_Committee Meetings._ The frequency of meeting of the committees herein suggested must be decided by each manufacturer. No hard-and-fast rules can be laid down, but generally these suggestions will apply:
General factory committee, weekly. Departmental factory committees, once in two weeks. Job bosses and general foremen's meetings, monthly. Sales committee, weekly. Advertising committee, monthly. Organization committee, monthly.
_Committee Secretaries._ At each committee meeting, a stenographer should be present to act as secretary. When no record is kept, discussions are quite likely to be rambling rather than confined to a specific subject. Then, too, matters which were discussed at the last meeting have grown hazy, and if a man who is responsible for putting into operation a given suggestion has failed in his duty, there is always the chance that no one will think of it at the next meeting unless he brings it up. If, however, an exact record is kept of these discussions and full reports are delivered to every member of the committee before the next meeting, a foreman, or other member, will be very careful about making statements or promises unless he knows that they can be fulfilled.
Where possible, it is best to have the same stenographer act as secretary to all committees, as he will become familiar with their work and can handle it much more expeditiously.
=35.= In many factories, and even in mercantile establishments, a modification of the committee idea has been successfully introduced in the form of what is known as the suggestion plan. This plan consists in asking for suggestions from all workmen, these suggestions to pertain to manner of handling their own work, improvements for the benefit of the business as a whole, safety appliances, sanitary conditions, and anything that may be of benefit to the business.
While between foremen and heads of departments the committee plan undoubtedly works to the best advantage, we advocate the suggestion plan for the rank and file of workmen. Even when called into a committee meeting, the workman sometimes hesitates to express his opinions, when if he were permitted to give them in some other manner he would make many valuable suggestions. The plan is to place at convenient points boxes with slots cut in the top in which the suggestions can be placed. Workmen are invited to write out their suggestions and place them in these boxes. They may either sign them or give their clock numbers. The latter plan is sometimes advisable, as it does not reveal the identity of the men making suggestions. All suggestions are taken up in committee meeting by the committee directly interested, and a small prize is given for those suggestions that are put into use. Even so large a department store as Marshall Field & Co. has found it extremely profitable to offer $1.00 for each suggestion offered by an employe that is finally adopted.