Corporate (english)
Workshop III: “Ideas management”
Participants
- (5) (Mainz)
- (1) (Quimonda)
- (1) (Sweden)
- (1) (Mitterteich)
- (2) (Grünenplan)
- SCHOTT AG, Mainz,
- September 7– 8, 2008
- First concept for European corporate guideline
- not describing the current state, but drafting targeted state, which rests on supranational basic understanding
- The SCHOTT Management Board welcomes the attempt at finding a supranational regulation for ideas management.
- The boundary conditions and requirements for a supranational ideas management concept have been worked out.
- A committee has been formed in order to draft a supranational European regulation for ideas management in the SCHOTT Group until the end of 2009.
Agenda
- Welcome, opening, KL comments on the workshop
- IBS SCHOTT AG, statistical evaluation, “Facts and Figures"
- WS A: Positive and negative experiences
- Current SCHOTT practice, results of the EF questionnaire
- WS B: Expectations, wishes, ideas, ...
- Experiences at Siemens/Qimonda
- National and EU boundary conditions
- WS C: Comparison / summing up “models”
- Improvements – ideas of colleagues
- WS D: Supranational components of an EU agreement
- EU agreement “Step 1”
Summary of comments by Management Board Member
- Change in the industry: no longer working time but productivity important, also in production
- Cultural change, e.g. working time honor system at SCHOTT
- Trustful cooperation is a prerequisite;
problems if there is no trust between employees and management - Europe: Western Europe too expensive, Eastern Europe is catching up,
=> increasingly difficult to stay competitive with European production sites - Creativity and inventiveness => Europe stays competitive; only then!
- Ideas management as important as “Zero Accidents, you are important to me”
- Importance of ideas: P. Scarborough monthly presents high bonuses in person
- Drivers are dedicated, committed executives, i.e., ideas management is not the instrument, but is leadership competence
- Ideas management requires mutual respect and trust between employees and management
Number: suggestion for improvement/employees – SCHOTT AG
Benefit: savings per employee – SCHOTT AG [€]
Workshop A
Workshop A: Positive experiences
-
Change in leading position
- in 2 units (Mainz)
- esp. managers promote IBS
- Leadership behavior
- Mainz - high priority
- Qimonda - strong back-up by Management Board
- Actions
- food vouchers, Christmas geese, theater tickets
- Competitions, suggested topics
- bring about considerable improvement
- Positive atmosphere at workplace, in department/unit
- encourages active thinking
- => enjoyment of work
- Site-specific adequate evaluation / bonus
- Participation
- Mainz 40%
- Qimonda = 40%
- Thermofrost = 40-50%
- Good participation brings about success!
- Joint action of
KL + works council = success
- Thermofrost
4 meeting /year, union and employer, more possible?
- Thermofrost
- Inclusion of number of ideas in bonus calculation
- increase in number of suggestions, but not necessarily increase in quality (3/m -> 10-25/m)
- Faster processing of improvement suggestions by IBS representative
Workshop A: Negative experiences
- Implementation, realization
- sometimes refused because of lacking budget
- Evaluation
- sometimes superficial
- Bonus
- difficult if benefit not countable
- Acceptance (by management)
- IBS sometimes seen as a personal affront
- e.g., when craftsmen/service people make improvement suggestions
- Envy ?!
- Leadership
- Thermofrost:
IBS is not a priority
- Thermofrost:
- Processing takes too long
- No workflow with mail system
- may cause longer handling time/ delays
- long handling time because of expert
- slow realization by service departments
- Changes in management
- number of suggestions drops if/because not yet fully accepted by employees
- Mass not class
- overburdened experts (70 expert’s reports)
- overburdened controllers
(period 1-2 years)
- Site-specific evaluation / bonus
- bonuses are too small
Experiences at Siemens/Qimonda
- Ideas management works worldwide because every employee has ideas
- Recognition is important to any generator of ideas, but not necessarily (only) in the form of money
- Germany is one country among others, not the measure of all things
- Involve employees representation in the formulation of the worldwide corporate guideline from the beginning, thus precluding the necessity of alterations after (?!) finalization
- Period 1-2 years after mandate of the Management Board
National and EU boundary conditions
- National laws, financial regulations
- Germany
- Employee inventors law
- Tax exempt for small bonuses
- Hungary
- Special tax for shopping vouchers
- Germany
- no EU regulation existing
Workshop B : Expectations, wishes, ideas, ...
Retain
Abolish
- EDV system
- mini steps (small ESS*)
- actions
- suggested topics
- exchange between sites
- fixed responsibilities
- clear evaluation criteria, evaluation system, team factor
Abolish
- “unsuitable managers” as IBS responsibles
- long time for expert’s reports, “easy” extensions
- include “leadership” in target agreements
IBS index as instrument for gauging leadership performance - provide resources for IBS responsible
- standard procedure for all SCHOTT sites
- exchange of ideas and measures between sites
- exchange of “smart idea”, solutions for Germany/EU
- mandatory training of experts
- backing, coordination, support, and if required, dismissal or new appointment of IBS teams
- simplified calculation of benefit
- emphasis on appreciation, not on bonus
Workshop C: Comparison / summing up “models"
What should be retained by all means?
- common (benefit) evaluation system, simple point system?!
- IBS responsible for Germany, also for EU
- fairness, equal treatment
- over-regulation
- central budget for bonus payment
- reminder management, escalation rules
- not necessarily a standardized bonus system
calculate monetary value from points by applying regional tables?! - culture-specific provisions
Workshop D: Supranational components of EU agreement
What should be definitely arranged on a supranational level?
- What is successful?
- What is possible in all countries?
- What has to be modified in order to become regulable on a supranational level?
- What has to be “invented” for this purpose?
- What is impossible in some countries?
- How can we turn a European ideas management into a success story for SCHOTT?
- What further requirements do we have?
What should be definitely arranged on a supranational level?
- Each site must implement an ideas management.
- Common basic understanding
- what is an idea, mini step
- handling of suggestions
- differentiation from, respectively inclusion of, regular work tasks
- evaluation rules
calling in of specialized experts - minimum motivation
- characteristics (e.g. handling time)
- Responsibilities
- overall responsibility (one person)
- central budget
- evaluation committee
- conflict center
- Reporting
- who to whom?
- Common database
- in English, software solution
- exchange of ideas
- multiple use
- Declaration of commitment by
management, cascading down from KL
- all employees have ideas, worldwide;
- recognition and approval increase motivation and achievement = net benefit
- no restriction to “voluntary agreement of management“
- Job description of managers includes ideas management
- Mandatory training for management, experts, and database admin
- Manner of recognition, bonuses
- Bonus rate
(to be definitely distinguished from standard evaluation!) - Payment of bonuses
- consideration of tax laws (Germany, Hungary, …)
- provision / securing of budgets
- Link-up with central bonus/action budget
- Evaluation procedure
- Local responsibility
- Direct representation of local employee interests in employer <> employees dialog
- involvement of employees representation mandatory at all sites
- Software (language!)
- Special actions
(cultural differences, acceptances, weightings)
- Common drive
- realization at all sites
- realization at all sites
- Support by Management Board:
- open
- public
- explicit
- sustained
Next steps
- First concept for European corporate guideline
- not describing the current state,
but drafting the targeted state, which rests on supranational basic understanding
- not describing the current state,
- Negotiations committee (5 members)
- Supranational ideas management SCHOTT Group
- Presentation at the next EuroForum in November 2009
