Joëlle Fabre-Hoffmeister, Group General Secretary, shares her vision of innovation at Chargeurs:
“The cult of innovation is so strong in our society today that no one would dare utter a word against it. Yet, like for many buzzwords, we would benefit from examining it in more detail: what exactly do we mean by “innovation”? What does it mean to “innovate”? The word stems from the Latin novare (“to change, make new”), preceded by the prefix in-, which indicates inward movement. There is nothing technical about this definition. It does, however, pave the way to new approaches to dissecting commonplace notions. For most of us, though, innovation goes hand in hand with scientific research, artificial intelligence and technical advances.
The reality is that innovation affects all aspects of life, and especially the workplace. It calls on us to think “outside the box” to design the next steps to take. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it for each and every one of us. Now is the time for us to capitalize on the new normal in our everyday activities. Some books perfectly illustrate this new approach. Among my most recent discoveries, I would recommend The Passion Economy by Adam Davidson. It showcases the success stories of entrepreneurs who radically have changed career and life plans, and who have dared to take a different approach from their first few years in the workforce. Their secret? Pursuing their passions; doing what they do best and working at it to create as much added value as possible. Getting to the very essence of who they are by challenging the status quo. Davidson offers an inspiring testimony, and one we could use to reevaluate our longstanding managerial models. What if we gave our employees the opportunity to truly drive change? Rather than presenting them with an inevitable responsibility to shoulder, could we show them the door to the future, where their role is pivotal? Perhaps managerial innovation is the next workplace revolution. It must be strongly encouraged as we seek to help ease our organizations and unleash creativity, a rich source of innovation.”