Brightidea Insights: The Idea Exchange at UBS

In its June 2009 edition. Mlab’s bi-monthly magazine, Labnotes, in conjunction with London Business School published an in-depth piece on the successful roll-out of The Idea Exchange at UBS. Having been personally involved with setting up and launching the campaign at UBS, I’d like to share some basic insights that even the most seasoned administrators can be reminded of that helped shape the foundation for the Idea Exchange.

 

Brightidea was closely tied to the entire process of both Data Services Group (DSG) and Exchange Traded Derivatives (ETD) division from the configuration and best practice standpoint. Brightidea worked closely with the DSG and the ETD divisions to define and optimize configurations and best practices. We provided hands on experience to help turn their vision into reality. Prior to the launch, we went on site to work side by side with the UBS team. Based on the knowledge gained through similar rollouts, we were able to make suggestions regarding optimal features and workflows. Below are some of the key pieces of advice given to UBS for the Idea Exchange:

Set Expectations

Setting expectations for individual campaigns is crucial because it affects the nature and quality of the ideas submitted and the ability to implement them in the end. Being more focused and streamlined on targeted campaign topics, usually yields better results in terms of the amount of ideas received and their overall quality.

 

Consider Intellectual Property

There are multiple methods of conveying statements on intellectual property throughout the software. The challenge lies in providing for the clients’ need to cover their bases from a legal standpoint without discouraging participation. For UBS, we recommended a one-time check-box on the legal terms at the signup stage rather than having users agree to the terms every time someone submits an idea.

 

Seed the Campaign

With every campaign launch, I always suggest options to ensure a campaign starts with ideas already in the system. Empty systems discourage first-time submitters and can confuse participants on the nature and comprehensiveness of ideas required for submissions. Seeding ideas into the system provides users with valuable examples of ideas the campaign is seeking. For instance, UBS chose to host an in-person meeting with 50 attendees to generate ideas for the Idea Exchange.

 

 Align Promoters

Finding widely recognized individuals, and getting them involved with the campaign early on, will help campaign promotion and increase adoption rates. Promoters of the campaign can be senior level executives at the top of an organization or simply recognizable people within smaller departments or groups in the company (as was the case with UBS).

 

Define Metrics

At the onset of a campaign, it is important to decide the metrics which will be used to evaluate its success. Participation is a popular metric used by UBS to measure the success of the Idea Exchange. In any given campaign one must consider the larger goals while defining metrics. For instance, if the goal is a large number of participants and not necessarily the quality of ideas then a broader definition of participation should be identified that considers logins, voting, comments, and posting as all the forms of participation. On average, a 25%-45% participation rate is viewed as positive, but again it all depends on what the key metric is and how it is defined.

 

Emphasize Implementation

It is important to think about implementation early on in determining the subject of your campaign. Consider whether you have the resources, in terms of a back-end management review process and monetary resources to properly sort and roll-out ideas once collected. Once the campaign is in-progress, continuing to emphasize implementation lets participants know ideas don’t end up in some ‘black hole’. In the end, the more focused on implementation your campaign is, the more you will be able to build momentum and ensure the success of future campaigns.

 

To view the whole Labnotes article on The Idea Exchange at UBS click here

James Pasmantier is Brightidea’s Innovation Management Expert and VP of Client Services. With over 12 years as an innovation expert, he deals regularly with clients' campaign setup and on-going consulting.

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