Every idea is valuable. The Ideas Management staff are convinced of this, and are even using a special campaign in May to solicit suggestions for improvements for Volkswagen. Last year the brand’s employees in Germany submitted 54,899 ideas, saving their company 124.3 million euros. The idea generators also benefited: Volkswagen distributed 22.3 million euros in bonuses to these creative thinkers.
“We’re hoping for even more good ideas from our employees this year,” says Thorsten Janotta, who has headed Ideas Management since April and wants to further promote the incorporation of new ideas. In recent years, the quality of suggestions for improvement, especially for products, processes and structures, has been consistently high, which is also reflected in the level of savings and bonuses. However, the number of ideas submitted has declined. Ideas Management is also hoping for more suggestions for improvement through more vehicle start-ups. “Experience shows that many series start-ups lead to many good ideas,” says Uwe Arndt from Ideas Management.