The Funnel - Corporate Innovation Magazine | Autumn 2018 by The Funnel | Corporate Innovation Magazine by Spyre Group

THE FUNNEL Powered by

the funnel shorts PAGE 4

THE HR of Innovation PAGE 10

JENNA: Artificial Intelligence in service of talent recruitment PAGE 22

Autumn 2018

My Chat with Bots PAGE 34

CONTENTS Business Title

From the Editor

04 Innovation Shorts

06 Six Mistakes Organizations Make When Trying to Implement Transformation - and How to Avoid Them

10 THE HR of Innovation

12 Transform Your Business with AI-powered Innovation

Case Study: Chronicles of a Real Corporate Innovation Project

JENNA: Artificial Intelligence in Service of Talent Recruitment

Mentor ,Mentee and Everything in Between

Different Perspectives of a Hackathon

34 My Chat with Bots

38 The Age of Experiments

42 The Changing Paradigms of HR in the Military

03 THE FUNNEL

FROM THE EDITOR Dear reader, This issue of The Funnel focuses on the fields of HR and technology and the parts both have in corporate innovation. At Duco, we believe that while innovation is the desired outcome, entrepreneurship practices must fuel an underlying eco-system and drive a structured execution process in order for innovation to happen. These ecosystems are made of people - the people who think, create and move innovation forward and the people who approve, support and finance innovation related activities. This is why, in order to successfully innovate in corporations, HR must have a central role in planning and implementing the necessary cultural changes. We also believe that technology has the power to transform business processes, create new opportunities and be a driver of innovation. These two seemingly unconnected fields, HR and technology, complement each other when it comes to innovation. Both are needed in order to bring about successful, continuous innovation. This September, we celebrate Rosh Hashana - the Jewish New Year. This is the perfect time to take a moment and look around, assess, and renew. I want to invite you to look at your company - the people that make up your organization - their profiles, their job descriptions, the process they go through from hire to retire. Take a moment to assess your organization's DNA and culture - and see how, with these ingredients, you can create the best ecosystems for innovation to flourish in. I believe that this issue of The Funnel will help you achieve just that. The Duco team wishes you an excellent year of innovation success. Shana Tova! H

Ahi Gvirtsman

Chief Editor & Duco Global Partner

Innovation shorts N

etflix and other streaming services have definitely changed how, what, when and where we watch content. For now, the fierce competition between streaming services and their focus on original content doesn't seem to be affecting big screen earnings, yet there are definitely repercussions on what movies are being made and how theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re shown. It seems there is less and less room for smaller budget films, with cinemas now mainly concentrating on big budget blockbusters or lower budget horror movies. The real innovation, though is that more and more films are being shot with IMAX (a bigger screen that creates a more involved viewing experience). There are also trialing theaters where the movie is projected on the walls and ceilings as well as the screen before you.

04 THE FUNNEL

atwick airport in the UK has innovated how people pass through it in order to improve customer satisfaction. 45 million passengers a year travel through the airport, using more than 50 airlines. It is one of the top 20 growing airports in the world. On seeing this growth, the airport has implemented the innovation centric customer satisfaction program. In order to handle larger groups, the airport features the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest self-service bag drop. This includes more casual positive interaction with the check-in staff that can step out from behind the desk. It is also the first airport in the UK to have end-to-end biometric checks. Another innovation currently being trialed is automated boarding, with IOT sensors throughout the airport and machine learning to improve time performance.

tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a year since Amazon made its big move into brick and mortar and bought Whole Foods for 13.7 billion dollars. The move made a big splash and grocery chains and investors went back to the drawing board to rethink their business model. However, what has actually changed over this past year is Whole Foodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sales seem to have remained pretty much the same. Customers are relatively happy, according to a Yahoo finance survey, with around 50% stating Amazon has brought a positive change. Some of the changes include a shift to centralized, standardized purchasing, as opposed to the previous Whole Foods policy of "locally sourced". This offers shoppers more value propositions rather than just organic and premium. Another change is integrating prime membership into the Whole Foodsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; shopping experience. Other moves Amazon is expected to make in the upcoming year include using its massive data of shopping behavior to personalize the shopping experience as well as increase delivery options for the grocery chain.

lockchain and cryptocurrency have been a hot topic of discussion for the past few years. There are many discussions to be found on how they might affect the financial world. Yet, there are other uses to be considered. Perhaps the most interesting application of crypto tokens is in their potential to power interactions on decentralized, blockchain-based platforms. From decentralized Airbnb, to the blockchain-based Facebook. They represent currencies that can be used inside the platform, and if they gain enough popularity, potentially outside of it as well.

05 THE FUNNEL

SIX MISTAKES ORGANIZATIONS MAKE WHEN TRYING TO IMPLEMENT TRANSFORMATION

and How to Avoid Them

// Keren Levy, Phillip Morris International

For the past seven years, I've been working in the fields of Digital Innovation and Business Transformation for both local and global companies, as well as SMBs and multinational organizations. Recently, I've begun to notice that there is one thing they all have in common, no matter the size, geolocation or industry they operate in: they're all pursuing transformation makeovers and organizing “Innovation Festivals”. And they're all getting it wrong. So, instead of writing about the best ways, must-haves on how to implement transformation correctly, I chose to highlight six common mistakes that companies make when implementing transformation and innovation methods, and suggestions on how to avoid them. Let's begin.

06 THE FUNNEL

Talking the talk Dear CEOs & Senior Management - transformation won’t happen by simply repeating buzzwords such as 'agility', 'transparency', 'design-thinking' and 'open innovation' over and over again - this is not some rain chant to the gods. Transformation, when done right, will be the most challenging task in your career; you will not only need to change the way you think and act, but also the way your company thinks and acts. You will not reap its fruits by simply talking the talk. You need to start moving, learning, sweating and believing. Win your employees’ trust, make them believe that you are a true leader, and that although you may not know the best (or proper) way to reach your goals, you are confident and motivated to make REAL change at your company.

Instead:

Walk the walk Pull up your sleeves and lead by example. Become a hands-on manager. Start from the small things; talk to your employees and try to understand their daily challenges; try and change the way you have meetings and team updates. Can you shorten the decisionmaking process? Which red tape can be eliminated,and which is untouchable? What (and maybe who) are the obstacles preventing projects and tasks from moving forward? Go out into the field, talk to your customers, and LISTEN.

07 THE FUNNEL

#2 Acting Like a start-up Guys, you are NOT startups. The foundation of a startup is made of a couple of individuals that chose to pursue a great idea and make it a reality with few resources, surrounded by skeptics, in a competitive environment, trying to live another day. This not your foundation, at least not in the last couple of decades. Don’t think that happy hours, cool posters on the walls and giving your office an open-space makeover , will make you a startup. Try to act like a well-established organization that looks into the future, maybe foreseeing a change in its market share. A company that is looking to change, to be more relevant to its consumers, address their needs and have a competitive advantage that will help it retain a long term competitive edge and sustain as much as it can. Remember, you are an aircraft carrier, not a rowboat, and you need to maneuver accordingly.

#3 It’s never ‘ transformation-o’clock ’ Somehow, it seems that people don’t have time to implement new ways of working, stimulate their 'out-ofthe-box' thinking or prepare transformation workshops. Daily tasks and ‘firefighting’ are more urgent. Let's be honest; they are easier to tackle because you already know the drill, and although you might not like to admit it, it is your “auto-pilot”, and that’s where you feel safe. New ways of working and thinking are, well, new, and require a new learning cycle, and we all know where those types of tasks end up – to the same place all your other 'I'll do it later' tasks go. Right next to mailbox sorting and starting a diet.

Instead:

Size does matter

Be proud of all the great things you can do because you are a well-established company (vast knowledge, resources and reputation); which legacy activities can you improve? How can you contribute to the category? What kind of positive mark or influence can you make? Be open and collaborate with your competitors, promote regulatory and social agendas, remove category barriers and invest in infrastructures that can advance the category. Remember: long-term strategies are made for long-term companies.

Instead:

Switch to project mode

Startups are quick and agile because they work in 'project mode'. They have a 'beginning-middle-end' phase progression , and that helps them sprint through their day with quick decision making, ad-hoc problem solving and great motivation to reach the end of the project. Enterprises, however, work in 'functional mode': they have processes for every action, rigorous documentation and endless meetings. Most of their work consists of meetings, presentations and conference calls, leaving less time to make progress on existing tasks. The top management should start by defining some tasks as projects, appointing a project manager that will follow a project roadmap with a deadline to stick to. The project manager should address those kinds of tasks (projects) first thing in the morning, with all of the team’s energy devoted to non-automatic tasks that require more focus and structure as they go through the learning curve.

#4 Carrying anti-innovation naysayers You might be surprised, but some people are not all that interested in this 'innovation nonsense'. They believe that the old way is the best way, and that sooner than later, 'transformation' will be replaced by the next organizational buzzword or trend. Maybe they are right, but if your company's vision and objective is pursuing transformation, you should only have committed employees who genuinely believe in the idea and are willing to make a real change on board. Everyone else should not continue to work for the company, as they might become internal blockers that will interfere with the process and hold you back.

Instead:

Naysayers not welcome Make sure that all employees are connected to the company's new vision, and clarify that whoever isn’t is welcome to leave, with an exit package as appreciation for his/her work and honorable decision to withdraw from the company. It won't be pleasant, but it will unite the remaining employees and motivate them to achieve those goals together.

#5 Thinking outside the box, inside the box

08 THE FUNNEL

When approaching Design Thinking or other innovation strategy tools, there is a tendency to keep the general wireframe pretty similar to that of the existing business – same product, same marketing proposition and usually the same customer. The 'out-of-the-box' elements that usually (wrongly) arise from those methods are more focused on a new 'look & feel', new slogans, buzzy events or, my favorite: limited editions. This is the type of creative thinking that should be happening anyway, and it is certainly not revolutionary.

Instead:

Get the box out of your system

Define what that 'box' is, and then make a conscious decision not to include any of said 'box elements' into your new ideas. What you need to do is actually go outside of your comfort zone: the farther you go, the better it will develop your ‘outside-the-box thinking’ muscles. So go crazy! Market your product to aliens! Add a weird feature or invent an insane service proposition. An exercise that I like to do to kick off a design-thinking workshop is dividing little paper notes into two groups: different target audiences, and different products and services. Each group draws one note from each team, and has to create a marketing plan for the service to that target audience. The sometimes weird resulting combinations teach participants that anything can be sold to anyone, you just need to find the right insight about their needs and define a proper value proposition.

09 THE FUNNEL

#6 Pretending to be 'picture perfect ' In corporate life, it seems like all employees are perfect. They don’t make mistakes. They never fail. No one talks about it, no one admits it, and that makes our organizational life picture perfect. The corporate culture usually discriminates against failures and tags people who make mistakes as losers on the verge of being kicked out of the company. Even if they formally encourage employees to fail and learn from those failures, what usually happens is that they get fired and the replacement 'learns' from their mistakes. This creates gossip, anger, negative competitiveness and mainly fake news in meeting rooms, presentations and e-mails.

Instead:

Endorse failures - failing is beautiful Newsflash: we are all humans. We all make mistakes, lots of them, and with the right approach, we can use them to make us better, wiser and more efficient. In corporate life, you should encourage people to speak about their mistakes and what they have learned from them. Remove the plastic facade when presenting a business plan, talk about past mistakes and how you can avoid them. When someone is sharing a mistake, celebrate it, and think how you can make lemonade from those lemons. Encourage higher management to speak openly about their misjudgments and mistakes. Do, fail, learn, and do it better next time.

Remember that all of the above can be implemented in teams of all sizes; you don’t have to start big. Try out this approach with just one function or one project team to begin with. Create hype around that function or project team, and encourage the people involved to share their experience from the pilot. Encourage them to share their challenges and mistakes, too, and always look toward that ‘North Star’ to guide you through this process. Rome was not built in a day, and your company won’t be either. With patience and persistence, you will win in the end.

Keren Levy Innovation manager and innoTalks blogger

THE HR

OF INNOVATION Interview with Pnina Keren, the director of Human Resources and Administration Department in the Central Bank of Israel

Human Resources and innovation are closely linked. For innovation to flourish, it requires a certain environment in which ideas can grow. HR, the department in charge of creating the organizational culture, can contribute or hinder this process enormously.

10 THE FUNNEL

One aspect in which HR is critical for innovation is the department itself. Pnina feels that in many cases, the people who are in charge of HR are not innovative enough themselves, do not place enough emphasis on managing different generations differently and see the HR role more in the traditional sense-meaning a more technical infrastructure role. Pnina says that as long as HR holds this view they cannot become leaders and shift their organizations to be more innovative. In order to fill that leadership role, Pnina believes that the best place to begin is in the hiring process for HR personnel. While innovation training can be conducted, and tools gained in training, it is often a tough skill to master if one is not already inclined to it. It also requires some â&#x20AC;&#x153;managerial gutsâ&#x20AC;? to change the organizational culture. Once you look for new hires with innovation leadership in mind, it becomes much easier to establish that leadership.

HR AS LEADING INNOVATION Another role HR has in fostering innovation, once the right attitude and people are place, is to lead organizational wide innovation. Pnina doesn't think it is always the right call to have innovation under the people who manage the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technology (which Pnina sees as a tool for innovation) or as a separate entity, as often happens in organizations. HR are in charge of the human factor in the organization from junior employees to senior management. Innovation is first and foremost about the human factor, both in terms of fostering the right environment to create innovation and in working with managers to promote innovation in their own departments.

Like with the HR department itself, creating an innovative organization starts at recruitment. The interview and recruitment process needs to place an emphasis on innovation. Pnina mentions what you often see is HR people who place a great emphasis on specific professional skills, and while those are important, Pnina recognizes and encourages a shift to emphasis on the candidates’ personality, which is directly linked to innovation. It takes a certain personality type to create innovation. This personality type is often also linked to creativity and to broad thinking. When hiring for the bank, hirers also place a great emphasis on innovation. Part of the recruitment process includes a series of tests or simulations which present scenarios and see how well a candidate can handle them and how comfortable a candidate is with thinking and doing outside the box. Are they proactive or reactive about it? This will translate to the question of: Will they know to initiate innovation, or will they be forced into it? Pnina also warns that if you do hire innovative people but put them in an organizational culture where they cannot innovate, it may cause frustration and a faster rate of departure, so culture and recruitment must go hand in hand.

CREATING A CULTURE OF INNOVATION There are many ways to create a culture of innovation. The bank, for example, is building a physical environment which encourages people to step out of their everyday workload and work collaboratively and creatively. They created the “brain workout room” or “happiness workout room”. The creation of the room itself is one of the innovative projects the bank is launching--a group of volunteer employees are designing the room and will be in charge of managing it themselves. Employees will be able to use the room as a bubble, separate from the rest of the bank, with optimal conditions to encourage creativity. Pnina sees the room as a message to all employees that the bank wants to promote innovation. Another aspect of innovation culture is openness. The bank’s HR unit is now in the process of creating an innovation organizational structure that can work around the corporate bureaucratic structure which might delay and deter innovation. Pnina and her department created a channel where managers and employees can come to them and (with their managers’ knowledge) to push forward innovation projects. This is the first time the bank is breaking its very strict silos and allowing people from different departments to work together. This collaboration is the key to succeeding in innovation. Pnina believes that innovative people know how to find the best partners and form groups that can best transform their ideas into action, and these people are often in different departments. In addition to space, direct channels and collaboration, Pnina says that in order to create an innovative culture, action and a rapid work pace that brings results are crucial elements. It proves to the next group that innovation can happen. Just as important as all the aforementioned components (if not more so) is senior management that understands the importance of such innovation. Pnina says that for them, Director General Hezi Kalo’s support is crucial. Kalo, who comes from an HR background, is the standard bearer of innovation in the bank. He introduces new technologies and pushes other managers to remain innovative in their fields. Innovation is not a clean-cut process and involves many moving parts and different entities within the organization, but from recruiting to creating an innovation culture to involving the managers, HR plays a crucial role. Pnina Keren is the director of Human Resources and Administration Department in the Central Bank of Israel. The bank is responsible for setting monetary policy and for advising the government on financial and economic policy. http://www.boi.org.il/heb/Pages/HomePage.aspx

11 THE FUNNEL

ENCOURAGING INNOVATION IN THE HIRING PROCESS

TRANSFORM YOUR BUSINESS WITH

AI-POWERED INNOVATION By Or Rozenzweig from Razor Labs

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a fascinating field of study that is revolutionizing the market with new and exciting frontiers. The problem is that most people still see it as a buzzword that is difficult to translate into everyday uses and benefits. This is exactly why I wrote this article. Together we will decode these buzzwords and understand how AI can create business wins for your corporation. I will expose you to the opportunities inherent in this revolution, so you can start reaping its benefits today.

SO WHAT IS AI EXACTLY? Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of computer-controlled robots to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent

12 THE FUNNEL

beings.

But these technologies weren't always available. Even today, many organizations are still analyzing data in more traditional ways, which is fine. Not every solution has to be AI-driven. Organizations' problems can be solved in other technological ways such as classic algorithms or simple coding. Some

Deep learning (DL) algorithms are inspired by the neurons in

situations, however, with clear indicators we will talk about

the human brain, trying to identify patterns and explain the

in a minute, require processing capabilities that only AI

world it sees step-by-step, similarly to what babiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; brains do.

can perform. So let's start by defining the different phases

DL applications can deal with vast amounts of data and turn

organizations pass, before they transform their business

it into meaningful insights which can guide you to take action

processes with AI.

and predict results.

13 THE FUNNEL

Deep learning is the area of artificial intelligence where

PHASE 1 | BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI) Organizations started using data as a way to keep track of what had happened in the past. Simply by calculating profits vs. losses they had the previous month or how many site entries they had. This without deriving meaningful insights from them.

PHASE 2 | DATA MINING In this phase, organizations analyze data from the digital sphere and use it to make smart business calls. Their analysts use strict tools like Excel or MATLAB, that make it very hard for them to adapt to changes over time. That's why this approach is only effective for businesses with small-volume data, although it still requires wasting costly man-power on analytics, which brings us to Phase 3.

PHASE 3 | MACHINE LEARNING (ML) ML is the organization's way to analyze data automatically while the machine is adapting its techniques to the data it observes. Email spam is a great example of it. Before ML you needed to manually choose the words you think indicate spam. But with ML, this connection between specific words and thousands of spam emails is done automatically and thoroughly for you. Sounds like magic, right? Well, the truth is that it's not that simple. ML demands high computing power and still has a limit on the amount of data it holds. It can identify simple patterns in data but can't make complex connections nor can it exceed human-level intelligence for that matter.

14 THE FUNNEL

For years organizations have been stuck in Phase 3, putting their effort into digitization and automation while accumulating piles of data, which evolved into "Big Data" as we know it today. The era of Big Data allowed us to ask more meaningful and more ambitious questions than ever before. The race for better networking and higher computing power allowed ML to develop to its present form; it is now time to achieve a genuine impact on business objectives using the power of artificial intelligence (AI) >> Phase 4.

the real magic is happening right now. It involves building neural networks which attempt to mimic the way living brains sort and process information. The “deep” in deep learning signifies the use of multiple layers in the deep neural network, all stacked on top of each other. Its complexity helps it process data to a more thorough and refined degree than other technologies that came before. Deep learning is already driving innovation, and can be seen in many applications today. However, as data volumes continue to increase, and processing technology becomes more affordable, many more sectors of society will be impacted.

AI-DRIVEN INNOVATION When you look at our day-to-day lives, you realize that our lifestyles have never been busier. As a result, we are delegating the mechanical aspects of our everyday routines to technology more than ever. This applies to the business world as well. While the mechanical aspects of tasks are performed by machines, employees can focus on what's next. They can use AI-powered analytics to better understand, anticipate and respond to people's needs, and utilize this knowledge to invent the next product or identify the next market share the company should pursue. Another avenue for AI-driven innovation is the “new challenge of value creation”. Enterprises are now putting efforts in learning how to create new value from AI, building a competitive edge with new services and products that address problems they couldn’t solve before.

which AI can address is customer retention. Today's

SO HOW CAN YOU MAKE AI WORK FOR YOU TOO?

consumers are overwhelmed by a constant deluge of

Now that you understand the power of AI can add tremendous

advertisements and promotions. They are tired of the noise

value to a business using optimization and process

and increasingly desire the personalized attention they get

automation, here comes the part where you learn how you can

from brands they interact with such as Amazon and Netflix.

start harnessing this power today. Here are our experts' best

Of course, not every brand can be Amazon, but companies are starting to recognize that they can no longer rely on traditional marketing strategies. They must better understand their current customers and focus their marketing energy on retention, not acquisition. To retain a current customer is six times more cost-effective than it is to acquire a new one. Statistics show that increasing customer retention rates by 5% will increase profits by 25% to 95%.

practices for AI implementation in business processes: 1. Define your needs & KPI’s AI is a powerful tool, but it is only a means to an end. Before we start developing any AI-based solution, we set a goal with the corporate executives. The chosen goal has clear value to the corporation. With this new value in mind, experts can develop the specific solution the corporate really automatically detecting damaged goods on a factory production line. 2. Identify your data assets

WHY, DESPITE ALL THAT, ONLY 18% OF COMPANIES MAKE RETENTION A TOP PRIORITY? The main reason for this is that customer retention requires conducting a thorough study on each customer. Factors such as demographics, previous reactions to offers, purchases, and complaints must all be taken into account to make every marketing effort towards an individual customer count and ultimately increase the profitability to the company. That's exactly where AI can make a difference and make the biggest impact. AI can chain millions of factors together to create the 360-degree perspective companies need to fully understand and retain their customers. Armed with timely and insightful customer data, not only can companies better respond to their customers' needs but also benefit from the ability to sell more products, optimize their marketing offers, lengthen their customer lists and, most importantly, make good on their revenue-driving customer retention efforts. We at Razor Labs have provided this kind of solution to

By mapping the corporate data sources, you can spot opportunities for new value creation. AI is data-driven so the more data is made available, the bigger value it can create. 3. Build an AI implementation “roadmap” After agreeing on an AI solution, we build an implementation roadmap. We start this roadmap by setting a timeline for short and long-term goals. Then, fit in each half-step, from POC to production and integration. This tool can become your key to getting the organization's decision makers on board, and making the journey from AI implementation to ROI a successful one. 4. Start with a fast POC Proving clear value with a fast POC before diving headfirst into unknown territory. This is an important part in our methodology for driving significant business wins with AI. It cuts down precious research and development time, saving money that can be reinvested into more ambitious goals. 5. Launch Clear Value Solutions

financial, medical and insurance companies worldwide. For

After a successful POC stage is complete, you can wrap

example, it has helped a major insurance company here in

up and deploy into production. At this stage, the solution

Israel to improve retention efforts and increase revenue from

should be a well-defined piece of AI software that works

complementary products by 20% within only three months

efficiently, improving key business metrics and showing a

from production.

significant ROI within a short time-span. 6. Integration This is the most important step of all and the most challenging. After uploading this state-of-the-art AI piece to the corporate's servers. Our experts will closely guide you in integrating the solution inside the corporate's business processes.

15 THE FUNNEL

An example of a challenging issue for many service providers

DON'T HAVE TO DO IT ALONE After a decades-long "AI winter", the field has finally picked up the pace of innovation in recent years. AI experts that guide organizations in the journey for new value creation are needed now more than ever. From my years in Razor Labs, a partner of numerous MNCs companies in this journey, I personally discovered that such guidance can turn a POC failure into a successful AI integration. Together with experts, corporations can shape prospering AI-driven business processes that lead to significant revenuegrowth. From first hand I saw how our ambitious team of Deep Learning Engineers used its proprietary tools to achieve technological breakthroughs on a global scale for our partners. That made me believe any organization can do it too.

YOUR PARTNER FOR CAPABILITY AND CAPACITY. Obviously, we can't cover this vast field, which involves powerful solutions for dozens of verticals, in a few pages. But I hope this article gave you a few tools to better understand the opportunities inherent in the AI revolution.

Or Rozenzweig, Marketing Manager, Razor Labs

16 THE FUNNEL

Razor-labs.com

Case study:

CHRONICLES OF A REAL CORPORATE INNOVATION PROJECT By Ahi Gvirtsman, Duco, Global Partner

18 THE FUNNEL

Usually when organizations release an innovative endeavor successfully into the world, the focus is on the outcome. For various reasons, it is not commonplace for organizations to share the chronicles of such projects and the method behind their development. This article chronicles a real innovation project that came to

characters have been anonymized and the intention here is

fruition in one of the organizations I worked with, originating

to tell the story of the project lifecycle from a well-informed

in its enterprise software division. To give you perspective, at

insiderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view. My hope is that this will give you a new look

the time it was a product line that generated well over $100

into the unexpected and messy path that innovation can take

million a year in revenues and was based on infrastructure

and convey the importance of an underlying innovation eco-

that was over 30 years old-- which in the software world, is

system that increases the chances of the success for such

considered downright ancient. Naturally, the content and

projects.

Phase 1 IDEATION The first time I heard about this project was when it was presented as a raw idea at an ideation event in one of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global sites. It was a site that wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t known at the time for its innovation and the particular team, QA (Quality Assurance) was not considered as a technical leader. Initially, the idea was to add a particular big data function to a 30 -yearold product using widely available open source code. At the time, the company had an ideation platform and a mechanism for inviting employees to vote for their favorite ideas. Such cycles of ideation and voting took place at a quarterly cadence. The idea did not get enough votes to make it to the second phase, which caused disappointment for its team.

COMMENT:

This is where ideas usually die. They are at a raw stage, presented to some audience and arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t able to get the initial support required for taking the next step.

Phase 2 RETHINK Fortunately, the company had a strong corps of innovation coaches whose role was to help promote innovation on top of their daily activities. Two coaches, one from a site considered more prominent, and the other from that global site, worked together with the idea team because they saw potential in the general direction of the idea--mainly, introduce big data technology into a 30-year old product. There were a couple of critical feedback points that the coaches gave the idea team: Find a big data use case to implement which is more valuable to customers than the original one proposed. Consider the opportunity to leverage a big data engine that was a differentiating technology for the company at the time instead of using open source.

Phase 3 INITIAL SUCCESS With the help of the coaches, the idea was rephrased, incorporating the two feedback points and resubmitted to the ideation cycle. Notice that due to the quarterly cadence, it was possible to submit ideas 365 days a year. When the next quarterly vote came, the idea received enough votes and that meant that the idea team got 10 percent of their work time for three calendar months to explore the idea and prepare it for an executive pitch.

COMMENT: Notice how important it is to have ideation cycles frequently enough so that when an idea needs to be reshaped, it doesn’t take too long for it to get another opportunity. If cycles are too far apart, then the idea team loses momentum. Another critical part here is the 10 percent work time allocation. For a massive innovation eco-system to thrive, some element of work time with clear guidelines must be established or people are simply sucked back to their daily grind.

Phase 4 REJECTION The team works with the help of mentors assigned by the innovation program and prepares a pitch to its executives. The request was going to be to get enough resources to build an alpha version of the idea. Relatively to the available resources at the time, the size of the request was very modest. However, the team decides to present their idea from its technical perspective. This was due to the fact that it consisted mostly of engineers and that’s what their natural tendency was. The executive team rejected the idea with the feedback that its business value wasn’t at all clear.

COMMENT:

20 THE FUNNEL

Another point in the lifecycle where ideas die. Once executives reject an idea this can deflate a team, especially one with no prominence or stature. The existence of someone who can offer a broader perspective and shepherd the team while keeping its morale from dropping is essential. Here, the innovation team stepped in and gave the idea team the understanding that there’s a lot they can still do in order to persuade executives to support the project.

Phase 5 VALIDATION The team began interviewing customers, presenting them with a list of 10 potential big data use cases they could apply to the product and asked them to rank the use cases in order

of perceived value. They also collected feedback as to the actual financial impact such use cases may have on the customer’s bottom line. The results surprised them, and they pivoted in order to focus on a couple of use cases that were the customers’ clear favorites. Armed with this data, they reformulated their pitch with a focus on customer value and presented it again to executives. The key presented finding was that existing customers of the product found these two use cases to be valuable and would actually pay a premium for them. Executives were then persuaded to allow the team to move forward and the idea was handed over to the business unit for implementation.

Phase 6 IMPLEMENTATION The implementing team continues to validate its assumptions with regards to value as they build the implementation. They encounter serious technical difficulties since the underlying proprietary technology they want to use requires a very expensive deployment, which makes the cost for customers of owning the innovative solution very high. The challenge here is also organizational, since this underlying technology is handled by a totally different business unit located on a different continent. Once again, the innovation team uses its contacts across the organization to find out that the underlying technology has a technical team located at the same geography as the implementation team and puts them in contact. This solves the problem very quickly.

COMMENT:

The need for a function with a broad perspective that can help innovation projects get around organizational and technical obstacles shows its crucial part in innovation success. This ability to locate the presales team that was co-located with an implementation team of a separate business unit is something that would have been nearly impossible for the implementation team itself and even for its managers to have.

Phase 7 SUCCESSFUL RELEASE

The project is released as a premium enhancement to the incumbent product that has been in the market for decades. One of its customers goes on record saying, “I will get my hands on this piece of software even if I have to sell cakes on Sunday.” Another customer says on video: “This is the most exciting piece of software I have seen in the last ten

Phase 8 STRATEGIC SUCCESS

The icing on the cake arrives when a Gartner report citing the magic quadrant that the incumbent product is part of places the product at a much higher visionary position than before, while stating that within the strategic direction of applying analytics to its product line, it is in a leadership position marketwise. The product team decides to formulate the entire incumbent product line’s forward strategy as analytics-based. It turned the innovation project into the leading segment of its strategy.

I want you to stop for a moment and think about this. This was a modest innovation idea that came from a remote development site, submitted by a QA team with no connections or prominence in the company. It had opportunities to wither and die on multiple occasions. Yet, it turned out to change the strategy of a significant incumbent product line. No one dictated this project. There was no deeply thought strategic session that defined its requirements. It wasn’t a part of a five year plan. It took place within an atmosphere that simply said: “Let’s give it a try and if we fail then at least let’s do so quickly and cheaply.” Over the course of time that this project was continuing to iterate, learn and make progress, dozens of other innovation projects across the company tried doing the same with varying degrees of success. Ask yourself what would happen in your organization if you were able to start 10 projects like this a year. What about 20 or 30? A multitude of projects, trying to achieve something remarkable and doing so in a way that gives them a real opportunity to succeed and a controlled environment for failure. How much would you invest in the ability to do that without disrupting your ongoing business?

THE FINAL QUESTION IS THIS:

CAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO?

Ahi Gvirtsman is the former vice president and global head of innovation of HP’s Software division, the author of the book “The PEAK Innovation Principles” and a global partner at Duco. He is considered a guru of organizational innovation and his methods are being implemented in various organizations including the Tel-Aviv municipality, The Central Bank of Israel, Leumi bank, IDF and IAI (Israel Aerospace Industry).

21 THE FUNNEL

years.” Within a single year of its release, the direct revenues generated by the project get it to a breakeven point. An unexpected development is that the incumbent product which is in the process of being disrupted by startups is able to win several major deals against these competitors with this premium enhancement cited as the main reason for the win. It is a development that not even the most optimistic people involved with the product imagined that could happen after the implementation of only a couple of very focused big data use cases. No one could imagine this level of impact for such a modest investment.

JENNA:

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN SERVICE OF TALENT RECRUITMENT A

s a business grows, there’s always a need for additional quality manpower to accelerate and support the growth of the company in its future endeavors. Finding the right candidate is not an easy task and it often requires significant time and money, without any guarantee that you’ll get the best possible candidate for the job. Recent studies conducted by HR experts show that an average company needs to spend anywhere from 4000 up to 7000 dollars in order to hire a single person. Adding the time to screen through all the CVs, check references, perform secondary screenings, etc. All of which can take more than a month to accomplish, leaving us with the feeling that there should be a way to cut the costs and the time needed to hire people, especially if there’s a need to fill in more than one position.

22 THE FUNNEL

When Lior Romanowsky, 31-year old Tech entrepreneur from Tel-Aviv, Israel decided to hire a Product Manager for his AI and AR tech company, he realized that it would take forever to screen through more than 200 applicants that sent their CVs to “Spartans” company. Spartans is a rocket ship propelled by the innovation and creativity of its crew. They build smart solutions using the latest technology. Therefore, the team decided to explore possibilities

which would help them with their current situation. Lior and his associates felt there was a need to speed up the process so they could reach the top candidates faster without leaving any CV out. They needed a way to automatically screen the candidates, filter those that meet the requirements and select the best few people that would be worthy of the call to a live job interview. Since they were unable to find a suitable solution on the market at the time, Lior and his team decided to build a software solution that would be able to filter out the best candidates quickly and effectively. In two weeks, the team was able to try out their own design which allowed automatic screening of all candidates. The initial solution was a chat software that would be able to ask specific questions, relevant to the position the candidates applied for, and filter out those who don’t fit the requirements. Their effort rendered CVs completely unnecessary, because the candidates were able to answer real-life questions instead of filling out some generic questionnaire, allowing Lior and his team to focus only on those candidates that could bring actual value to the company. This simple solution showed real potential, so the next logical step was to improve it and make it more reliable, smarter, faster, and then bring it to the world.

“When we got all of those applications I was thrilled, but after reviewing about 60 I had a “Houston we have a problem” moment. It was just too much. The realization that the current application method was wrong was almost immediate. The next day we were already specifying our prototype and in about two weeks time we were live with our first automated solution for screening. We wanted to get answers to our reallife questions, no bullshit and straight to the point.” Jenna is an easy to use AI recruitment platform built to help hiring agents and HR managers screen large number of candidates autonomously. Its main feature makes sure that there's no more endless browsing through every CV that comes to the company. In addition, the candidates have a more human-friendly experience during the application. Jenna is completely unbiased so the decision who is a suitable candidate doesn't rely on personal preferences but only on the professional value of each applicant. It's estimated that 34% of bad hires can be attributed to human error. Jenna doesn't make those kinds of mistakes because it automatically collects only the most relevant candidate info and compares the data with predefined requirements.

Spartans is our rocket ship. We build smart solutions using the latest technologies. It’s really an ongoing process of experimentation and discovery. We combine innovation with large brands around the world and build our own stuff, like Jenna.

23 THE THE FUNNEL FUNNEL 25

Speaking about Jenna AI, the Founder & CEO of “Spartans”, Lior Romanowsky said:

Another feature is ease of use. Simply put, the recruiter logs in to Jenna dashboard as with any other online service. The next step is setting up the company information which helps the system adapt better. When those initial settings are complete, the recruiter has the ability to create a position that the company requires. Based on the provided information the software offers various tags, relevant questions, etc. in order to create a screening procedure that would provide a perfect match for the job. When the screening process is fully customized, you are able to share a link to the job post on Facebook, LinkedIn, or anywhere else you see fit. What’s good about Jenna is that the system also allows Messenger integration so that people could apply for the job without the hustle of writing a resume, looking for the right email address, and pray for someone to check the email altogether. Jenna is the optimal solution for anyone who doesn’t want to spend too much time on deciding on the right candidate. The system conducts a sort of live interview during which it analyzes the answers and filters the proper candidates on the spot. In order to avoid any potential “jokers”, Jenna automatically dismisses any foul language and collects third-party data (such as Linkedin) preventing incorrect data entry at the same time. This means that you get the full picture regarding each candidate. Moreover, machine learning technology allows Jenna to estimate and predict the best match for the company based on the “experience” it gathered over time. This makes a tremendous difference compared to the regular screening process which always leaves room for mistakes, eventually costing you more than you bargained for. It’s usual for medium-sized start-up businesses to deal with the “Warm body” syndrome. It means that instead of going for the right fit the company hires a person which is the most cost-effective. At first, this can seem like the right idea, however, in the long run, it can create severe problems for the company. With Jenna on your side, you won’t have to worry about that. With the right set of predefined questions, Jenna can find the perfect match cost and experience-wise.

24 THE FUNNEL

Some hiring agents are too narrow in their search, with personal experience or globally adopted trends leading them towards making a decision. Jenna relies on machine learning, analytics, and your personal needs in

order to create the list of candidates you can compare deeper than any recruitment agent could ever allow you to. Humankind is still not able to build General AI, so we don’t have to worry about defence systems going crazy, causing the end of the world just yet. Nevertheless, the current stage of development allows us to build amazing things and pretty soon we’ll all be able to drive autonomous cars, listen to music composed by AI, and who knows how many more beautiful things await in the future. Jenna AI mastermind Mr. Romanowsky also has an enthusiastic point of view for the future of AI, stating: “Don’t forget, Apollo 11 landed on the moon with less computing power than in your Smartwatch. We expect to see AI spreading wider and enhancing many different fields. It’s really exciting to see more and more large corporates starting to think about their AI strategy.” The age of writing resumes and waiting for an agent to screen applications in hope that they will do a good job, instead of sending their sister in law to your address, is all but over. AI and machine learning technology allow deeper, more insightful analytics with minimum resources spent. Jenna represents the future of recruitment process, allowing hiring agents and HR managers to be more effective so that business owners could dedicate their time to more important matters such as scaling their business further and increasing their revenue.

25 THE FUNNEL

hen we got all of those applications I was thrilled, but after reviewing about 60 I had a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Houston we have a problemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; moment. It was just too much. The realization that the current application method was wrong was almost immediate. The next day we were already specifying our prototype and in about two weeks time we were live with our first automated solution for screening. We wanted to get answers to our real-life questions, no bullshit and straight to the point

MENTOR, MENTEE

and everything in between T

he current job world creates uncertainty and often confusion. Many of us feel we need help navigating career paths. While it is usually a bit challenging to find someone you trust and whose opinion you can respect, it can often mean the difference between drifting from one job to the next and forging a career path with a clear vision in mind. In this world of insecurity, mentoring is becoming a more significant part of career management. It is very common in the startup world and is now making its way into organizations. Mentoring is more prevalent in all stages of career development, from people who are just entering the job market to CEOs. Mentors provide perspective and understanding, and can also help push mentees out of their comfort zones when need be. It can and should be a beneficial experience for both sides. In the nascent field of innovation management, mentoring is essential in sharing experiences of solving complex problems of a newly formed professional discipline. We believe that in the coming years more and more innovation related positions will be created and cross-company mentoring of this field will be essential in taking this entire field forward.

MENTOR PERSPECTIVE: WHY IT IS RIGHT FOR YOU? Keep in tune with what is happening. Younger people are often more aware of the latest trends and technology, and as a mentor, you can get a first-hand perspective on innovation.

26 THE FUNNEL

Become a better leader. This is a rare opportunity to practice leadership skill set - empathy, persistence, problem-solving, influence etc. all come into play in the mentor-mentee relationship and help strengthen those skills in other settings. It is also an opportunity to take the time and work through a problem with someone, when not tied down by budgets, internal politics, etc.

Be a part of the next generation of leaders Mentoring is an opportunity to get to know and even shape the future leaders of your field. Creating positive and longlasting relationships may provide a long-term and lasting benefit.

Share and promote your point of view and passion This is an opportunity to influence someone you believe in, someone who may become a significant part of your industry. It is an opportunity to share and promote your passion, methodology, a point of view or vision.

BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE Have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, set expectations in your first meeting and wrap up your last. This vision and expectations may change along the way, but it important to know where you plan on going from the beginning.

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS IN THE RIGHT WAY Many times a mentor will devote his or her valuable spare time for the mentoring.This should not be taken lightly. Take the time to know exactly what you want to ask and what you hope to get out of this experience. This also helps the mentor form a better impression of you, which may help you along the way.

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES While it is important that your mentor understands your industry, it is also important they can provide you with a different perspective. It is true that a big part of mentorship is the emotional support, but if you and your mentor see everything similarly, it might weaken a different aspect of mentorship - learning to think and do things distinctly. Even if you don’t agree, a unique point of view can provide you with tools to understand how others may see the situation.

WE ARE EXCITED TO LAUNCH THE FUNNEL INNOVATION MENTORSHIP PROGRAM:

THE FUNNEL COACH The program was created for innovation managers in large organizations,beginners and mid-level innovation professionals. We will provide you with a mentor and a framework to discuss challenges, gain useful tools and have a safe space to share, learn and grow.

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE Different mentors have different expertise, skill sets and strengths. It is possible and even recommended to have more than one mentor.

GIVE BACK

The program will be conducted for 6 months and will include one on one meetings as well as bi-monthly group meetings (total of 3).

The mentor/mentee relationship doesn't necessarily have to be a one way street. Try to think if you can give something back to the mentor - don’t work under the assumption that you have nothing to give.

IF YOU THINK YOU CAN BE A MENTOR, LET US KNOW!

GIVE BACK 2

Mentor sign up form

Mentoring Program sign up form

When you’ve advanced your career and feel you have something to contribute, remember the benefit this experience has given you and try to do the same.

27 THE FUNNEL

MENTEE: HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF THE EXPERIENCE

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF A HACKATHON // The Funnel Team

This piece represents the viewpoint of the different people involved in making this happen.

oads, Asphalt, bridges, government - Innovation is not the first word that comes to mind when thinking about those things. Israel Roads, Netivei Israel, the largest road infrastructure organization in Israel wants to change all that.

road infrastructure community. Mey has worked at Netivei Israel for the past two years. She is in charge of digital and social media and works in the spokesperson and community affairs office managed by Zeev Sharoni.

The company, headed by CEO Nissim Perez controls over 8000 kilometers of roads, 1200 km of bridges and is responsible for over 100 billion NIS worth in property. The company promotes a vision of becoming a leader in the smart road infrastructure community, and a few months ago, for the first time in history threw open its doors to welcome entrepreneurs, startups and people who are passionate about making transportation better. The company provided mentors from within the organization, people who have unique expertise who were excited to share them with the ecosystem.

MEY COHEN JACOBSON GETTING THE BALL ROLLING

This event, that started as a far fetched idea grew into a successful collaboration between entrepreneurs and the established government owned company. Today it is a thriving community that offers entrepreneurs the opportunity for an open continuous dialogue, potential pilots with the organization and cooperation with the Israeli innovation authority and other partners. In the year ahead the organization will be more and more involved in the ecosystem creating partnerships and helping entrepreneurs advance their ideas.

28 THE FUNNEL

We wanted to share the process of deciding on a hackathon and turning it into a thriving community from different angles and try to understand what the next step would be. We spoke to Mey, who manages the Netivei Israel smart

It started out, as these things often do, from a completely different conversation with some of the Branch Directors about how to bring in new energy and ideas to the company. This question stuck with me. My husband had just participated as a mentor in a hackathon for wounded soldiers. I saw the outcomes of that event and what can be accomplished in 24 or 48 hours - where life changing and even groundbreaking solutions can be developed. I had a eureka moment and thought we could do the same at Netivei Israel. At the time we were creating a profile of our customers (road users) for a new website. I realized that people outside the company who use our roads can really help us understand their needs and to find creative solutions to our challenges. That is how the journey of the hackathon began. I started searching for different hackathon formats to get a better understanding of what actually goes on at those types of events. What does it look like when government agencies or offices do it etc. The more I learned the more I realized the impact an event like this could have. At Netivei Israel Traffic is getting longer, the autonomous vehicle is almost here, AI is a potential game changer. Creative solutions and a better channel of communication with a broader range of people are needed.

ZEEV SHARONI - SEEING THE POTENTIAL It took me exactly one minute to understand what Mey was suggesting and how it can fit in with a company like Netivei Israel. I realized this is a huge opportunity to open up the company to a new broader audience, to people who are focused on the world of smart transportation and road infrastructure. The western world of transportation is on the verge of significant change when it comes to using a private vehicle. Road infrastructure is nearing the end of its ability to contain all the vehicles. In the next few years Israel will have to undergo policy change and reform and plan differently for how people will get from point A to point B. The emergence of the autonomous vehicle in the near future will necessitate different kinds of infrastructure readiness. The future will include more public transportation and less and less private vehicles. I realized holding this hackathon and the ones we plan to hold in the future will allow us to interact with this new world of transportation and infrastructure.

MAKING IT HAPPEN 2017-2018 was a big year for the company - opening roads, new railroad, R&D, new corporate responsibility standards. People had their hands full with everyday tasks. Mey: After getting the managementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approval we wanted to make sure we found the right partners within and without the company. "We needed to design the content and figure out the logistics to make sure this event was successful. For me this was one of the most critical points of the process because such a process Requires teamwork for the cooperation of all divisions in the Company. It was amazing to see the collaboration, we got a lot of help from different people in the company from the CFO, to logistics to all the VPs who answered questions, gave their time and were committed to making this successful.

GETTING APPROVAL FROM UPPER MANAGEMENT AND DIRECTOR GENERAL, NISSIM PEREZ

When the idea to hold a hackathon was presented to me

I saw it as an amazing opportunity to share the knowledge that the organization has accumulated over the years. It was about more than asphalt and interchanges, but rather about the ability to look at the long term. We are looking for collective wisdom and to make the public a partner in the second most significant issue (after security) Israel will be dealing with in the upcoming decade. Because we want to improve this field and ourselves in it, we must shift our focus to traffic management, public transportation , smart transportation, cutting edge materials etc. This hackathon and all the events and activities that will follow are a significant step forward for this organization that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m confident will help bring about the much needed change in the transportation culture in Israel. Netivei Israel must be ready for the dramatic changes in transportation usage that are expected to happen in the next few years - more public transportation and less private vehicles. I am happy and proud that a government owned company can create this connection with entrepreneurs and startups.I believe creating such a community is necessary in order to create a continuous and consistent dialogue between the company and its wealth of knowledge and experience and the people who can use that knowledge and experience to develop solutions that will contribute to all the citizens of Israel.

We conducted an evaluation process and chose the challenges we wanted the Hackathon to solve. We decided to focus on roads 2.0, predictive maintenance, smart materials and personalization. There were many moments of uncertainty that came with this new venture, starting with figuring out the contracts, defining the right challenges the company is facing, approving a budget and deciding whether to give out prizes.

Director General, Nissim Perez

29 THE FUNNEL

Once I collected all the information I went to Zeev Sharoni, head of Public Relations department who made this happen.

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION One of the main questions we had starting out was where to hold the hackathon. Mr. Sharoni insisted to have it in the company’s headquarters so that as many people will be involved as possible. This proved to be the right choice and the mentors were available to help the hackathon teams with any question or dilemma. After we made a decision regarding location we sent out an invite to startups and entrepreneurs.

TOMER NAIM BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Netivei Israel works mostly with construction contractors. A world usually referred to as low-tech. It is also a government owned company that works under strict regulation. Holding a hackathon in this type of organization is not simple. I felt that we were not only speaking about innovation but actually working towards it. Helping turn it to a different organization that is open to the startup ecosystem and to new advances in this seemingly low tech field.

MENTORS After figuring out the logistics we needed to define the challenges the hackathon will address and recruit the mentors, who are critical for the success of such an event. Here again, we were surprised by the widespread support we got from people within the company. The organization’s chief scientist, director for R&D and others quickly agreed to take a significant part and support the startups and entrepreneurs that will be attending the hackathon.

EINAT DAHAN HEAD OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AND NATIONAL TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT At first I didn’t really relate to this event, but as the head of the department that is the beating heart of the company and is in charge of addressing public complaints it was important for me to take part and provide all the information.

ERIK ABUTBUL

HEAD OF TRAFFIC CONTROL DEPARTMENT

YEHUDA NETANEL HEAD OF ROAD OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE DIVISION The department I manage, is in charge of over 100 billion NIS of infrastructure. Promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and technology is a main source of growth for any organization. I realized the significance of the hackathon and committed to participating because I understood the importance of incorporating technology into the organization in an effort to form the way road maintenance will be carried out in the next decade.

DANIEL ROD

30 THE FUNNEL

DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENRAL, HEAD OF AUTHORITY FOR AIRPORT PLANNING, DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION I was happy to hear about this initiative. Exposing the organization to new technological developments is an opportunity for both the organization that will be exposed to fresh ideas from entrepreneurs, and for the entrepreneurs themselves who will be able to gain a better understanding of the challenges, benefit from the knowledge and experience of the people within the company and receive an opportunity to get a pilot on one of the roads the company manages.

The hackathon was an interesting process that helped focus the needs of the modern world of transportation and connect it to technological capabilities and creativity. As someone who works in this field I thought holding this event is important.

HACKATHON TIME We had about 30 teams, some signed up together, some were put together by us. We had a committed mentor team from within and without the company. Once we got started we had an active online group where the teams asked to see a mentor who specializes in a certain field, people were running all over the building, everyone was involved. It was really exciting to watch.

31 THE FUNNEL

PEOPLE SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE: ZEEV SHARONI HEAD OF SPOKESPERSON AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS OFFICE The hackathon was an exciting event. Preparing for it we were concerned that no one will show up. At 8:00 am people started coming in, we were excited and relieved to see them, the groups forming and people’s excitement. The concern was replaced by excitement and hope to see what this hackathon will bring. The talks given by people in the company and the mentors’ involvement just enhanced the excitement. Our first hackathon was definitely a resounding success.

ADI GAMLIEL

DIRECTOR FOR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY This experience was very fulfilling. Understanding that this is the beginning of a fascinating process that could impact the entire company.

YEHUDA NETANEL

HEAD OF ROAD OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE DIVISION This was an amazing experience. Interacting with the entrepreneurs, a group of talented young people was extremely productive and gave us ideas for the road ahead.

TOMER NAIM

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR The hackathon itself was a celebration of creativity and activity. For 48 hours we turned into a lab of inventions, software and innovation. We spoke a different language.

DANIEL ROD

DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENRAL, HEAD OF AUTHORITY FOR AIRPORT PLANNING, DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION The hackathon was fascinating and contributed to everyone who took part in it, from within and without the company.

DUDI YAMIN

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT The hackathon was very challenging. There were a lot of ideas and I learned a lot. It was amazing to watch the different groups working to bring their ideas to the next stage.

EINAT DAHAN

HEAD OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AND NATIONAL TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT

Those were a fascinating two days. I learned a lot and discovered a window into the world of technology and hightech that can realize our needs and improve processes.

THE DAY AFTER Mey: The day after the hackathon, was the first day of our community. Along the process we realized that holding one event will not serve our needs. We understood we need to create a process and an open dialogue between the company and the ecosystem. Some of the ideas on how to do that were rejected because of regulation and we understood that the best way to do this is to set up a community that people in the organization as well as startups and entrepreneurs were part of. The main advantage of a community, aside from maintaining an open door is the ability to share the vast organizational knowledge that can assist entrepreneurs in different stages. We are also able to help make connections, so even if an idea is not right for us we can still help the entrepreneur develop it. We actually have two communities - an internal community of mentors who are the basis for the dialogue. These are people from within the company who are volunteering their time and helping lead innovation in the company. The second part of the community is the startups and entrepreneurs.

OUR COMMUNITY IS... (WHAT SOME OF OUR MENTORS SAID)

Part of building a community is finding the best partners. Israel's Innovation Authority is one of our most important partners.

ISRAEL INNOVATION AUTHORITY

Head of Mobility and IOT Sector, Gadi Horenstein

"Necessary infrastructure to continuously face new challenges as they form." - Yehuda Nethanel "A place for dialogue." - Adi Gamliel "One of the hackathon’s main successes, creating a place to share initiatives." - Daniel Rod "An opportunity to fulfill the company vision." - Dudi Yamin "A place to develop practical solutions that will answer the company’s needs in accordance to regulation." - Eric Abutbul,

We were happy to see Netivei Israel’s openness to hear what the industry in general and startups in particular have to say. I was really impressed by the change the company is undergoing and its desire to include new innovative technology in road infrastructure. The Netivei Israel’ community has the ability to promote the young companies in this field. They have the knowledge and information that has been accumulated over decades. A successful community is measured by the knowledge sharing that is carried out by its members, so the dialogue with it can help contribute to young companies who are starting out and need knowledge and experience that can’t be found in books. Netivei Israel can benefit from implementing the technology these companies can offer. The Innovation Authority provides a wide range of tools to companies who are developing groundbreaking technology. The different programs the Innovation Authority offers are geared to a wide range of young and established companies, big and small and from different sectors. This is done in order to promote Israeli industry based on technology.

Head of traffic control department

32 THE FUNNEL

Innovation Authority - Gadi Hornstein

This is a new community and still forming. We have many events planned for the upcoming year. These days the Director General, Nissim Perez approved a yearly work plan for our community. We hope to add more members and mentor as many ideas as possible until they reach implementation phase. combining groundbreaking solutions with the experience and knowledge in the company, all for the benefit of the people of Israel. Mey- Cohen Jacobson Urway community

The next event will be incorporated into the annual national infrastructure summit. We are working in cooperation with different partners and are excited to bring all these plans into fruition and are excited to create even more cooperations.

UPCOMING EVENTS 24.10

meetup with Jonathan Hopkins, Seattle Commute

December 2018 First cycle of mentoring program

28.1

TLV Startup Challenge Mobility vertical

2.4

Annual Hackathon

MY CHAT WITH BOTS

By Talya Vaish, The Funnel Director

IN 2017, 1.4 BILLION PEOPLE INTERACTED WITH ROBOTS THAT PRETENDED TO BE HUMAN.

mongst the hottest technologies CEOs like to play around with these days (we all know the ones I mean: blockchain, machine learning, autonomous vehicles, quantum computing, etc.) it seems that chatbots (an application of AI) is a technology soon to become mainstream, if not ubiquitous, over the next few of years. According to a study by Oracle, 80% of businesses surveyed intend to implement chatbots by 2020. The chatbot market is expected to grow by 35% every year until 2021.

34 THE FUNNEL

WHAT ARE CHATBOTS? WHERE DO THEY LIVE? Chatbots are software that uses AI to mimic human conversation, usually in order to provide some sort of customer service. Deep learning and artificial intelligence algorithms mean that some bots are able to learn from each and every interaction, and incorporate what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve learned in order to continually improve. A chatbot is intelligent when it becomes aware of user needs. Its intelligence is what gives the chatbot

the ability to handle any topic of the conversation. You can find chatbots inside Facebook Messenger, Telegram, texts, email, websites and other platforms. Experts say that chatbots are going to change the way we interact with machines within five years. Currently, most chatbots are used for customer service. where the bots replace customer service representatives or serve as a first line of response (solving the easier problems). Leading the chatbot revolution are the industries that unsurprisingly, place great emphasis on B2C customer service: travel, hospitality, retail and banking are among the sectors spearheading development.

COMPANION CHATBOTS In this case, the chatbots are the core of the business model and the main service provided. An interesting example of this is a chatbot designed to converse with Alzheimer's or dementia patients. While patients maintain conversational capabilities, these conversations tend to lack meaning, and family members find it difficult to maintain them for long. Bots carry on conversations with the patients. These conversations both provide the patients with some connection and allow physicians an opportunity to analyze patterns and the progression of the disease.

CURATION In this world of endless information one of the main services people look for is management and curation of the information. It is a news bot that engages with people over Facebook messenger and provides customized news results based on the preferences and interests they specified.

COMMUNITY BUILDING Some bots are used to help create communities. A mattress company operates a bot between 10:00pm and 05:00 am so people who can’t sleep have someone to talk to. They can discuss movies, food and more. The idea is to create a community for insomniac so they feel closer to the brand.

INFORMAL INFORMATION PROVIDER A weather bot that provides the same information as your favorite weather app, but instead of giving you numbers and statistics, helps answer the important questions such as, “What should I wear?” or “Should I take an umbrella?”

MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS These types of bots ask you questions about symptoms, history, body parameters, etc. to help you reach an understanding of what the probable cause for the symptoms is and also let you know how serious it may be.

STYLE An international clothing chain employs a bot that asks customers questions regarding their style and makes recommendations based on that style.

MARKETING MACHINES Chatbots that supplement commercials or movies and provide people an opportunity to interact with a beloved mascot or character. Both Disney and Marvel have used these when releasing their latest blockbusters.

ARE CHATBOTS OUR FRIENDS? The main challenge bots currently face is that people don’t trust them. When it comes to urgent or sensitive issues, most people insist on talking to a person. In some cases the chatbots replace costumer service agents. In others, they supplement them, allowing agents to deal with the more complicated cases with more attention and greater speed. Another important function they perform is data management and analysis in order to quickly provide meaningful insight. They also provide companies with the means of surviving in a multi-channel world by being able to better utilize their resources.

MANAGEMENT A smart bot can also be used to replace some of the management functions. There is a bot that uses Slack to supervise and manage a team. It can ask team members what they are working on and make sure everything is up to date.

WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN INCORPORATING A CHATBOT INTO YOUR COMPANY Chatbots are becoming easier to create. Although some companies still prefer to develop bots from scratch, many can utilize premade bots or even leverage open source software to create and customize their bots. This means pretty much anyone can now create their own chatbots (sometimes in under ten minutes). According to a UK survey (2017), 48% of people would rather connect to a company using a chat bot rather than any other means of contact. 40% said they don’t care whether it’s a bot or human response as long as they are getting the help they needed - so that answers one of the basic questions do customers even want them.

35 THE FUNNEL

While customer service is a major use for chatbots, companies are finding new and innovative ways to incorporate chatbots into their business model. Here are some of the more innovative uses I’ve seen:

Another question is whether they are profitable. The same survey showed that chatbots are expected to save banks 5070 cents per interaction. A different research (Juniper, 2017) concluded that chatbots could save businesses almost 8 billion dollars per year across industries. Chatbots also provide companies with an additional indirect benefit - allowing executives to focus on strategy and deep thinking (34% of executives said that chatbots freed up their time). Other questions that need to be figured out when incorporating chatbots into our organization are:

WHAT ARE YOUR NEEDS? Do you need a basic customer service bot or something more substantial that uses natural language processing or machine learning? While it is tempting to get more sophisticated bots, they are often not necessary. What tasks do I need my bot to perform - Analytics? Learning? Insights? Most basic chatbots are based on simple automatic processes in which the usual user would use a button to make a choice. Stepping up a level, the bot will be able to use keyword recognition. The level above that would be to understand and react to contextual information. Do I need a platform that allows embedding on a website or mobile app or do I want to use existing platforms like Facebook Messenger or Telegram? Does my bot need to be able to interact with enterprise software?

WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S YOUR DESIRED ROI? Keep in mind that it is often cheaper to create simple bots, but they may not cut costs as effectively as more complicated and thus more expensive bots. Another consideration is the investment in training time for your employees to learn to work with the bots.

WHAT ARE YOUR CAPABILITIES? Do you have the time and technical savvy to invest in a bot? Do you have the computing power? Further reading:

LOOKING OUTSIDE YOUR ORGANIZATION Another important consideration is who are your customers and what is the value proposition you are trying to create for them? How tech savvy are they, and what do they expect from you?

36 THE FUNNEL

Do they need shorter waiting times? More communication channels? More self-service opportunities? A way to have a stronger connection with your brand? How willing are they to experiment and trust newer tech?

https://go.oracle.com/LP=43079?elqCampaignId=7957 5&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_ campaign=Post%20Blast%20%28bii-apps-andplatforms%29:%20Microsoft%2C%20Qualcomm%20 partner%20to%20build%20Windows%2010%20chips%20 %E2%80%94%2080%25%20of%20businesses%20want%20 chatbots%20by%202020%20%E2%80%94%20Google%20 brings%20RCS%20to%20Canada&utm_term=BII%20List%20 Mobile%20ALL https://blog.ubisend.com/optimise-chatbots/chatbotstatistics Useful link - bot search engine - https://thereisabotforthat. com/

T H E

A G E

O F

EXPERIMENTS Interview with Oracle Israel country leader, Uzi Navon

As technology and business become more and more interlinked. large organizations find themselves wondering how to work innovation into the equation. How does technology affect innovation, which in turn affects business, and vice versa? Oracle Israel country leader Uzi Navon sees innovation as two different but interconnected issues. Navon is a native of Tel Aviv. He started out on the technological side of things and moved to the business side, first in presales and then sales. He worked with Oracle as a customer back in his army days and he has been with the company for many years. Navon says innovation has always existed but the span of time between breakthroughs is getting shorter and shorter, which makes innovation that much more important. If you don’t make sure to innovate, you can slide and decline very quickly. You can’t afford not to innovate.

Oracle on Innovation

38 THE FUNNEL

Oracle aims to accelerate the business transformation of its customers through innovation. Oracle’s goal is to enable enterprises to innovate faster, improve customer engagement, drive business-process efficiency and accelerate digital transformation. The Oracle Cloud provides leading-edge capabilities in software as a service, platform as a service, infrastructure as a service, and data as a service. Navon says Oracle places a large emphasis on innovation - it wants to lead- and today innovation is one of the main tools for being a leader. "We know how to help customers innovate and at the same time predict what is next - change and drive change through new ideas, focus on customer needs, offer a good plan of action, and, with the latest and best technologies, enable them to implement their innovative projects,” he said.

Innovation and the cloud The cloud technology enables real and accessible opportunities to serve as building blocks for companies and organizations with which they can embark on innovation and disrupt entire industries. "Our cloud infrastructure offers customers access to a wide range of new and growing technologies such as AI, ML, Blockchain, IoT and others, which enable innovation to be creative, faster, cheaper, and more secure than ever,” Navon said. "Our strategic approach is to make intelligence permeate across all layers of the cloud, so developers can use it to improve the applications. For example: We've developed a natural speech language known as a chatbot to help improve customer engagement and employee involvement in the company.”

An innovation partner Oracle itself works like an aircraft carrier that launches torpedo ships: strong, heavy and slower with smaller units that can quickly reach their target or change course. In many cases, these smaller torpedo ships chart the course for the main company strategy. Navon believes Oracle’s job is to address business challenges: "That's always been [our mission], and especially now, in the current era, we do this by helping customers in the process of digital transformation. Enterprise customers have always trusted us to give them innovation, to help them meet tomorrow’s challenges, while minimizing the risks of development. This is due to Oracle's reliability, and Oracle being a partner that customers may always rely on".

According to Navon, innovation is doing things differently. When it comes to organizational innovation, managers need to enable and encourage innovation, both within the organization and among customers. "That's our mission, as managers. In my organization I keep asking - how can I do things differently. As managers - our job is not the daily operation of the business but how to bring innovation, how to do things differently. Different = innovation," he says.

Oracle Innovation Design Engine Oracleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Innovation Design process stresses measurable business results and collaboration with their customers and is made up of five components. It is a human-centric process that has been developed over several years through multidisciplinary teams and in collaboration with some of Oracleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest customers. The process is geared not towards producing one or two ideas but rather on fostering an innovation culture and creating conditions where it can be an ongoing process.

FRAME Understanding needs in order to create a clear and motivating business challenge.

1-2 weeks of preparation, and then 2 high impact days (analytical workshop)

Ideate Collaborating with clients in order to produce viable and meaningful innovation solutions.

1 week of reflection and evaluation 2 high impact days of ideation workshop

share Communicating and learning to secure business buy-in and drive performance improvement.

1-5 weeks of validation and prototyping 1 high impact day of innovation showcasing

The process is flexible and an organization may enter at different points. The process begins by sitting down with the customer and understanding its pain points and challenges. Often, when speaking to higher level management it is less about technology and more about business - but Navon sees the two inexorably linked. They then create a POC or mini POC (hackathon) and set up a few teams, outline the challenge for them and give them time to work it out. The teams are usually made up of external participants, with people from Oracle serving as mentors and experts.

test Delivering a measurable innovation idea into the market to quickly test results.

2-10 weeks of design sprints and launch and a weekly agile review workshop

scale Deploying the innovation solution across the business in order to optimize performance leading to measurable business results.

An ongoing optimization processes

Uzi Navon, Oracle Israel Country Leader

39 THE FUNNEL

Today, innovation tends to be technology-based. Oracle views itself as a technology partner - the enabler for the innovation of its customers. "Innovation does not have to be expressed only in large and bombastic projects. It can be anything, down to the smallest level. Sometimes, the smallest innovation can contribute the highest value."

Getting rid of the plumbing All these are possible thanks to cloud technology. Cloud computing allows companies to work faster and be more flexible. They no longer need to take care of the hardware and infrastructure--the â&#x20AC;&#x153;plumbingâ&#x20AC;? as Navon calls it. The cloud changes the paradigm of developing a new system within 24 hours. It fits into today's pace of rapid changes and course corrections. It also provides more space for experiments and even failure- it is significantly cheaper to try and develop something new that might fail. Once you are not afraid to fail because the cost of the failure is insignificant, you can create a much better final product. There are challenges of regulation, losing control, security, and cost, but Navon says that it is mostly about a psychological fear of change. For a large company, a move to the cloud is usually a process that takes a few years. In many cases, companies choose hybrid systems which guarantee benefits of both having on-premise physical servers and a cloud playground.

Example - Tevet

40 THE FUNNEL

Tevet is a logistics and storage company that adopted a cloud infrastructure and is now using its new capabilities to innovate, working faster as well as enhancing their connection with their customers. They are sharing more data with the customers, allowing more analysis, and improving the transparency and communication with their customers. This is the first necessary step for them to continue growing in the current market, setting up the basis for developing e-commerce capabilities. Tevet's transition to the cloud is conducted by OCS, Oracle's consulting division, and is managed by Malam Team. Being freed of the hardware and infrastructure constraints allows the customer to shorten time to market, be more customer-centric and devote more time to the business model and to innovation.

Today, a significant aspect of innovation is automation processes, which enable organizations to reduce resources such as workers, time and facilities while focusing on bringing more creativity and innovation to their customers. With “Autonomous”, Oracle has set the next milestone. An organization that does not adopt the automation narrative, will not only remain behind - but is in danger of not existing at all. Autonomous is not only the future, it's the new compass. The motto will be: 'To be or not to be Autonomous'. The autonomous revolution is another in the chain of revolutions: the industrial revolution, the internet revolution, the revolution of the smartphones, the data revolution, the IoT revolution, and now the Autonomous Revolution, which is related to Blockchain, IoT, AI, ML and all emerging technologies. Autonomous is a world view: everything is automatic. Today, in the era of the cloud, the era of startups - there is disruption in all sectors. The autonomous enabler is the cloud that releases organizations, that are engaged in all kinds of bureaucratic procedures, to spare resources. It enables them to seek innovation and channel resources towards innovation. This is the vision of autonomous processes: autonomous database, autonomous transaction processing, autonomous analytics, autonomous security, etc.

Example: Drop Tank, a leading loyalty technology and rewards company, is using Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse to fuel its loyalty solutions for gas station operators. Removing the time-consuming process to provision, secure, monitor and tune its databases, Drop Tank is able to automate data management with highavailability, performance and security features, enabling IT staff to innovate in more business-critical areas that drive growth and create powerful partnerships with gas station operators. They help capture and unlock customer insights through a wide range of data services. Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse enables Drop Tank to easily scale to address new business needs, such as the introduction of a new rewards campaign within just a few hours of notice. Drop Tank has been able to grow its business to support 30x more retail locations over the past four years and manage its business-critical workloads from any participating location. With Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse, Drop Tank expects to handle a 50x increase in sales transactions until the end of next year. Oracle invites its customers to its annual Oracle Open World Conference in San Francisco (Oct. 22-25) which is attended by 60,000 people from around the world, who come to hear innovation stories and to learn how Oracle technologies can help to drive innovation.

oday, a significant aspect of innovation is automation processes, which enable organizations to reduce resources such as workers, time and facilities while focusing on bringing more creativity and innovation to their customers. With “Autonomous”, Oracle has set the next milestone.

For more information on OpenWorld conference: www.oracle.com/openworld

41 THE FUNNEL

The Future is Autonomous

THE CHANGING PARADIGMS OF HR IN THE MILITARY C

hanging the face of human resources is usually one of the first, and often most significant changes organizations undergo as a process of changing their paradigm. This is true for smaller organizations, as it is for large ones. One of the largest such bodies in Israel, The Israeli Defense Forces, Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s military is going through such a change led by the manpower directorate, or HR corp, which, in the last couple of years has undergone a major reform and change in its ecosystem. We spoke with Lt. Colonel Ravit Bunial Gotel, Head of Innovation and Digital in the manpower directorate. Ravit is in charge of innovation and digitization in the corp. She has a rich background working with people from all ages and ranks in the military, spending most of her career with the units in the field. The HR corp. started on this path, not long ago, by conducting an in depth analysis of pain points, where most of the complaints they received originated. They then broke those down to understand where the challenges existed. This process was carried out through the directorate and involves its head, General Moti Almoz.

42 THE FUNNEL

THE PROCESS IS NOT ABOUT DIGITIZATION; IT IS ABOUT CHANGING WAYS OF THOUGHT. The manpower directorate is one of the largest HR and manpower groups in Israel. It oversees all of the manpower in the IDF- from people who are in high school and just beginning their draft process, to about 170,000 soldiers and officers during their compulsory service, to another half a million in the reserves and retirees who the corps. assists in

opening the next chapter in their lives. Since military service is compulsory, this means they are dealing with about half of the population of Israel. Through the years, the branch was criticised internally and externally on their recruitment and service processes. The different types of groups HR is in charge of have very little in common. What they do have in common is how the directorate views them as customers, and its commitment to them. It was intriguing to hear about this customer concept, which included words like excellence in service and shortening response times, more common in for-profit companies than government organizations. It was not something we expect from the military an organization people are bound by law to join. "Defining the people serviced by the directorate as customers is important, even if they do not bring in financial gain", Ravit says. They are what makes the organization strong. While it is common to view the people serving in the military or reserves as a captive audience, Ravit believes people today have many options and that service should be made as accessible as possible. In an effort that started in recent years and signifies a profound paradigm shift, the HR corp. is making efforts to improve its service. It sees as its responsibility to become as accessible as possible to the many different populations--beginning with how they talk to them. They began the process by analyzing the different functions the manpower directorate performs and how they were perceived. They decided to focus on customer service as a base and created a service level agreement. Starting from this basic concept and focusing their effort on the younger population, they understood there was a difficulty in communication between them and their audience: enlistees, 17 and 18-year-olds who live in the world of Whatsapp and Instagram and are used to having all the information

The program includes new websites with personal zones for enlistees and for active duty or retired soldiers that allow the individual to manage the different process and have constructive dialogue with the military system. The program was launched less than a year ago, but through the hard work of Ravit’s unit, it is already starting to show results. Ravit stresses that people going through the enlistment program last year and those who will undergo it next year will have a radically different experience.

what works and what needs to be improved. This selfexamination and self-measurement, and not any program by itself, is the profound change in innovation. As part of this process, Ravit’s unit has conducted a hackathon, inviting anyone who is interested to participate. They created new ideas and internal ventures they are now testing in order to launch them in the near future. HR is about providing service for the individual. It may include anything from placement, returns, scheduling a show or addressing ad hoc problems. It is a varied world and all parts of it are being re-examined to allow more flexibility and accessibility. The process is not about digitization; it is about changing ways of thought. They started out by conducting an in depth analysis of pain points, where most of the complaints they received originated. They then broke those down to understand where the challenges existed. When asked about how she would define success, Ravit said she thinks this process is already successful just by existing. “Once you implement self-examination processes - you will always improve.” We agreed to meet again a year from now to see how the new platform and tools were affecting the directorate and its customers.

Much of the what the work is pushing towards and one of the program’s challenges is gaining people’s trust in this system. One of the ways to do that and a reason this program is different and innovative, is that measurement and control tools are utilized, making sure that all inquiries are answered and shortening reply times. The next step they are planning is personalization understanding that within each of the populations served by the directorate, there are many subgroups with distinct needs. They also plan on adding self-service options, allowing enlistees to become more proactive in the process. Another expansion of the program would be to address the needs of reserve soldiers digitally and online as well. Ravit stresses that this whole process is a massive undertaking, changing the organizational culture of such a large, complicated organization. Beyond the basic perception shift, involves utilizing the right tools,and implementing training for easy use. This process will take a few years to fully come to fruition and will continue to evolve as it is being implemented. What is the emphasis of innovative or creative thinking in the enlistment process? Ravit says that while this is not her area of expertise, many IDF units do carry out innovation. She also says she believes that someone who possesses these qualities will be able to bring them to use no matter where they are, and that today’s IDF more than ever before is open to utilizing these skills. Ravit says the changes in the HR. corp. are part of a shifting HR landscape. They are more conscious of examining and reexamining their existing processes, trying to understand

Lt. Colonel Ravit Bunial Gotel

43 THE FUNNEL

they need at the type of a keyboard.The army was still communicating in the channels it has used for the past decades, so Ravit’s unit designed and launched a program meant to improve the communication by attempting to speak the same language and channels. The program’s, “Enlistee Service in a Digitized World”, first step was to create multiple digital channels of interaction already being used by the customers (enlistees) - from emails, to new call centers and text messages. The vision is that most processes are carried out online, and that services will be available at all times and independent of location. Another major aspect of this reform is more self-service and more proactive options for the individual--basically changing the organization’s entire digital landscape.

CONNECT WITH THE FUNNEL THEFUNNEL@DUCO.IO

THE FUNNEL

Autumn 2018