FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:May 8, 2008

County unveils new employee suggestion program
Cost savings and process improvements sought

FREEHOLD – Today, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders reinstituted its employee suggestion program to provide a formal mechanism for county employees to offer ideas to save time and money.  

“This initiative is designed to encourage county employees to think critically about improvements to their work product and environment,” said Freeholder Barbara J. McMorrow, a member of the program’s oversight committee. “The goal is to improve the delivery of services to county residents by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of all county operations by encouraging our greatest resource – the employee.” 

The Employee Suggestion Awards Program is provided as an incentive to County employees who suggest process improvements beyond the scope of their usual duties. Suggestions must result in cost savings or improved service to the public.  

The program encourages employees to offer specific ideas to save time, money, equipment and supplies, to help train employees and to improve working conditions.

Employees will be recognized on a quarterly basis. Suggestions that result in a savings of more than $1,000 could mean a 10 percent award, based on the first year of savings, to the employee who made the suggestion. If the recommendation saves the county $500 to $999, then an employee could receive 5 percent of the first year of savings. Savings and suggestions with a value of $499 or less will be recognized with a certificate. 

The Employee Suggestion Awards Program was recommended by the bipartisan, 2007 Budget Review Committee. The Budget Review Committee was set up to identify cost savings, potential revenue increases and overall process enhancements to the Monmouth County budget. The committee learned of the county’s discontinued employee suggestion program, Smart Money, which existed in the 1990s, and recommended that the Board of Chosen Freeholders consider updating, improving and re-activating the program. 

In addition to Freeholder McMorrow, county staff members appointed to the group are Public Works & Engineering Director John W. Tobia, Consumer Affairs Director Patricia Watson, Alliance Coordinator for the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services James Wallace, and the county’s Liability Insurance Representative Claire Joyce. 

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