suggestion box

I know, this sounds a bit obvious. Then again, unless you tell employees about the suggestion box and explain what kind of feedback you’re seeking, you’ll likely never see a single reply.

So, make it a big deal because it is a big deal.

By rolling out a suggestion box in your workplace you’re showing people that you value their feedback. And as the recent study showed – employees who feel heard are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to do their best work.

So, yes, go on and tell everyone about the suggestion box.

2/ Emphasize the anonymity and privacy of your suggestion box. 

Let your people know that you deliberately launched an anonymous suggestion box service because you want their truly candid feedback.

After all, employees are more comfortable telling you what you need to hear when they know they can speak freely without being identified.

RECOMMENDED READING: How to collect anonymous employee feedback.

3/ Make sure your box’s URL is easy to find. 

Here are some suggestions on how to do it:

• Put the link prominently on your company intranet or internal blog.
• Add a permanent link as a Slack channel topic or as a resource in Microsoft Teams.
• Include the link regularly in company newsletters.
• Put up posters in the break room (contact us for a pre-designed poster with your box’s URL).
• Finally, if you’re a manager, regularly remind your reports about the box and make sure the link is easy to find.

4/ Frequently promote the box to employees or customers. 

After the initial rollout, repeatedly ask for feedback and remind people of the box’s URL.

Don’t assume that people will remember you have a suggestion box. Make sure that promoting your suggestion box is part of new employee onboarding.

5/ Use custom fields 

These will help you capture the exact information you’re seeking.

Will it help you take action to know the respondent’s department or general job function? Don’t hesitate to add fields requesting that information. Do you have specific questions or concerns? Add fields for those. Help guide people as to what kind of feedback will be most useful and productive.

6/ Add instructions to your box 

Tell people what kind of feedback you’d like and what you’ll do with it.

Consider thanking people in advance for taking the time to submit. If you have a specific process for responding to suggestions, let people know what to expect.

RECOMMENDED READING: How to develop your suggestion box policy

7/ Customize your box with a memorable URL

Make it something like /yourcompanyname or /departmentname. Also, consider adding your logo and company colors to brand it your own.

8/ Add additional managers

This way you’ll ensure that the feedback spreads to those who need to hear it. You can set up managers with full access to the suggestion box, or simply set them up to receive copies of incoming suggestion by email.

Part 2. The Don’ts

9/ Don’t restrict access to the suggestion box.

For example, don’t put the suggestion box behind a company login or firewall.

You can easily password-protect your box, but make sure people can access it without worrying that their identities will be revealed to you or your IT team.

The number-one reason people don’t submit to a suggestion box in the workplace is the concern for anonymity. Make sure that people can submit from any device, any network.

10/ Don’t forget to promote your box. 

You know – the more you remind people about your box, the more feedback you’ll get. It’s as simple as that.

• So, consider a “Question of the week” to encourage regular usage and feedback.
• Remind employees about the suggestion box regularly, too.
• Include the link to it in prominent places where employees are likely to find it.
• Finally, consider hanging a note (with a QR code) about the suggestion box in the canteen or other common areas.

11/ Don’t make your suggestion box a black hole. 

Thank employees for submitting and regularly share how you’re taking suggestions under consideration. Consider activating the Public Response feature to share selected suggestions (and your responses) where everyone can read them. Also consider using the Direct Reply feature for anonymous 1-1 conversations with respondents. Whatever your strategy, it’s important for people to know that you are reading, hearing and taking action.

12/ Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions. 

Unhappy workers cost the U.S. up to $550 billion in lost productivity each year. While it can sometimes be difficult to hear the unvarnished truth, this is the only way to prevent small problems from becoming big problems. Ask people to be honest.

13. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Suggestion Ox for help. 

Ok, this isn’t a suggestion box best practice per se. But we’ve helped tens of thousands of organizations gather employee feedback and become more effective. And our team can help you deploy your box successfully!

Suggestion Ox has turbocharged the suggestion box. Over 60,000 companies, associations and government agencies use their anonymous online suggestion box to gather actionable employee feedback, gain customer insights or empower whistleblowing and reporting.