Item - 2012.GM17.10

The Government Management Committee received the item for information.

This report summarizes the results of the 2011 "Ideas that Work" pilot program and reports on the feasibility of an ongoing program.  Based on an evaluation of the City's pilot and similar programs in New York and Ontario Public Service it is recommended that the City of Toronto shift its focus from running a corporate-wide sponsored employee suggestion program to a continuous improvement direction of encouraging employee input on specific Divisional initiatives and reviews including, for example, customer service improvement initiatives and the Service Review and Efficiency Studies. 

The following actions will support the new focus and will ensure the most effective use of City resources. A new Customer Service Improvement Framework has been created that includes the objective that "City of Toronto staff will be engaged in the customer service improvement". Divisions will be supported to achieve this objective by the corporate staff who developed Ideas that Work. The tools and processes tested in the corporate program may be used by Divisions to get employee input.  Employee ideas may also be sought in specific Service Efficiency studies. The method for getting staff input will be determined by the scope of the specific study.