As the
manager of Store #150 in Florence, Cindy Byrd loves efficiency. She spends the better part of her workday
looking for ways to improve her customer’s shopping experience and make her
store more productive.
Byrd’s
desire to improve operations has now not only helped the ABC Board save money,
it has earned her a nice reward. Earlier this year, Byrd submitted a cost-saving
idea to the State Employee’s Suggestion Incentive program (SESIP). She suggested using 2lb paper bags rather than
the larger 5lb bags in use at most stores. SESIP determined that Byrd’s proposal
was worthy of recognition because that small change will save the ABC Board
more than $16,500 per year.
On July 27, State
Personnel’s Government Relations Manager Brittany Woodham, along with ABC Administrator
Mac Gipson, honored Byrd for her idea and presented her with a check for
$1,000.
“I am
exceptionally proud of Cindy and all ABC Board employees who strive each and every
day to make our operations as cost-efficient and effective as possible, said
Gipson. “It is such a pleasure to work alongside these dedicated professionals.”
According to
the Employees’ Suggestion Incentive Program, “a State employee may submit a
suggestion to reduce expenditures or increase efficiency within the State of
Alabama. The program will make financial incentive awards to State employees
whose adopted suggestions result in substantial financial savings or
improvement in the efficiency of State operations.”
“Upon
approval and implementation of an employee suggestion that is meritorious, the
Employees’ Suggestion Incentive Board shall award the employee submitting the
suggestion a one-time cash award of one thousand dollars ($1,000). In an
exceptional situation, the Board may award up to five thousand dollars ($5,000)
to an employee for a suggestion or suggestions that result in extraordinary
savings or improvement for the State.”
Byrd is the
second ABC Board employee to reap the rewards of the SESIP. General Services
Supervisor Jimmy Blagg was similarly honored in May. His proposal to replace older
ABC store lighting systems with new Energy Star rated lamps and ballasts will
save the ABC Board and state coffers $528,828 over the life of the store
leases. Changing the old lights to L.E.D. lights in the central warehouse not
only saved a lot of money, but also drastically reduced the amount of heat
radiating from them. For his suggestion, Bragg received $2,500.
You can find
more information about the State Employee’s Suggestion Incentive Program here: http://personnel.alabama.gov/Downloads/ESIPGuide.pdf.