Swiss Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS)
The new Idea and Innovation Management of the DDPS
At a Glance
Company
- Name: Swiss Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS)
(Eidgenössisches Department für Verteidigung, Bevölkerungsschutz und Sport (VBS) - Employees: Approximately 12,000 (of which 70% civil servants, 30% military)
- Internet: www.vbs.ch
What They Needed
- Existing idea management system was not well-established internally; software was technically isolated, outdated, and too expensive to maintain
- A new innovation management system was viewed as an important codetermination and contributory tool for those who work at DDPS
- New software was needed as part of the efforts to improve company culture
Why They Chose target Idea Management
- Seamless integration of target solution in the SAP software environment
- Same access and “look and feel” of the existing portal for users
- Simple, easy to use, multilingual solution
- Comprehensive, automated, and customizable support for DDPS processes
- Versatile yet complete coverage of the employee suggestion program and continuous improvement processes
“The collaboration with target and as well as its current software offering completely met our needs. The support and experience the target colleagues provided in our project were enormously important and helpful. The project was completed in time, on budget, and at high quality – implementing those three elements simultaneously is not a given in today’s IT landscape. If we had to choose a provider again, we would definitely work with target and its product.”
Philippe Matter
Executive Master of Business Administration /
Innovation Manager DDPS
(Head of Competence Center Human Resources in
the Federal Personnel Office in the Federal Department
of Finance)
The challenge
The DDPS provides services that support basic functions for the country of Switzerland. The organization relies on goal-oriented professionals to work independently. It sees innovation management as an important tool for employee codetermination and contribution. The organization’s existing IT tool was outdated and could not fulfill the expectations required by a functional redesign of its idea management. The organization was looking for a new solution that met both technical and functional requirements, that fit well with the DDPS strategy, and that had a holistic yet sustainable scope.
The solution
After a World Trade Organization (WTO) call for proposals, the implementation contract was awarded to target software solution at the end of March 2014. After in-depth analysis of customer requirements, technical implementation and operation began in November 2014. It was introduced internally at DDPS in February 2015. The new solution is available to DDPS employees in the existing portal in its familiar design. It is both easy to use and tailored to the needs of the role owners; the switch to the new platform was effortless. The new solution has been positively received by employees in various functions and roles.
DDPS found collaboration with target, especially the uncomplicated support, a deciding factor in the implementation of the project in a relative short period of time. Philippe Matter, Innovation Manager (Executive MBA) at DDPS, summarized the project as follows: “In an increasingly complex world of IT landscape of a company, it is essential that new processes and systems be embedded into an existing IT infrastructure. It is also indispensable for large enterprises to offer a simple, efficient, and flexible instrument today to all of its employees for corporate idea management and continuous improvement processes, so that they can actively participate in the overall development and improvement of a company. target Idea Management offered both.”
