In this blog post, I will discuss Switzerland’s record in innovation, and how Comfone supports this through Design Thinking.
I am originally from Spain, and my path led me to Switzerland when I married a Swiss guy.
I have to admit that before I moved here, the only things I knew about this country were clichés… cows, chocolate, mountains, punctuality…
But, once I started to live here and got to know the place better, I realised that this small country has way more to offer than just nice views and trains that run on time!
Innovation: Switzerland's superpower
Switzerland’s superpower is innovation.
Could you image that it has been ranked as the most innovative country in the world for the last 9 years by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) index.
What makes Switzerland so innovative?
Switzerland has a proud history of innovation and ensures that it continues long into the future. The country spends 3% of its GDP on Research and Development, which is one of the highest percentages in the world!
Direct democracy
One of the real secrets to Swiss success is that everyone has a voice, and this voice matters.
Switzerland is a rare example of a country with direct democracy. This allows the electorate (any Swiss citizen aged 18 and over) to express their opinion on decisions taken by the federal parliament, and to propose amendments to the Federal Constitution.
The approach is very ‘bottom- up’, so the government doesn’t dictate or impose but instead invites individuals with innovative ideas to come forward. There is then an open dialogue where everyone considers what is best.
Today what I love the most about Switzerland is that it is not afraid to reinvent itself, and is constantly changing, adapting and progressing.
Sales Operations at Comfone
As a Swiss company, Comfone reflects the country’s innovative spirit.
I am a member of Sales Operations team, and my job as Sales & Project Coordinator has two distinct angles.
Let me explain them both…
Sales perspective
I support the Sales process from beginning to end. My role includes creating new reports and product hierarchies, delivering sales analysis, tenders and processing customer paperwork.
The Sales and Marketing team also work closely together, so in my Sales capacity I enjoy unleashing my creativity!
As a team, we start by brainstorming, and eventually create robust marketing strategies, whether it’s in providing web content, fresh marketing concepts or new customer campaigns. I enjoy dreaming up new business gifts and angles that I think our customers and prospects would enjoy.
Project perspective
I work on numerous commercial operations projects related to business processes and system implementation.
I coordinate and communicate with the different departments at Comfone in order to achieve goals, meet criteria and create roadmaps to ensure the success of the project.
I enjoy helping to develop strategies and optimise business processes which involve a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
In a nutshell, we create a project team, which then formulates and presents project plans using agile methodology in order to work and maintain alignment with product and business owners.
Comfone is an exciting place to work, and as such I am always motivated to go beyond my job title.
Design thinking
I am trained in Design Thinking, so have been able to introduce agile methodologies to my colleagues in order to find new solutions.
Even though I have only worked at Comfone for a year, I have had the chance to make an impact by participating actively in some digitalization projects, providing ideas, suggestions, and challenging the way that things have previously been done.
I have conducted creative workshops and created a team within Comfone to challenge internal processes that have always been done a certain way.
By harnessing the collective power of the various skills and expertise of the diverse team, we were able to accomplish real change together, and accelerate processes.
I am learning things that I never could have imagined before starting at Comfone, and thanks to this team I have been able to discover much more about complex services, systems and processes!
The passion of my leaders has inspired me to improve, and going forward, I plan to use this improvement to empower others by encouraging them to adapt to the changes.
I’m certain that this can lead to even more innovation in the future!
