Glenorchy City Council in Tasmania has launched a scheme to reward employees for ideas that improve Council operations, work practices and service to ratepayers and the community.
Council’s Innovation and Employee Contribution Scheme provides for employees to receive recognition and reward for suggestions that are implemented and make measurable improvements to the Council’s operations.
Glenorchy Council Commissioner Sue Smith said the scheme, part of the Council’s Enterprise Agreement, was aimed at enhancing services to ratepayers and rewarding innovative ideas from employees to achieve that aim.
“Employees can be nominated for a special payment if they have made an outstanding contribution in a number of areas.
“For example, suggesting an idea or innovation that leads to a measurable productivity gain can be rewarded.
“Similarly, making an outstanding contribution to promoting or improving teamwork in the workplace, or making an outstanding contribution above and beyond Council expectations will also qualify.”
Commissioner Smith said Council employees could nominate colleagues or team members and the nominations would be assessed based on the originality of the suggestion, its impact and benefit to Council, and the practicality of its implementation.
The launch of the Innovation and Employee Contribution Scheme in April saw four Council staff members recognised under the program.
Matt Hamilton and David Hunt were commended for their innovative employee benefit scheme clause adopted in the Enterprise Agreement, and Matthew Browning and Lee Evans were recognised for their safety familiarisation program for vehicles and plant equipment.
The Council’s Director of Corporate Governance and General Counsel Seva Iskandarli said the scheme would encourage employee innovative and prompt ideas that could improve the Council’s processes and activities.
“I pushed for such a scheme during our recent enterprise bargaining negotiations and am pleased that it has now been implemented.”
An Innovation and Employee Contribution Guide setting out the criteria for assessment and payment and including a nomination form, has been uploaded on the Council’s intranet. Copies have been placed in the workplace at locations where regular intranet access is limited and all staff have been advised by circular memo.
Commissioner Smith said she was confident the Innovation and Employee Contribution Scheme would benefit ratepayers by improving Council’s operations and at the same time, reward employees who developed innovative ideas that could be implemented in the workplace.
