The most common reason that companies we talk to don’t move forward with an employee ideas program is centered around “we have other critical projects and priorities” to implement over the next 6 – 12 months.
What this really means 90% of the time is that leadership perceives the ROI of these other projects and initiatives to be higher than implementing an employee ideas program. Today, we’re sharing several heavy-hitting statistics from reputable sources to help increase the perceived ROI of launching an employee ideas program at your organization.
Employees Have Ideas to Improve Their Organizations
I think that everyone reading this agrees, but employees have ideas to improve their organizations that go beyond simple HR improvements. Based on Ideawake’s State of Employee Ideas Survey, which surveyed 700 full-time employees across the continental USA, 62% of employees had ideas to make their organization better which spanned several categories – below is a visual of the top 5 categories from respondents.
9 Stats to Help You Build a Stronger Business Case to Leadership
Note that to help reduce the spam rate of this email, we mentioned the source for each statistic but didn’t include the links. If you’re interested in checking out the links, go to our most recent blog post which contains links for each stat below!
Improved Growth, Innovation, and Customer Experience
- Outperforming the Competition: Companies that implement employee ideas programs are 3.5 times more likely to outperform their competitors in revenue growth. (Source: Great Place to Work)
- Higher Profit Margins: Companies that encourage employee innovation and idea sharing achieve 27% higher profit margins. (Source: Gallup)
- Faster Problem Resolution: Organizations with active employee suggestion programs resolve issues 2.6 times faster than those without such programs. (Source: Gartner)
Increased Customer Satisfaction and Experience
- Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Businesses with employee ideas programs see a 10% increase in customer satisfaction ratings. (Source: Harvard Business Review)
Cost Reduction and Productivity
- Cost Reduction: On average, companies save $1,200 per employee per year by implementing employee suggestions. (Source: Gallup)
- Improved Productivity: Companies that prioritize employee feedback and suggestions experience a 20% increase in productivity. (Source: Officevibe)
Employee Engagement & Well Being
- Increased Employee Engagement: Companies with active employee suggestion programs experience 59% higher engagement levels among their workforce. (Source: Gallup)
- Higher Retention Rates: Organizations that actively engage employees in decision-making processes see 31% lower turnover rates compared to those that don’t. (Source: Aberdeen Group)
- Better Decision Making: 67% of employees feel more confident in their company’s decision-making process when their suggestions are considered. (Source: Qualtrics)
We hope these resources help you build out a stronger business justification for getting an employee ideas program rolled out or expaned upon at your organization in 2025! If you want some additional resources as you develop your case, reach out to our team, we’re here to help!