Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) employees recently presented their award winning IDEAS employee suggestion program to a group attending “Caffeinated Conversations” at the Aiken Chamber of Commerce.

SRNS presenters demonstrated the benefits of the company’s IDEAS Program, including improved morale and increased productivity, as well as process and safety-related improvements. They also outlined several tips on how chamber members could implement a similar program.

“We believe it’s one of many ways we can share our best practices within the community,” said P.K. Hightower, Director of Interface Management & Manager, Continuous Improvement. “And the Chamber likes the concept, because it’s something applicable to small-and medium-sized companies, as well.”

Blake Leaphart and Lisa Steed, both with the SRNS IDEAS Program, provided guidance and shared their personal experiences related to this and other employee suggestion programs.

“What I saw today is a program that has been in place for seven decades and has evolved to keep up with the times,” said David Jameson, Aiken Chamber of Commerce President and CEO. “It was designed for a very large company, but the elements of it can be applied to a company of any size, down to three or four employees. I think today’s participants walked away with thought provoking ideas for implementation within their own businesses.”

Jameson said that after experiencing the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, today’s attendees welcomed and valued employee ideas more than ever. “It’s this type of program that will help them move from simply surviving to growing and thriving,” he added.

Since November 2017, the Caffeinated Conversations program has kept Chamber members well-informed, regarding topics relevant to Aiken’s business community.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a Fluor-led company with Newport News Nuclear and Honeywell, is responsible for the management and operations of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site located near Aiken, South Carolina.