Why the best innovations are (also) to be sought from within?

Invent. Invent yourself. Reinvent yourself. Novelty appeals to us, helps us grow and appears to be the quest of every company. It is made possible by digital developments, new business models, a new culture and can come from anywhere… Especially from within, that great pool of opportunity, talent and creativity on which an organization must depend!

Stimulate creativity and promote boldness

Innovation is at the core of any transformation. What if companies' new projects were devised directly by their own talents? It is they who will fuel a group's dynamism, affirm its innovation strategy and add value in its market. So how can we provide them with the keys to gaining the benefit of our collective intelligence and to ensuring they themselves instill that state of mind within a group?

I can clearly see three fundamental ingredients in this process. Firstly, releasing energy by setting up a multidisciplinary innovation team. In stepping away from everyday life, you give yourself time so you can stand back and take stock, and not remain stuck in a day-to-day existence. The second necessity: capitalizing on collective intelligence in order to work together on the joint construction of a project and see it through to success. Lastly, support from management and the Executive Committee is vital: they guide and direct this team of intrapreneurs with pragmatism, visibility and, where necessary, resources.

Moving towards empowerment management

In today's business world, I can see that our people want to work in a different way, more freely, with greater agility and in project mode. I sense they are full of curiosity regarding change which, together with their extremely extensive know-how, clearly demonstrates the appropriateness of cultivating innovation in-house.

Working in groups, mixing up teams and the skills within those teams, feeling involved and properly appreciated so as, ultimately, to develop one's position as leader. But also, and above all, learning to make a mistake, review the situation, restart and redouble the effort to make a better success of it. That's what the Innovation Lab team does. In order to give the Group added motility, the Lab will be accompanied and supported by a community of “Innovation Makers” in the various departments, roles and countries within the Group. They will have multidisciplinary skills and be given “innovation free time” to develop sustainable creative momentum. Based on a collaborative working style, they lead or collaborate on projects that resemble them and fascinate them, to the point of following up the one that will change them. Together we will be an innovation driver within the Group.

A catalyst for ideas to take them further

The Innovation Lab is tasked with several missions. Firstly, the Lab must keep watch, in an international, collaborative and global manner, in a role that is fulfilled by our in-house and external “sentinels”. Working professionals and students, specialists in design, sociology and creation, provide us with food for thought through their expertise and ability to look at the bigger picture. That way, they help us to be better able to keep our finger on the pulse of trends around the world and of what's happening in real life.

The Lab is also an excubator: it conceptualizes, tests and pilots new projects to generate added value, adopting a design thinking, test & learn approach, in which the guest or user is always central to our work.

This is what we did to excubate the Group's new brand: JO&JOE. This creation from the Innovation Lab teams is the perfect example of an innovation that was developed and led in-house. In a record time of just 9 months, today we are proud of this concept that blends the best of private-rental, hostel and hotel formats. It offers a totally reimagined experience that adopts a disruptive approach to design and guest experience.

In summary, the Lab acts as a catalyst, mustering, steering, facilitating and giving a boost. It is about helping organize our innovation processes using collaborative solutions to generate growth and strengthen our strategies, all the while adopting an agile approach so as to take an idea further, faster, better.

Listening to the customer, to serve them better

Reinventing one's services is not easy. It is our mission to identify and test out whilst maintaining a customer-centric approach. Innovation will not serve any purpose if the proposed solution does not match a real expectation. The design thinking process lights the way for us at each stage of innovation and is inherent to our culture and thoughts. By taking a real trend, custom or need as our base, we will generate value, in line with the strategy of the Group.

Projects come into being, live, step outside the box and evolve thanks to the independence enjoyed by those who devise them. What is most important is to do things with passion and with curiosity, together. Any company is a mine of talents, with people who are more than willing to express themselves and create a sensation.

Invent. Invent yourself. Reinvent yourself. Give our talents stimulation to lead them to create disruption: that is the intrapreneurship model we are implementing at AccorHotels. And what about you, do you mobilize your in-house talents to bring out innovation?