SMART@WORK: innovation supporting employee development

On the television channel BSMART, the programme 'SMART@WORK’, which discusses the concept of 'Well-working' (link to Julie's column), takes a look at innovation. This thirteenth edition addresses the digital transformation from the perspective of employee development. 

On this occasion, the journalist Aurélie Planeix invited the following guests to her studio:

• Olivier Bas, Deputy Chairman of Havas Paris, the large communications group
• Xavier Laurent, Director of Mergers and Acquisitions for the Manutan group
• Christophe Borgeon, Co-founder of the start-up ZestMeUp, a real-time management solution

To envisage innovation serving employees, it is essential to have fertile ground and dedicated support. Employees must understand that it's in their interests. "This is what I call moving from 'we must change' to 'we want to change'," emphasises Olivier Bas. This is the approach that the Manutan group undertook to encourage employee support for its digital transformation. "We started by trying to involve them in the strategy, to give meaning to what they do and we put in place tools to help them," explains Xavier Laurent.

The whole challenge is to make this interdependent trio work: commitment – performance – innovation. Even more so with the development of teleworking which has led to a general rise in performance but a drop in morale for most employees.

Xavier Laurent had the last word, reminding us that today " We have moved from a commitment of means to a commitment to results". This new paradigm means employees must understand the company's ambition and master the tools available to them. More than ever, adopting a pedagogical approach is the key.