SEAT to inspire workforce through problem-solving platform
06 August 2021
SEAT has launched a new platform to connect its employees, allowing them to solve real challenges ‘as if they were entrepreneurs’.
The carmaker emphasises the importance of innovation as the main cornerstone for achieving more efficient ways of working. It can also help to create new products and services that will differentiate the business of the future.
The Innova platform positions the manufacturer’s employees as generators of this innovation, strengthening their innovative spirit to develop solutions that add value to the company.
Showcasing ideas
SEAT Innova provides continuity of innovation, promoting the need for new ideas throughout the year. It is a participatory space that aims to bring innovative people and new project ideas together, regardless of the areas in which they work.
The goal is to promote new ways of working, based on going beyond the day-to-day, and creating solutions jointly and transversally among employees. In addition, SEAT employees have access to helpful content and training on this platform, provided by renowned educators.
‘Innovation is essential for the future of the automotive sector. At SEAT, we want to foster this spirit in our own employees because, at the same time as we make them stakeholders in the future of the company, we draw on their talent to discover ideas and projects linked to new mobility solutions, Industry 4.0 and new business models,’ said Xavier Ros, SEAT executive vice-president for human resources and organisation.
The employee platform allows participants to acquire knowledge, gain experience, find new business opportunities, and present collaborative innovation ideas. It hosts competitions, inspirational content, talks and podcasts.
The carmaker states that participation is the key to the success of this new space, which is why real company challenges will be posed so that employees can look for solutions as if they were entrepreneurs working on their own startup.
Utilising the thoughts of its employees is a clever way of encouraging its workforce, and SEAT hopes that new ideas will form the basis of potential business avenues in a changing automotive world. The Innova platform will bring people together at a time when the world is slowly starting to rebuild socially following COVID-19. With this new way of coming together through interactive platforms, SEAT believes it can both provide and benefit from the knowledge of its people.
Innovation growth
Following on from initiatives presented at the carmaker’s Innovation Day event last year, SEAT held its first ‘The Pitch’ event, featuring projects from a hackathon that took place in 2020. This sought to respond to real challenges faced by the company.
The aim of the event, which members of the executive committee supported, was to present the projects to the business areas in search of sponsors and synergies to implement pilot programmes.
The projects presented were SEAT MÓ+, a multimodal B2B mobility service; The Tribe by Cupra, a digital community to take the Cupra brand experience to the next level; CONTI-GO, a car-accessory rental service; and SEAT E-Kids, a mobility service for children with parental control. Of these, the Tribe by Cupra and CONTI-GO have been chosen and are currently in the pilot phase.
