Source Best Ideas

20 Suggestion Box Ideas You Could Use Right Now

Andy Berkowitz

•

February 5, 2025

This is a complete list of all suggestion box ideas you need to launch an engaging suggestion box, collect amazing feedback from employees, and ensure high engagement.

I compiled this list because I know very well how difficult running a suggestion box can be.

And I do realize that, at first, it may seem that you could just simply create a suggestion box, tell others about it, and that’s it. Your job’s done.

But the reality is usually quite different, isn’t it?

Sure, you’ve created the suggestion box. You’ve emailed everyone in the company about it, too.

Yet, no one’s budged, and you got not a single response.

Nada. Zilch.

The thing is, quite often, the reason for that is because your suggestion box failed to capture your colleagues attention and didn’t engage them enough to act.

The suggestion box ideas you’ll find below will help you overcome that and more.

So, let’s do it.

Why you need these suggestion box ideas so much?

I know, the question might seem a little cocky at first.

But it is a serious one, actually.

You see, a successful suggestion box is more than just an online form you create to collect responses. That’s only what your colleagues see. But the real success of the suggestion box depends on what they feel about it, their unique and personal perception of the idea behind the suggestion box.

And that’s what these suggestion box ideas help you achieve.

In a nutshell, these suggestion box ideas will help you:

Create a suggestion box that feels purposeful to employees. They won’t perceive it as yet another stupid survey they feel forced to complete but a means for sharing their candid feedback and ideas.
Improve communication between the management and employees. An ordinary suggestion box feels exactly like that, ordinary. But if you follow these ideas, you’ll create one that will open a critical communications portal across all levels of the company.
Enhance transparency and trust. With these ideas, your suggestion box will ensure employees that you value their input and want to act on it, too.
Spark innovation and nurture creative thinking. These ideas will help you create a suggestion box that employees will want to use and won’t be afraid to share their amazing ideas.
Reduce friction between the management and the people they manage. In fact, the best suggestion boxes do the exact opposite. Not only they help each level in the company to communicate, they help everyone get better.
Promote accountability. As you’ll see shortly, conducting regular reviews, implementing follow-up mechanisms, and more will ensure that you will not only get more suggestions, the whole program will achieve a much better status among employees.
Finally, it will make the whole process fun. And I do mean it. After all, sometimes, all it takes to make something fun is to have a really cool idea behind it. Suggestion boxes are no different.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at those suggestions…

20 Suggestion Box Ideas to Collect More Feedback and Boost Engagement

A quick explanation before we begin: I purposely divided these suggestion box ideas into separate groups. This is because some of these ideas relate to three different objectives that I want to help you achieve:

Coming up with a fun or creative suggestion box idea that will attract attention
Structuring your suggestion box to be easy to use and yet, to deliver the most valuable feedback
Increasing engagement and participation to ensure the highest possible response rate.

Grouping them into a single list would make it difficult for you to establish which ones relate to what you need to do.

But with them split into separate lists, my hope is that you’ll find the ideas that you need the most right away.

So, let’s take it from the top.

Part I. Best Ideas for a Suggestion Box Program

1/ Standard suggestion box survey

If you’re looking to collect employee suggestions quickly, implement a standard suggestion box survey.

In this case, your suggestion box wouldn’t have a specific theme. Instead, it would aim to collect a broad range of ideas, suggestions, opinions, and feedback.

Worth noting: Standard suggestion box forms generate lower response rate. This is mainly due to the fact that they ask for general feedback, meaning that many employees might simply not know what to say in their responses.

(An example of a generic suggestion box created with Suggestion Ox.)

2/ Digital suggestion wall

You can also take the idea of a simple suggestion box further and create an online board for employees to post their ideas.

The benefit of creating a digital suggestion wall is that it creates transparency – everyone can see current submissions, after all. In doing that, it shows employees what others have posted and suggests what type of ideas or feedback they could add to the board.

Quick tip: To make this suggestion box idea a success, set clear guidelines for submissions. This way, you’ll maintain focus and relevance, and prevent the digital suggestion wall from turning into a place for venting off.

(A screenshot of public responses page created with Suggestion Ox.)

3/ Themed suggestion boxes

If you want to ensure high participation and the best quality of responses, then, this is the idea to implement.

In this case, you create a suggestion box that asks employees to provide input on a specific topic or idea. For example:

You could ask for suggestions on new initiatives or programs that the organization is considering implementing.
Or ask employees to submit ideas to help make a particular aspect of the company’s operations better (i.e., customer service.)
Invite employees to offer suggestions on a particular challenge the company is facing (i.e., rising transport costs.)

Quick tip: Make the theme clear and provide clear suggestions and instructions regarding the type of feedback you seek. Also, offer small rewards or recognition for the best ideas. This always help to motivate employees to share their suggestions.

4/ Dedicated suggestions boxes for various departments

This idea is a variation of the one above. In this case, however, instead of focusing on a specific theme or topic, you launch a suggestion box dedicated to a specific department.

So, for example, you could create one to ask customer service team for suggestions on improving their workflow. Or ask the sales people if there’s anything that the company could do to help them manage their processes better, and so on.

Quick tip: Be highly specific when asking individual departments for advice. Make sure they understand that you’re asking for suggestion to make their work or processes better, and not looking for company-wide feedback.

5/ Using gamification to boost participation

Gamification uses game mechanics to achieve specific outcome, in this case, to spark greater participation and creativity. And it’s quite a fun and interactive way to implement a suggestion box in which employees can earn points, badges, or other rewards for submitting ideas or voting on other people’s suggestions.

Quick tip: Ensure that you clearly define and communicate the rewards or points system, and create a leaderboard to ensure that the best contributions are recognized.

6/ Brainstorming sessions

For the most part, when we think of a suggestion box, we consider something that you interact with on your own. You access the relevant suggestion box form, and fill relevant fields to provide feedback or suggestions.

But there is more that you could do to spark candid and creative feedback. For one, you could ask employees from one or several departments to work together to come up with the best ideas. And only when they have those, ask them to submit them through the dedicated suggestion box.

Quick tip: Brainstorming sessions are ideal for generating creative ways to solve particular and nagging challenges or offer unique ways to streamline and simplify company processes.

7/ Quick-fix suggestions

Most suggestion boxes run for a longer period of time. You launch the form, and keep it open for weeks to gather as many suggestions.

But you can also use suggestion boxes to collect quick-fix ideas. If faced with a specific challenge, you can create a simple, time-limited form that will ask for quick input. Instead of writing lengthy replies, employees can offer a quick suggestion that might help spark new ideas for solving your challenge.

Quick tip: Ask teams from one department to offer quick-fix suggestions for another. Even if their suggestions might not be the most creative, their out-of-the-box thinking might help relevant teams generate new ways for tackling the problem.

8/ Visual suggestion box

Not all employees will want to provide lengthy explanations for their ideas. Similarly, not all ideas are easy to describe with words. So, offer employees an option to submit visual feedback, too – sketches, images, pictures, and other visual formats.

Suggestion Ox, my suggestion box software, allows you to add a file upload filed to the form. This way, you allows employees to choose how they’d like to submit their feedback.

Quick tip: When asking for visual feedback specifically, provide either a template or clear instructions for submissions. This way, you’ll receive ideas in a consistent format that will make them easier to review, process, and also, act on.

9/ Reverse suggestion box

This idea offers a twist on the usual suggestion box. In this case, management or leadership poses specific and targeted questions or problems and asks employees for solutions. It’s a perfect approach if you want to ask employees for input on pressing business issues or discuss initiatives or plans the company’s considering.

10/ A “What If?” suggestion box

Finally, this suggestion box idea will help you capture bold, blue-sky ideas that challenge the status quo and explore future possibilities. With this idea, you ask employees to submit “what if” scenarios, such as “what if we could….” to inspire creative and transformative thinking.

Quick tips for getting the most of this idea:

Clearly communicate that no idea is too radical or outlandish.
Create a process to review and experiment with high-potential “what if” ideas.
Celebrate and share the most imaginative ideas to foster a culture of innovation.

Part II. Ideas for Making the Suggestion Program More Effective

In this section, I’ve included ideas on how to structure and promote the program to ensure that employees act on it and share their feedback.

Note that many of these ideas focus on psychological factors like safety or anonymity. That’s because employees often choose not to share feedback not because they have nothing to say. Quite the contrary. But they often experience psychological barriers that prevent them from acting and sharing their ideas.

Here are five ways that will help you change that:

11/ Make each suggestion box anonymous

You can run two types of suggestion boxes – public, in which the identity of the person is known, and anonymous. But only the latter can provide truly candid feedback. That’s because anonymous suggestion box promises psychological safety – The person sharing their feedback doesn’t need to fear being ridiculed or being considered a whistleblower.

In fact, based on personal observation as someone who runs a suggestion box software, I can assure you that you’ll always receive more honest and unbiased feedback when your people know their identity is protected.

SUGGESTED READING: 7 Real-life Benefits of Anonymous Suggestion Boxes

12/ Make it easy for employees to access the suggestion box

I admit, this idea seems like a no-brainer. And yet, I regularly see companies using only one distribution channel for their suggestion boxes. They email a link to the box to everyone. Or they hang posters with a QR code around the premises.

But the reality is that different employees will want to access the box in their own ways. Some might want to use the code, others a link. And many might want to provide their feedback through Slack or MS Teams.

I’d recommend that you use as many distribution channels as possible.

My product, Suggestion Ox, for example, allows companies to share the box with the QR code, via a shareable link, via a link snippet on a website, or by posting a fully anonymous suggestion box to Slack and MS Teams.

Sharing a suggestion box with employees.

13/ Offer incentives for participation

Let me start with this: Not every suggestion box requires incentives. With some – like whistleblowing – offering rewards for participation would even seem immoral.

However, if your box doesn’t target sensitive issues, offering incentives – gift cards, extra time off, or public recognition – can motivate employees to contribute valuable suggestions.

14/ Set up themes for every campaign

This advice ties in with something we’ve discussed earlier. Employees find it much easier to share feedback on specific issues vs. offering generic suggestions. This is because, as people, we rarely have generic suggestions. Our ideas typically revolve around specific issues, challenges, processes, workflows…

So, to ensure that employees will not feel overwhelmed by your suggestion box, always have a clear theme for it. It can be as simple as asking for feedback on a specific issue or as complex as requesting ideas to resolve a particular business challenge.

15/ Regularly review and follow-up on ideas

Part of the suggestion box success lies in employees seeing ideas being implemented. Or at least, getting feedback and knowing that their suggestions are being seen.

So, as much as reviewing suggestions helps you – you learn what your employees think, it also helps them as it communicates that their voices are being heard.

So, establish a consistent process for reviewing suggestions and providing feedback to employees. This will demonstrate that their input is valued and considered.

Part III. Suggestion Box Ideas to Increase Engagement

Ideas in the first two sections helped you launch a successful suggestion box program. The ideas I’ve listed below will help you increase participation and ensure that you collect as much employee feedback as possible.

16/ Simplify the submission process

Unfortunately, sometimes, what to us seems like an easy submission process, to others is a drag and cumbersome one. In most cases, any friction there is unintentional, nonetheless it still prevents many employees from taking the survey.

So, make the submission process as easy as possible:

Provide many channels through which employees could access the suggestion box.
Offer clear instruction as to what feedback you’re seeking
Don’t add any unnecessary form fields. This is, often, one of the biggest points of friction, by the way. We naturally want to find out as much as possible. So, we add fields inquiring about this information. Unfortunately, any additional field you add extends the time required to provide feedback. And usually, the longer the form, the less likely employees are to fill it.

Quick tip: Even though I recommend you keep the form simple, I don’t mean too simple. n overly simplified form might lack context or fail to capture necessary details; conversely, if it’s too minimal, submissions might be vague. So, it’s all about striking that perfect balance between simplicity and focus.

Quick tip 2: Test the form with a small group of employees before rolling it out. This way, you’ll be able to determine whether the form is the right length and focus to capture the feedback you need.

17/ Promote the suggestion box regularly

This is particularly important for suggestion box programs that you plan on running for longer. At first, employees might get excited about the program, but over time, it will slowly drift off to the back of their minds and the number of submissions will continue to decline.

To prevent that, keep the suggestion program visible and top-of-mind. Here are just some of the ways to do that:

If you’ve printed posters with the program’s QR code, swap the design (not the code!) for a different one. Over time, the poster will become familiar and employees will stop even noticing it. A new design will immediately attract their attention again.
Email employees about the program regularly. I don’t mean every week or so, of course. But make sure that you remind them about it 2-3 times per quarter.
Similarly, mention the program on Slack or MS Teams regularly, too.

Quick tip: Although constant communication will keep the program on the employees minds, overcommunication might lead to fatigue and even desensitization. Just like with the previous tip, it’s all about striking the perfect balance. Having said that, consistency in program’s promotion will always beat inconsistent updates as these might reduce the trust in the program.

18/ Ensure the suggestion box is mobile-friendly

Even though you’d expect employees to provide feedback while at work, many might still choose to do so not from their work computers. Some might feel that their computer IP might be tracked, thus rendering the anonymity of the suggestion box void. Others might choose to provide suggestions through their mobile device out of convenience.

They have the phone at hand. The QR code is right in front of them. It makes sense to just point the device at it, and access the suggestion box form.

Unfortunately, they can only submit their ideas if the form is mobile-optimized. It needs to display correctly on the device’s small screen, and allow for easy typing. On the other hand, poor mobile design may lead to usability issues; slow load times can frustrate users and reduce submissions.

Quick tip: Use a system like Suggestion Ox that allows you to create fully mobile-optimized suggestion box forms right away.

19/ Encourage executive leadership to get involved

One of the biggest psychological barriers for submitting ideas is trust in the program. Having the leadership to participate in it can help validate its importance and encourage more employees to provide contributions.

Naturally, getting the executive leadership involved does not mean having them provide suggestions. The whole idea for the program is for them to hear what their employees think.

However, you could ensure that executives regularly review submissions, provide feedback, and, if possible, also personally allocate resources for promising suggestions.

20/ Recognize and celebrate contributions

Part of the success of a suggestion box program is visibility. However, I am not talking about having employees to remember that the program is running but ensuring that they see its purpose (and that it does bring change.) And what better way it is to do that than by publicly acknowledging the best ideas or suggestions.

Naturally, with anonymous feedback, you might not be able to reward specific employees. That said, there are still ways to acknowledge their contributions without revealing their identity:

Feature the best contributions in company newsletters
Create a dedicated section for them on the company’s intranet
Mention them during team meetings,
And most importantly, implement those ideas (clearly stating that such and such idea originated from an employee suggestion.)