The Next Big Idea

From an HR challenge to the launch of a new product: the PepsiCo adventure. The first global innovation game launched at PepsiCo took the employer brand from good to great.

Executive Summary

When talent management meets innovation

In 2019, PepsiCo launched the “Next Big Idea Challenge“, an open
innovation challenge powered by Agorize. The goal: to bring
together all of the group’s employees around a large-scale project and to promote team cohesion around the world. The challenge was also a way to highlight and detect Talent inside of the company.

The Next Big Idea Challenge was a real success since it not only strengthened PepsiCo’s employer brand but also enabled the group to launch a new product on the market in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis!

All employees, whoever they are, were able to propose innovative and disruptive ideas.

A go to market reduced by 15 months

Instead of the usual 24 months to launch a product, a new product was released in unprecedented speed:
9 months!

Sachin Jain

Global Talent Management Director @ PepsiCo

How did the challenge work?

Working in teams of 2-5 people, employees could either decide to be:

Entrepreneur

by submitting a disruptive idea and getting heard.

Expert

by using their specialist skills and expertise to elevate their team’s idea to the next level.

Investor

by virtually investing cash to find the brightest innovation. The wisest investor also won a seat (and vote!) in the Grand Final.

Timeline

How to drive cultural transformation while taking the entire organization along

1.
IDEA GENERATION

2.
FIRST INVESTMENT ROUND

3.
SECOND INVESTMENT ROUND

4.
JURY SELECTION & FINALISTS PREPARATION

5.
GRAND FINAL

The submitted ideas should respond to one of the following themes:

3 teams were finally selected among 1117 candidates to pitch their ideas to senior leaders as part of the Grand Finale in New York

From an HR driven challenge to an effective disruptive Innovation

Thanks to the open innovation challenge initially carried out to unite its teams around the world, PepsiCo was able to launch a promising new product in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis.

This operation was a success: it reduced costs and risks and enhanced the employer brand while bringing teams together around a challenge.

No one knows your business better than your people!

Intrapreneurship as a lever for growth and team cohesion

The Next Big Idea Challenge was part of PepsiCo’s HR and Innovation strategy. Each employee was able to reveal his or her entrepreneurial spirit through a global, cross-business challenge.

The resilience of individuals is what structures an organization’s ability to overcome a crisis and get back to work during and after a crisis. Through this open innovation initiative, Agorize and PepsiCo proved that it was possible to bring together all the employees of a global group, and to create frugal innovation while limiting risks in the aftermath of a major global crisis.

Conclusion

Intrapreneurship serving a global strategy

Open Innovation through intrapreneurship allowed PepsiCo to become 3 things:

The company as a talent detector

Need to recruit and identify high-potential Talent
Need to stimulate and retain Talent
Bringing together talents around common values, challenges and cultures

The company as a catalyst

The company is seen as a place to live and learn constantly
Recognition and autonomy quest
More than work: the employee is looking for meaning

The company as a disrupter of its own business model

Constant need to develop new viable projects at lower costs
Race for innovation to stay competitive
Employees are the ones who know your company best

Intrapreneurship is a powerful tool that brings together:

Employee engagement

Lifelong learning
Common culture
Growing autonomy

Operational efficiency

Better knowledge of the company and its market
Pro-activity and spirit of innovation

Participative management

Common Goal
Trust and transparency
Employee commitment

Overcoming the unexpected with the help of your employees

Download a complementary copy and learn how Employee Driven Innovation (EDI) within an organisation helps overcome and regain function during and after a crisis.