Daily routines
Most of us do not have innovation, conceptual thinking and technology as regular work tasks. So what do you do at work when thinking innovatively is your main task? Kristian Sjøseth, director of business development at FS, explains:
“First and foremost, we all engage in development and innovation every single day. Our job is impossible without input and feedback from operations and colleagues. That said, my job is to create new workplaces and great customer experiences and to collaborate across departments.
Kristian Aaslund, CDO in 4Service, adds:
“While Sjøseth is focused on the top line, I am more focused on the bottom line. My job is to replace unnecessary, manual routines, streamline, digitize and create systems that make the workday easier.
Like for many others, everyday work in 2020 has been different for Sjøseth and Aaslund.
"We are a people-oriented group that likes to solve problems at the coffee machine, or by dropping by each other's offices”, says Sjøseth.
Meetings have gone digital and moved to Teams. Even for Aaslund, who is responsible for the digital functions in the company, video conferencing is not exclusively positive:
“There are few problems that are best solved alone, and cooperation is easier when you meet physically. At the same time, the culture at 4Service is so strong that we have achieved a lot, even with temporary physical distancing.”
What is required in order to succeed?
Development and innovation take place as a consequence of testing, evaluating and learning. Sjøseth, who has been part of 4Service since 2016, explains:
“We must think practically at all times. Everyday innovation is what applies to us. When customers need a new solution, it is our job to deliver it.”
Another thing that is important for Sjøseth and Aaslund is to facilitate open lines of communication, so that the good ideas are acted upon. Bureaucracy must be kept to an absolute minimum in order for everyday innovation to succeed.
“You have to understand that most of the innovation does not take place at head office. If we provide the operations with good working conditions, then their energy and thinking power are released. This means that employees in the front line have the opportunity to discover new ideas and solutions”, says Sjøseth.
Another aspect is to accept that not all ideas become a success. After many years in the consulting industry, Aaslund has acquired the ability to appreciate this:
“If we are to achieve innovation with great gains, we must also be aware that errors will occur that may entail great costs”, he points out. It is acceptable to fail, as long as we learn from our failures.
Dinner help
Innovation is often evolution in the form of a necessary development in response to either new opportunities or new problems. There were many demanding needs to address in the COVID year 2020.
“We worked hard to find practical solutions to both small and large challenges during the past year. I am proud of the way we supported the actual business operations”, says Aaslund.
One of the examples Sjøseth highlights comes from Bergen. At a time when very few customers ordered catering, 4Service faced a very practical question: What do we do now?
“The answer came from the employees themselves. When the first wave of the pandemic hit Norway in March, they developed a concept called “Middagshjelpen” [Dinner help], with home delivery of food to everyone who was now working from home. Together we found solutions for ordering, payment, logistics and delivery. Frode Alræk and his people in Bergen should be hugely praised for how they turned a challenge into an opportunity”, he says enthusiastically.
Not only were customers satisfied, the new idea also led to the department being able to take back employees who had recently been laid off.
“The dinner help was an idea to keep the pots boiling and the wheels running. It is practical innovation at its best”, concludes Aaslund.
