Change is a perpetual feature of the business landscape. As technologies evolve, market needs shift and make way for new business models, products and services. Whilst some companies grow and even thrive on business change, others fall behind and watch their markets expire. That’s why change management is fundamental to a business’ long-term survival. Innovation isn’t ancillary, it’s critical.
BDO is the perfect example of a company who knows how to weather change. Founded as Stoy & Co. in 1908, the company has managed a vast number of political and market challenges, including two world wars and the digital revolution. Innovation is a centrepiece of the BDO success strategy, which has preserved and built on the strengths of their unique corporate culture over the decades. In 2019, BDO will take the next step on their innovation journey with a global implementation of the Idea Drop platform.
“Innovation has been identified as key to the future success of our firm. It sits firmly within our business strategy…we have a board that is responsible for driving innovation and it’s a key priority that everybody is aware of.” – Zoe Bailey, Director of Strategic Development, BDO
BDO is a matrix organisation with 74,000 employees working out of 1,500 offices around the world. Tying together innovation teams across such a complex business was a unique challenge. Fortunately, the Idea Drop platform is perfectly suited to these kinds of tasks, allowing innovation managers to build and connect communities no matter where they are in the world.
BDO built a volunteer army of 27 passionate ‘innovation builders’ – an elite team of innovators composed of a broad range of personnel from all corners and levels of the business, from c-level executives and partners to junior team members. These volunteers are key to driving the innovation process at BDO, helping senior staff to manage and track innovation throughout various business communities.
Zoe from BDO explained to us that Idea Drop was critical in creating an inclusive and democratic innovation programme that made the best ideas from each team available to the entire global BDO network:
“We’re organised by geography, by specialism, by support function, and we believed it was important that every one of those is represented.”
When companies give all levels of personnel the opportunity to impact global business decisions, the passion of individual team members starts to shine through. Innovation management platforms are an opportunity for everyone in the business to stand up, make a difference and become a business leader no matter their day-to-day responsibilities. Idea Drop’s suite of unique tools and features removes hierarchical barriers to innovation and enables users to collaborate based on their own unique knowledge and skills.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re an intern or a senior executive, your voice will be heard with this platform.” – BDO
Here at Idea Drop, we are excited to continue working closely with BDO as they take advantage of all of Idea Drop’s fantastic features. We offer a full implementation and support service that ensures rapid adoption of the full range of Idea Drop features company-wide. To learn more about our implementation services and the Idea Drop software, get in touch with our team. We’re always excited to share how our customers use the platform to change the way they do business for the better.
