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Team Assembly – Importance of Innovation Dream Team

When enterprises acquire startups to get to innovation

The last topic of the BlueCallom Podcast, Navigation of Ingenuity, focused on the importance of building an innovation dream team.

To find out more about the innovation team assembly, BlueCallom invited Luuk Houtepen, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Innovation at SThree, as a guest speaker of the fifth BlueCallom podcast episode. 

SThree is a leading international staffing company. They provide specialist contract and permanent recruitment services in the STEM sector. If someone knows what the recruitment process looks like and how to create the best selection of talented candidates for a company, it’s Luuk with his rich experience at the SThree company.

The importance of the Innovation Dream Team Assembly 

Since ideas are created from past experiences it is extremely important to have a diverse team. Why is that so? Providing diversity within your company creates a conducive environment in which employees can learn from and about one another and as a result, we get a comprehensive team that can handle any project. Just like educational background, the possession of soft skills is vital for the organization. 

It is not easy to define what innovation talent is but Luuk describes it as the doers, thinkers who get things done and dare to go for their dreams. They have to be driven by passion, be courageous, creative, collaborative but at the same time with extensive knowledge behind them. Innovation talent can be recognized only if they get the right nurturing and the right foundation to grow. 

Soft skills are becoming more and more important and employers recognized that. Thanks to soft skills one can grow its network, gain confidence and maintain relationships – grow a career. Luuk also mentioned that new management methods lead to having more collaborative skills since they are essential for success in the workplace, and ultimately the company’s success and productivity. For innovative talent, one thing is crucial – believing in the long-term goal which has to be clearly defined to attract the right people. 

From Luuk’s experience, candidates are looking for purpose-driven roles that are not only financially motivated. Once people notice their job really matters and their significant work can only motivate them better. 

A good example of this is a consultancy business where in the past this was one of the most desirable jobs because it offered material benefits: the usage of the company’s car, PC, mobile phone, etc. This was in a way a measure of business success. Luckily this has changed and today most organizations are purpose-driven whose employees are highly engaged and passionate about making a difference.

Career in Innovation

We ask Luuk, what is important to have a successful innovation career? Open-mindedness and broad interest come first on his list. These skills are difficult to train and it gets more challenging if your educational background is old-fashioned – in order to be acknowledged, you must become a specialist. Also, we have to keep in mind that innovation is unpredictable and it doesn’t always mean success. And here is where The 8 Cs of innovation talent come into play: Curious, Courageous, Continuous, Collaborative, Creative, Communicative, Confident, and Connected. 

Recruitment Industry Problems 

Other than the lack of talent available, the other problems SThree company is facing are home office efficiency, online hiring process, legislation regarding the working hours (working in a more flexible way), and legislation in terms of tax obligations, social securities, civil obligations. The positive side is more openness. Countries that were more local-oriented when it comes to recruitment, are now accepting foreign candidates. 

Digital testing of soft skills is very limited and can be helpful in the preselection process but it can also cause a counter-effect: how do you know people are answering honestly? Face-to-Face interviews still offer a higher level of engagement and you can get a better sense of someone’s interpersonal skills. 

Groundbreaking innovation in recruiting industry 

We asked Luuk which groundbreaking innovation would truly impact their business. Here is what is said: having a recruitment organization whose main business is advising not selling with an emphasis on the trusting relationship. 

Summary 

An innovation dream team is always a diverse team, with different backgrounds and experiences. By bringing different skills, talents, and unique solutions to the table, diverse employees strengthen creativity and innovation. 

There are many benefits of having a diverse team: 

  • superior problem-solving 
  • increase productivity and motivation 
  • attract top talents 
  • Increase profit

If you would like to listen or download the whole episode of the Navigation of Ingenuity podcast with Luuk Houtepen please visit: https://bluecallom.com/podcast/

 

Authored by: Tanja Sopcic

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Innovation Culture

Tackling a main corporate “Innovation Blocker”

When we talk about innovation culture, the first thing that comes to mind is a work environment where people can develop their ideas. To hear more about this topic, I would like to share amazing insights from Erik Wirsing, Vice President of Global Innovation at DB Schenker, the latest guest on the Navigation of Ingenuity podcast. 

What is Innovation Culture? 

Innovation culture is all about bringing new knowledge into the organization. As Erik pointed out knowledge has to be shared among the people, let them learn something new, and encourage them to create new ideas and solutions. 

One thing DB Schenker is proud of is their innovation department – a place where they bring experience to the right people, train them, empower them and let them be creative. When you create an environment of constant change, networking, agility, and collaboration, employees’ motivation brings increased productivity and higher levels of output that will help organizations reach their important goals.

The biggest obstacle to innovation is having too much guidance and instructions that have to be followed. Put all this aside and give employees the freedom to work independently. This is the recipe that makes DB Schenker successful in their industry – logistics. When empowering team members it is important to provide them with resources, funds, time, and place but keep in mind that this might fail. 

How do you encourage your team to be innovative?

Team members and employees need to feel confident and comfortable to express their thoughts. Therefore the right communication style is the answer to this question. 

We also have to mention the importance of team diversity since their varied backgrounds and experiences allow them to bring broader ideas and new perspectives. Curiosity, openness, and emotional intelligence are crucial when it comes to empowering. It’s not all about monetary incentives and the best way for empowering your employees is to enable them to reach their full potential. Just like Erik said: “Help them to shine”. Erik tells us the story of how DB Schenker’s sparked innovation within their organization:

When Eric joined the company, he was responsible for global innovation and all the innovative activities. Since he had no idea how to run this globally, one of his team members came up with the idea of an innovation magazine that collects stories from colleagues and their experiences. Since everyone wanted to be a part of this magazine, the idea was very well accepted and the storytelling approach got more popular over the years. With time, the sales team recognized the value of the innovation magazine for their customers, which resulted in the new format – an external magazine. With the approach of bringing people together and promoting their success through the “Innovation Champion of the month” column, DB Schenker continues to be a leader in supply chain management and logistics solutions.

What was your last innovation?

As Erik stressed, it is not about establishing something completely new but adopting from different industries. 

His last innovation was not planned, it just happened accidentally at one event he participated in. Talking to one of the attendees who work in the roofing industry he found out about a special paint which keeps the roofing firm. Erik realized a potential use for the paint and adopted it in the logistics industry. As a result, we have a transport vehicle whose floor is coated with this paint to prevent the movement of cargo while driving. Now customers are using it for the forklifts. Such an easy and spontaneous idea provided benefits for different industries.

Creating the next groundbreaking innovation

We also asked Erik if there is one thing he wants to invent or see invented, what would it be? This is what he said: having one device (ie smartphone) with the possibility of the screen adjustments just like we do with Windows on the PC. He wants to stop traveling with his phone, tablet, and computer, one device that can expand or contract based on the use. Other great things he would like to see in the future are self-driving vehicles and space tourism available for everyone. 

Bringing different innovative minds together and being able to manage a big global innovation culture it is important for all the team members to know that within organizations there are people who are going to support their “crazy ideas”. Structured organization, developing a business model, and taking into consideration customer feedback is the foundation for tackling a main corporate “Innovation Blocker”. 

We thank Erik Wirsing for being a special guest on the Navigation of Ingenuity podcast. With certainty, I can say we all learned a lot from his experience in the innovation world. To listen to the episode please visit: https://bluecallom.com/podcast/

Authored by: Tanja Sopcic

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