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Swisscom Success Story:

500 Validated Ideas, Millions in Financial Impact
Element 6

500+
NEW IDEAS VALIDATED

by engaging employees at every level
Element 5

3
PATENTS FILED

following the completion of the innovation program
Element 4

10+
SPIN-OFFS FORMED

by innovators and project team members
Element 3

4.8 MILLION
IN FINANCIAL BENEFIT

from implemented projects

About Swisscom

 

Swisscom is the leading Swiss telecommunications and IT-provider. Headquartered in Bern, with over 19,000 employees - the company provides a diverse portfolio of services to both residential and corporate customers. 

Swisscom’s brand is one of the most well-known and most trusted brands across Switzerland and beyond, taking pride in delivering premium customer experiences. It was recently rated the strongest telecoms brand, and the third strongest international brand in the world.

Swisscom Building

The Challenge

 
Ensuring Swisscom is Future-Ready

Swisscom generates the majority of its revenue from products that did not exist a few years ago. This shift highlights how rapidly markets and technologies are evolving. In such a fast-paced and competitive environment, staying fit for the future demands that a company like Swisscom continuously reinvents itself.

This means not only adapting to emerging trends but also proactively shifting its focus to new strategic areas that drive long-term innovation and growth.

Becoming an Attractive Employer to Engage and Retain Top Talent

Swisscom competes in a highly dynamic and competitive market, with Switzerland having been rated the most innovative country for more than ten years in a row. Right across the country, there are universities and schools that produce top talent. And yet, there are also numerous attractive employers including Google, Disney, Microsoft, Facebook and the like, who acquire the outgoing graduates swiftly.

The Solution

 

Recognizing the importance of investing in innovation practices to ensure the company remains strategically positioned for the future, Swisscom officially launched a structured innovation program in 2015.

This was inspired after Dave Hengartner, then a digital strategy consultant at Swisscom, attended a keynote by Mark Randall (then VP of Adobe and pioneer of the well-known Kickbox innovation methodology).

Motivated by this approach, Hengartner spearheaded its adoption and implementation at Swisscom.

After thorough adaptation and a rigorous launch, the innovation program achieved impressive results within just a few months.

Person sitting in front of laptop, team work
 
The community of innovators at Swisscom consists of ca. 4’000 people and the program is facilitated by a core team. Beyond this, a broader ecosystem of coaches, apprentices, internal experts, as well as ambassadors across all business units, work together to facilitate the program.
 
In addition to forming a dedicated in-house team, Swisscom employs diverse internal channels to spark innovation among employees and grow the innovation community. This encompasses monthly newsletters, intranet articles, workshops, community gatherings, business campaigns, and ambassador programs.
 
The original program has gone through extensive adaptations since its very first prototype was launched in the company. Through technology developed by rready, the program has become highly automated and is accessible 365 days a year for idea submission.
 

In addition, the software component (i.e., the platform), also boasts multilingual functionality to assist all employees at Swisscom in their preferred language, and incorporates various AI-capabilities to enhance the innovation process.

 

The Results

 

Since launching the program, Swisscom has already seen over 500 idea submissions. 27 ideas reached the final, implementation stage. 10 new business unit campaigns have been run and several patents have been registered. The company has also recorded an overall ROI of more than 780% (based on the fees linked to the rready services).

Swisscom has paved the way for the Kickbox methodology, enabling the company to become a true innovation leader across Switzerland, all while maintaining increased employee satisfaction, and ensuring workforce upskilling.

 

 
Element 12-1

650+
PEOPLE UPSKILLED

in innovation skills and methods
Element 11-1

4000+
COMMUNITY OF INNOVATORS

sharing their experience, knowledge and learnings
Element 14-1

90+
IDEAS FUNDED

for innovators to incubate and iterate on their idea
Element 13-1

27+
IDEAS IMPLEMENTED

following the successful completion of the innovation program

High-impact Projects

Discover these ideas and concepts that emerged from employees through the inhouse innovation program at Swisscom.

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