The context
Specializing in the luxury industry since 1988, Richemont owns prestigious companies such as Cartier, Piaget, Montblanc, etc., all recognized for their excellence in jewelry, timepieces, fashion and accessories and distinguished through their expertise and creativity. With a turnover of 14 billion euros in 2020, Richemont now employs more than 35,000 people around the world, and has a total of nearly 2,200 single-brand stores that complement an online offering and a network of multi-brand retail partners.
- Industry: Luxury
- Launch date of the system: 2020
The program in a few words
Through the Yumana platform, Richemont was able to modify its intrapreneurship approach, going from a decentralized operation by region to a 100% digital, unified approach, and adapted to the health context.
Together, we have co-created a new feature that makes it possible for a project leader to find an in-house sponsor easily and quickly via the platform directly.
The platform made it possible for a multitude of ideas to emerge quickly, thus showing that digital technology can help overcome remote work issues, that it may boost employee engagement, and that it makes it possible to find levers for innovation in times of health crises.
The challenge
There is a global theme in the program for this new Visionary Sprint 2020 event: Shaping the future. Richemont really wants to rely on its employees’ ideas to design new products & services, rethink the company’s economic model, work methods, customer experience and sales processes, while integrating principles of sustainability, the cornerstone of this 2020 event. This year’s event transcends the various regions and Maisons, unites employees and strengthens the feeling of belonging in a global group with decentralized governance.
Visionary Sprint 2020 is also the ambition to do better and differently than in 2018. Indeed, the program is getting a makeover and is deploying a new system of sponsorship of ideas to promote their implementation. It is supported by a major communication plan, a key success factor for this 100% digital event.
La solution de Yumana
The approach is taken to the highest level of the organization. Specifically, each theme of the program is personally sponsored by a member of the Board.
The program takes place over a period of 8 months and includes 3 major steps for the participants:
IDEA SUBMISSION
Any Richemont employee may post ideas on the digital platform, alone or in a team. Once the idea has been shared, teams of at least 3 people are formed, a budget is set, and the development of the idea begins through the collaborative tools offered on the platform. Training bootcamps are offered to the teams.
Results
500 ideas submitted in 3 months
DEVELOPMENT OF THE IDEA
To move forward in the development of the idea, the project lead can recruit other people to complete his team, and start his search for sponsors. To convince a sponsor to support a project, each team develops a prototype and prepares a pitch.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IDEA
With the support of the sponsors, each team works on a Proof of Concept with photos, films, demos to move forward and thus show the results of the implementation on the platform.
Key success factors
Richemont has succeeded in creating engagement in its communities and achieving tangible results through:
- A well-established communication plan. All of the Group’s managers have been empowered and brought on board in the program, through clear communication at all times. e.g. Weekly newsletters, webinars, etc.
- Strong involvement of top management. Each Maison has identified a sponsor (generally the CEO) as well as a program leader. This level of sponsorship is essential to recruit employees at all levels and in all regions, and make this system one of the company’s strategic levers.
- A team sponsorship system to accelerate the most promising ideas. From the platform, each team could propose their idea to one or more sponsors. Benefiting from their support gives the team credibility and resources to pursue the development of ideas.
- Clear program rules that are not very restrictive. In fact, team creation was not mandatory as soon as the idea was submitted and the budget allocated to each idea was not too restrictive. To facilitate the idea development phase, the HR departments were involved in monitoring and discussing job changes, or schedule adjustments to work on the projects.
- Close support from program managers. They trained project teams through bootcamps, participated in pitch preparation meetings, gave feedback, and helped the people who needed it most, etc.
