E-lab: One year of innovations
It is already one year since Ludovic Lemarchand, Xavier Macé and Clément Viaouët embarked on the e-Lab adventure. With a community of 90 members and 370 ideas collected, the digital incubator is gradually gaining momentum… and it doesn’t intend to stop there! From creative sessions and the discovery of digital solutions to the models created, we look back with a few key words over a year that is rich and promising for the future.
Digital culture
In just one year, the e-Lab has brought together an active community of 87 people! All types of people and all the business lines rub shoulders here. The members are based in France, Argentina, Australia, Dubai, Russia, USA and Singapore.
Are you interested in the digital world? Come and join the Community!
The e-Lab sends two publications per week on the trends, new technologies or the ecosystem. “We are here to make digital concepts accessible, with a ‘trailblazer’ approach. It is essential to make a success of the Group’s digital transformation,” Ludovic, Xavier and Clément remind us.
The e-Lab is also a website and an internal video channel that is clocking up plenty of views! The videos published are subtitled in all the Group’s languages to make them more accessible, and we will continue to add to the collection to cover more and more subjects.
Ideas & concepts
The e-Lab is a real digital incubator, collecting and sharing all the ideas employees come up with. Whether they concern improving productivity, providing customers with new services or simply making a task pleasanter and less time-consuming, all suggestions deserve to be studied.
Our team of e-Labers has already collected 370 ideas since its official launch. What has happened to them? The most promising ideas have led to creativity sessions with their inventors, dubbed Very Innovative People.
These sessions are international and completely unique in their form. “We then transform the concepts that emerge during the creativity sessions into presentation storyboards. We are at the VIPs’ service to develop their idea!”
A human adventure
Presentation to the jury is the moment when an idea presented to the e-Lab is made public! This year, this has happened 11 times.
The VIP employee has the opportunity to present their idea themselves, if they so wish. It is an opportunity to step outside the box and live an extraordinary human and professional experience. “It has always gone very well, with a very friendly atmosphere. People really do have everything to gain by taking part. It’s the Let’s Dare spirit.”
At the end of these meetings, four models were published, and two are currently being finalized. They are in the form of a mobile app or a prototype website. Everyone in the Group can test them and send feedback.
Immersive experience
With the e-Lab, digital technology provides concrete solutions for our daily lives. The Hololens augmented reality headset is proof of this. This tool was presented to H3 in order to promote new technologies. It immediately attracted interest.
The Group has bought four of them, used by the French, Romanian and Chinese teams. The Hololens enables plants to communicate with each other in real time with interactive viewing of the work to be performed.
Taking things further
Always moving and always innovating, the e-Lab is seething with projects to support the Group’s digitalization. With this in mind, Ludovic, Xavier and Clément have set out the 2022 e-Lab prospects:
- About ideas
The e-Labers are going to put forward themes to generate new ideas among employees. They also want to organize physical events to go out and meet teams in the field. Rendez-vous at H3 and also in each zone, if possible.
- About models
Technical development will go further on the next models, to come as close as possible to the end functions. To give reviews a bit of a shake-up, the e-Lab is considering giving live video tests a go, so if you are a Youtube or Twitch expert, don’t hesitate to come forward.
- About transformation
2022 target: transform at least one model into a product that will be used on a daily basis by employees and/or customers.
- About knowledge-sharing
If you need an outside eye or a brainstorming session on any subject at all, our e-Labers have effective tools and methods, such as design thinking, that can adapt to all contexts: marketing, factory, administrative department, etc. Don’t hesitate to ask them to help you!
Everyone’s talking about it…
The ones who talk about the e-Lab the best are the employees themselves!
Some encouraging and inspiring feedback for our digital incubator:
“When we were stuck, we went over to the e-Lab, and they helped us find a solution by thinking outside the box.”
“Employees are not restricted in the ideas they bring, they can speak freely. You can talk about a subject that you feel strongly about.”
“It’s the only door I can see open. I know I can bring a problem and you are flexible to be of service to the company.”
“It is a place of creativity. If I feel stuck, they have the skills and detachment to have a better overall view.”
Further reading
“MEET OUR…”, portraits of employees
or how to showcase people’s journeys by presenting the Service business lines
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Annual IT&S survey
for all the information about the results
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Casting for Ideas to Speed Up the Digital Transformation
Two topics for ideas favored by the e-Lab Teams community When it officially launched in June 2021, the e-Lab asked...
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