case study

ÖBB

Building a virtual intrapreneurship program for the ÖBB and guiding remote teams working on innovative solutions from ideation to validation and prototyping.

case study

ÖBB

Building a virtual intrapreneurship program for the ÖBB and guiding remote teams working on innovative solutions from ideation to validation and prototyping.

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Executing Corporate Innovation

Service
Intrapreneurship Program

Client
ÖBB

Industry
Transportation

Year
since 2021

2
prototypes from two teams in two months

50
Interviews with customers

+300
Ideas during the experiment-driven design process

Peter Schindlecker

“Together with TheVentury, we created the optimal framework for developing our in-house ideas into future-oriented market solutions.”

Peter Schindlecker
Head of Open Innovation
Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB)

THE CHALLENGE

There are a lot of challenges when you decide to develop a cross-functional and company-wide intrapreneurship program. From selecting the most promising topics that fit into the overall portfolio strategy and selecting the right candidates with a strong pattern and opportunity recognition to strategically establishing the program in the company and finding support on a department basis.
 
One of the most challenging things in this year’s program however was to design it in a fully remote but highly engaging way.
Virtual Collaboration in Miro

OUR APPROACH

Not being in the same room, not being able to see body language and directly engage with individuals makes it harder to create trust within the group but also amongst its members. Hence, it is very tempting to focus on content and knowledge if you facilitate online workshops. While this is already a bad idea for a single workshop, doing it for a series of workshops in an intrapreneurship program, benefiting from interaction, would be a proven recipe for frustration.
 
Our goal was to ensure meaningful involvement of all participants so that they don’t retreat into the role of observers where the social loafing effect creeps in and reduces individual productivity. When that happens, it is really hard to bring everyone back.
The top 5 key elements of our concept to prevent that from happening were:
  • team canvas session to ensure that everyone gets to know each other and the values that we want to share as a group
  • to involve them in the goal-setting process for the respective topics and to leverage the value they assign to the goal
  • to increase the expectation regarding their ability to reach the goal
  • to create agile ceremonies acting as a psychological safety net that fosters individual interaction
  • to maximize interaction, set specific tasks and use breakout rooms to get participants working together in smaller groups where there is more accountability, interest and individuals can contribute more easily.
Remote Team Meetings

THE OUTCOME

In May 2021 we successfully ended the prototyping phase in ÖBB’s intrapreneurship program. Both teams of intrapreneurs were able to convince the innovation council and got the green light and budget for the pilot phase that is ongoing as we write this. The prototyping phase didn’t just end with two illustrative prototypes but also with tons of learnings from more than 50 interviews with customers and over 300 ideas that came up during our experiment-driven design thinking process. The engagement of individuals was very high and we didn’t see signs of social loafing.

prototypes from two teams
in two months

interviews with customers

0 +

ideas during the experiment-driven
design process

“Being a strong player in the innovation space has always been part of ÖBB’s DNA and we are constantly working to improve our products and services in a sustainable manner. We are convinced that the best innovations can only be created by talking with our customers and employees, which is why we actively involve them in our processes. Of course, our intrapreneurship program deserves special mention. Together with TheVentury, we created the optimal framework for developing our in-house ideas into future-oriented market solutions.”

Peter Schindlecker
Head of Open Innovation, ÖBB

About ÖBB

The Austrian Federal Railways, known as ÖBB, are the leading mobility and logistics provider in Austria.
 
Almost 300 million passengers and 100 million tonnes of various goods were transported to destinations all across Europe in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Employing more than 42000 people, the ÖBB is the socio-ecological backbone of the Austrian economy.

Your contact partner

Franziska Hecht
Head of Innovation Culture & Competence

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