In-house entrepreneurship
Five classes of intrapreneurs
Since 2018, the People'sLab4Good has enabled BNP Paribas employees to transform a positive impact business idea into a "ready to test" project in the Group's business lines.
Through this programme, 87 intrapreneurs have been trained in five classes. They are trained in start-up methodologies applied to the social and solidarity-based economy and access to inspiring resources (IntraTips videos, Intrapreneurs4Good and Inspirational Cafés podcasts, etc.).
"In 5 years, the People'sLab4Good has created a community of people who, in their daily professional lives, are looking for solutions that have an impact on both the Group and the planet, individuals and territories. People from the field who take initiatives as intrapreneurs are very valuable for a company."
Three directions for individual and collective transformation and innovation
The goal of the People'sLab4Good is threefold: first of all, to promote the "people transformation" towards a fairer economy; to step up the pace of "business4Good" and to consolidate the employer brand as attractive. The intrapreneurs of the People'sLab4Good are mainly involved in three areas of social action, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: access to education and equal opportunities, environmental protection as well as microfinance and support for entrepreneurship.
"Around a third of the projects that come out of our incubator are then taken up by our business lines, explains Nathalie Crosnier, Head of the People'sLab4Good programme. They enrich the impact offerings and services, effectively contributing to the "S" in our GTS 2025 strategic plan - Growth, Technology, Sustainability."
And what happens when a project doesn't succeed? "Even in this case, the impact is real, both at the individual and collective level, she says. The intrapreneurs leave with a new mindset, new knowledge and skills and a new culture for sustainable innovation. With this knowledge, they raise awareness among their peers and their teams, and spread the desire to act and to think differently about managing their projects."
An approach rich in lessons learned... as confirmed by Emmanuelle Fénard and Catherine Wurth. Many of the intrapreneurs, including Barbara Feaugas, Jimmy Corneille and Françoise Orand, have shared their experiences, via the series "Intrapreneur... and what next?" and tell us about what intrapreneurship has changed for them and those around them.
Looking ahead with training modules on the essentials of impact intrapreneurship
Several deployment options are being studied for the next stage of this adventure. The first will involve providing employees with training modules on the essentials of impact intrapreneurship that are accessible to all, and the second will see the development of an English-language offer. Finally, the third aims to continue to open up the #Intrapreneurs4Good coalition, which began in 2020, to new companies.
In short, the People'sLab4Good applies its own recipe and is 'intrapreneurial'.
It does, however, retain the ingredients that make up its DNA: the exploratory design thinking method, the test & learn mode and networking with the ecosystem. Every year, the People'sLab4Good launches a new call for applications to enable employees to push the booundaries.
"As highly committed individuals, the intrapreneurs of the People'sLab4Good were the first ambassadors of the agile method. It's up to us to help them bring their projects to life!"
Sofia Merlo, Head of Group Human Resources
