Orange Business launches its HR Innovation Lab to promote co-innovation within the HR ecosystem

  • An open and agile think-tank Lab to anticipate the transformation of human resources through new technologies

Orange Business inaugurated its HR Innovation Lab yesterday during the Orange Business Summit, an annual customer event in Paris with more than 1,000 in attendance. The Lab is in line with its strong commitment to co-innovating with clients by harnessing technologies and human capabilities to support their specific business needs.

This experimental think-tank’s mission is to bring together all the diversity of the HR ecosystem, from large to small businesses, self-employed professionals, start-ups and employees. It aims to anticipate how technological innovations, such as 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, etc., will transform human resources – in terms of tools and skills – the way we work, our employee experience, and our cultures.

Thanks to its open mindset and way of operating, inspired by the world of start-ups, the HR Innovation Lab will move forward with an agile, creative and entrepreneurial approach. It will also measure the impact of technology on business and identify co-innovation projects and experimental initiatives on which to focus. The findings from its members’ research and reviews will be published and shared.

A diverse selection of stakeholders, including academics, sociologists, experts and researchers from Orange Labs, will discuss trends, such as the future of work, innovation culture, employer attractiveness, skills management, learning businesses and employee experience, or even the societal engagement within the company.

Webinars, HR circles and learning expeditions will also be organized over the coming months in Silicon Valley, thanks in particular to the analysts from Orange Silicon Valley, as well as in Asia and Europe.

“The launch of this Lab is in line with our strategy to support both our employees with the evolution of their jobs and work environment and also our customers, whom we help succeed in their digital transformation,” indique Mechtild Walser Ertel, Vice-Présidente Exécutive des ressources humaines d’Orange Business. “This Lab is also a great opportunity for HR, to exchange and look ahead to the future, while ensuring that the human aspect is always at the heart of our decisions, especially when technology is constantly accelerating. Opening ourselves up, sharing with our peers, supporting digital transformation, designing tomorrow’s organizations and planning ahead are all challenges for human resources.”