Not all great ideas come from the top of an organization. In fact, some of the most impactful ideas may come from your team’s more junior employees. These sales reps are on the front lines every day, interacting with prospects and clients. They might not be at the top of your promo company’s org chart, but they have valuable ideas that can make a big impact. 

What happens to these ideas that don’t come from upper management? Insperity’s Lisa Jasper says they sometimes get lost, especially if there’s no process to facilitate communication from all levels. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share her strategies for making sure bottom-up ideas rise to the top. 

1. Have the right process in place. The first step, according to Jasper, is to have a point person who can prioritize ideas and steer them to the appropriate departments. Without an established process, ideas from a company’s lower levels can get lost. Make sure employees know where to turn when they have an idea or suggestion. 

2. Actively seek feedback. Don’t wait for ideas to come from your team’s lower-level employees. Instead, reach out and request it. Jasper says when you place value on employee input, you begin to foster an environment that openly encourages suggestions that move the company forward.

3. Be a good listener. It’s unrealistic to implement every idea, but employees should still know their ideas are taken seriously. Jasper recommends thanking them for their efforts in problem-solving. This can prevent employees from thinking like their ideas are being ignored.

4. Make it part of the culture. When you want bottom-up ideas to rise to the top, it needs to be part of how your organization works. Otherwise, employees may not feel comfortable sharing their thoughts.

5. Prepare for setbacks. Although an idea may initially seem great, it may not pan out as expected. It might end up costing more than anticipated or require more staff resources than you have available. In these situations, Jasper says leaders should learn from mistakes and continue to encourage innovation. 

Make sure bottom-up ideas don’t get lost at your company. Actively seek and nurture contributions from all levels. Every idea may not lead to immediate transformation, and that’s OK. What matters is that employees know their ideas are heard and valued.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Lisa Jasper is a director, performance improvement for Insperity. She has more than 20 years of experience in improving human performance.