Transportation paves way for online employee collaboration

The Transportation Department has started a collaborative Web site for its employees to share ideas and vote on them.

Transportation’s leadership expects the site to encourage budget savings, increased productivity, more workplace satisfaction, and more collaboration, LaHood said.

The Transportation Department now has a virtual avenue for its employees to share ideas.

The online community, named IdeaHub, is a Web site designed to let the more than 55,000 people who work at the department to collaborate with each other, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a blog post Aug. 3. All staff members can participate, he said.

“With IdeaHub, a Federal Aviation Administration employee in Alaska can offer suggestions about an idea by a Federal Transit Administration worker in Atlanta or vote on an idea by a Federal Highway Administration employee in Arizona,” LaHood said.


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He said the tool also lets Transportation's leadership post “challenges” to employees to get them thinking about specific problems. The first one, LaHood said, is: "How can DOT help you do your job more effectively?"

“And, believe me, the ideas are already pouring in,” he said.