The Thrill Ride

I could not agree more with Birgitte's comment. Employees offer ideas because they want to see them used. That's how Idemitsu Kosan (whose idea system has consistently been ranked as one of the top two or three in Japan) and Milliken (which gets more ideas per employee than any other U.S. or European company we are aware of) offer no extra rewards for ideas. The benefits are shared implicitly, through greater job security and better wages.

The best incentive a company can give an employee is a fast, fair and efficient process to handle their ideas. And the best reward a person can get for an idea is to see it used.