Innoventures, Softtek’s program designed to spur employee engagement and give employees ownership in providng innovative business solutions to take Softtek into the future, has produced amazing ideas, as represented by the nine finalists of this years’ group.
But it has also helped at least one finalist become a better, more proactive and innovative employee.
One of those finalists, Irma Treviño, Softtek’s global leader of customer satisfaction improvement, is as excited as the others who made it into the finals of the competition. She hopes to be one of the people whose proposal is chosen to become an actual application that Softtek offers as part of their services.
But even if she doesn’t, she already feels like she got her money’s worth, so-to-speak. Here are four lessons Treviño learned from participating in Innoventures.
1. There are no bad ideas
Being part of the Innoventures program has changed the way Irma feels about herself, her position and about Softtek in general. She had been to last year’s program launch and thought she could never be part of something like Innoventures; it was overwhelming to think of everything she needed to do to bring an idea through to completion.
Irma says, “I first heard of Innoventures last year, when I saw the presentation in Monterrey and they launched the program. I thought it was very interesting, but I didn't think my idea would be worthy, so I just set it aside and watched. This year, I again went to the launch of the second generation and was struck by a comment someone made about there being no bad ideas. That made me think I would go ahead and do it.”
But there was one thing holding her back. As Treviño says, “I was worried about having to come up with all the financials and how much money my idea was going to make.” 
2. You have a team working alongside you
Along the way, Irma learned Innoventures was more than just coming up with an idea and figuring out the money aspect all by yourself. “First of all, we got to see some webinars from people that are experts … and that helped a lot, because those experts were available for questions and they helped us clarify our ideas. The idea that I proposed was a little different than what it turned out to be because of that feedback.”
The feedback from fellow Innoventures' participants head of Softtek's Innoventures program, Rakhee Das, was extremely valuable to Irma, because she felt like she had a team working alongside her. As time went on, she found her proposal grew from a small idea into a better proposal - and then a better product.
Irma’s proposal, a product called “Feedback On the Go,” allows anyone to request feedback anytime, anywhere. “Feedback On the Go is a friendly app enabling users to connect to their survey platform of choice, select an open survey and send it to any contact in their customer database,” says Irma. “I saw the need and then, as I started to do some research, I noticed there was actually nothing like it around, nothing as flexible as Feedback On the Go, so I went ahead with it.”
3. You grow as a person and grow your network
As exciting as it has been to participate in Innoventures and reach the top 9, Irma feels the biggest bonus of being part of the program has been how she’s grown as a person. She has learned to speak up more, knowing her opinions are heard and valued. She now sees other opportunities, inside her department and within Softtek. She finds, through this process, she has become more focused on customer experience transformation than she was before.
The Innoventures program has given Irma connections with colleagues in other Softtek departments and locations she wouldn’t otherwise have gained had she not participated. “I think one of the benefits is the people you meet during the process. I was surprised to see how enthusiastic everyone was and because we had these sessions where everyone would give feedback to everyone else and such. It's amazing the contribution you can get from your own peers.”
4. It’s best to work in an open, supportive environment
Irma has also gained appreciation for the work environment at Softtek. “I was speaking with someone the other day, who was saying she had to watch her back at her job because everyone was trying to stab others in the back. That's something you don't find at Softtek. You soon realize that everyone here is trying to help and trying to contribute and not stab you in the back like in other places.”
There’s no doubt the Innoventures program is producing great results. Irma says, “Before Innoventures, I would stop from suggesting a solution because I thought it wasn't going to be approved or it wasn't going to work. I have learned that Softtek is a really open organization. If you have any proposal for any solution that could help improve the way we're doing things at Softtek, we should speak up and let ourselves to be heard.”
You may also enjoy this read: Most Corporate Innovation Programs Fail – Here’s How Not to Fail
