A. PURPOSE
The IBM Suggestion Plan provides a way of rewarding employees for suggestions which are implemented.
B. MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Management should:
1. Encourage employees to participate in the Plan.
2. Assist employees in completing forms and submitting ideas that will improve the business.
3. Emphasize the need for employees to bring safety, health, security or other urgent matters to the manager's attention immediately; if such a suggestion qualifies for evaluation, the employee's manager must sign the suggestion form prior to submission.
4. Promptly and thoroughly evaluate or have evaluated suggestions which their area would be required to implement if the idea is adopted. Suggestions must be considered current business and responded to within ten days of receipt.
5. Review and approve Evaluation Reports for suggestions evaluated by nonmanagement individuals. (Two levels of management must review and approve all reevaluation reports.)
6. Determine employee and subject eligibility as provided under the Plan.
7. Grant appropriate recognition to employees whose ideas are adopted.
8. Provide an accurate assessment of cost and savings that will result from the adoption of a suggestion.
C. CRITERIA - GENERAL
A suggestion may qualify for an award under the Plan provided it is adopted, the employee is eligible, the subject of the suggestion is eligible and it complies with all other provisions of the Plan.
A booklet entitled, "Your Ideas have Value" (ZVO4-0210-01) provides an explanation of the IBM Suggestion Plan and is available to all employees. Also available to managers/evaluators is an "Evaluator's Guide" (ZVO4-0209-01). Managers should be thoroughly familiar with these materials and refer to them when evaluating suggestions, reviewing and approving an evaluation and answering employee inquiries.
Administrative procedures are included in a manual maintained by your Personnel Department and by the Suggestion Department serving your location.
Managers are urged to obtain the advice of the appropriate Suggestion Department in answering employee questions and before making any commitments regarding an employee's eligibility for an award, the eligibility of the subject of the suggestion, the amount of an award, etc. (Refer to Manager's Manual Index 10-09 for instructions regarding the handling of ideas and inventions from non-IBM employees.)
A suggestion will remain eligible for an award even though the idea in the suggestion is implemented without the knowledge of the existence of the suggestion.
If the suggested solution is not adopted, and there exists an alternate solution which is not predated, the earliest eligible suggestion that identified the problem and provided a solution should be awarded. The intent is to permit IBM to pay an award for a suggestion which does not fall within the normal provisions of the plan; i.e., one which contains a specific situation and solution but not the solution implemented. It is expected that we will continue to award the full 25 percent of first and second-year net savings for most of these suggestions and that this provision will reduce award amounts in only a small percentage of such cases.
When a suggestion is considered to be of substantial assistance in bringing about an improvement but does not provide the specific solution actually implemented, an independent award, not subject to the awards provisions of the Plan, may be granted based on individual consideration. A decision to grant an award of this kind will be based on IBM's sole judgment and IBM's decision will be final, binding and conclusive. An award of this kind, however, will not be less than the Plan minimum or more than the maximum.
D. EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY
All IBM employees are eligible to participate in the IBM Suggestion Plan including regular employees, as well as supplemental employees; employees covered under the IBM Medical Disability Income Plan; employees on approved leaves of absence; and retirees (under the IBM Retirement Plan).
Non-IBM employees cannot participate in the IBM Suggestion Plan.
IBM does not solicit ideas from nonemployees; unsolicited ideas and suggestions from nonemployees are to be referred to the Manager of External Submissions at Corporate Headquarters.
Exempt and nonexempt eligibility for an award is determined by IBM management based on the individual's job description and performance plan at the time the suggestion is submitted.
Employees cannot receive an award for suggestions that are part of or related to their own assigned duties and job responsibilities. In addition, employees are ineligible for suggestions that were part of their previous job responsibilities for a period of six months after leaving that assignment. This rule applies regardless of physical location at the time of submission. Further, ineligible suggestions cannot become eligible for an award if used in another area or location.
MANAGERS
Employees whose job responsibility is to manage other employees may submit suggestions, but they are not eligible to receive suggestion awards. However, when they no longer have employees reporting to them (i.e., program managers) they then become eligible for awards outside their job responsibility.
SUGGESTION DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES
Suggestion department employees are not eligible to receive awards.
RETIRED EMPLOYEES AND THOSE ON LEAVES OF ABSENCE OR ON THE MEDICAL DISABILITY INCOME PLAN
Employees on approved leaves of absence or retired under the IBM Retirement Plan or Medical Disability Income Plan may submit suggestions and be considered for awards. Eligibility is based on their last active employment assignment for a period of six months. Thereafter, they have full eligibility.
E. SUBJECT ELIGIBILITY
The basic intent of the Suggestion Plan is to award ideas that cause action resulting in savings or intangible value to IBM. To receive an award, all eligibility requirements must be met.
The following guidelines describe:
Subjects ineligible for an award:
Some subjects do not qualify for award consideration under any conditions. These subjects pertain to ideas which do not result in savings or intangible value to IBM, or ideas that do not relate to IBM. Examples are:
Subjects that are normally not awarded:
Examples are:
Examples that normally fall in this category: Increases or decreases in: Staffing, compensation, revenue, prices, use or sale of IBM products, advertising, facilities (parking lots), reimbursements, employee benefits, awards, recreation facilities, IBM Club activities, cafeterias, and vending machines, unless they meet the savings or safety, health or security requirements of the Plan.
Also, any suggested change that does not result in tangible savings or meet the intangible award criteria is not eligible for an award.
Actions that predate a suggestion
In order for a suggestion to be awarded under the Plan, it should provide the earliest statement of the specific problem and solution to IBM. In other words, a suggestion is not eligible for an award under the Plan unless it is the first suggestion containing the solution used by IBM.
Suggestions can be predated by the following situations:
Subjects in the maturing process
Suggestions submitted regarding subjects in the maturing process are normally not awarded under the IBM Suggestion Plan Ideas in the "maturing process" refer to aspects of the business that for a specific period of time are in a constant state of change. Some examples are:
In these cases, management reserves the opportunity to apply known technology and make obvious improvements. Only in situations where management determines that an action was taken solely as a result of a suggestion can an award be granted under the Plan. Any questions regarding subjects that may be in the maturing process should be directed to the respective program/product manager or the suggestion department responsible for your area.
F. AWARDS
For each adopted suggestion, savings should always be calculated on a tangible basis, when possible, even though some savings may have to be estimated. If there are no tangible savings, suggestions may be considered for intangible awards provided they would improve either product quality/reliability, customer service, safety, health or security.
Suggestions that are not eligible for an award under the IBM Suggestion Plan, for any reason, but which are considered to be of significant or outstanding value to the Company, may be considered for recognition under other Award Plans (e.g., Informal Award). (Refer to Manager's Manual Index 2-22 for guidelines regarding duplication and pyramiding of awards.)
Before a suggestion award payment of $2,000 or more, a controller (location or operating unit, as appropriate) will be responsible for making an audit of the financial evaluation prior to giving approval for payment.
G. EVALUATING SUGGESTIONS
Delays in answering suggestions create a backlog, postpone the benefits of good ideas and set a poor example of responsiveness for employees.
A good evaluation involves more than simply following the current procedure. A positive attitude toward the Suggestion Plan, the evaluation and the suggestion itself is important. The "Evaluator s Guide" (ZVO4-0209-01) is available to assist in conducting proper evaluations. Managers are responsible for insuring that the booklet is utilized in conjunction with all suggestion evaluations.
H. URGENT SITUATIONS - VERBAL DISCLOSURES
Priority is established by a suggestion being recciveci by the Suggestion Department. However, in those cases where management has implemented or is in the process of implementing an idea based on a verbal suggestion, it is possible to give credit to the original verbal suggester. The key is whether or not management action resulting from a verbal disclosure predates all subsequent suggestions.
(The mere fact that an employee's manager confirms the verbal disclosure of an idea would not necessarily establish priority.) When a suggester verbally discloses a suggestion, the manager should:
1. Document the problem, solution, date and name of suggester.
2. Act promptly on the implementation process.
3. Advise the employee to submit a signed suggestion form within 30 days of the verbal disclosure.