New ideas need space. Space to develop and grow. Important here: different perspectives, personal feedback, teamwork and practical testing. Deutsche Telekom promotes this internally with open events such as Barcamps, Hackathons and Promptathons. In other words, far beyond the classic "chair circle". And above all: across (departmental) boundaries and hierarchies - and also with customers.
Over 200,000 people work at Deutsche Telekom in areas ranging from technology, service and IT to human resources, finance and innovation. People of different origins, backgrounds and specializations, in different countries, life phases and situations. This is the best breeding ground for working on innovations. Provided that the forces come together. To this end, Deutsche Telekom relies on a mix of event formats.
Barcamp: the "un" conference At a barcamp, the participants themselves determine the content of their meeting. They work together on a topic in so-called sessions. There are usually so many topics that many sessions take place in parallel. The session organizers therefore promote their topic in advance to the attendees, who then decide what they would like to participate in. Unlike traditional conferences, such "unconferences" are not about being lectured at from the front. Instead, they are about exchanging ideas, gathering inspiration, questioning things and initiating solutions to problems - and above all: networking. At Deutsche Telekom, for example, there are barcamps on artificial intelligence. And all about "human-centered technology". The technical term refers to the Group-wide engagement for new technologies that should always benefit people and never harm them.
Promptahon: "on a first-name basis" with Generative AI
When working with Generative AI was still new, Deutsche Telekom was perhaps the first company to come up with its "Promptathon" for employees. "Prompt" is the technical term for the tasks we set the AI. The suffix "-thon" comes from "marathon". A bit of competition is also part of it. The Promptathon involves joining forces to solve tasks with AI within a certain time. Aha experience included: the Promptathon quickly shows that it's all about the mix. Where AI expertise comes together with curiosity, linguistic talent and broad background knowledge, the best results are achieved.
"Hacka- ... what?" - Coding for all it's worth
Collegial competition is also in the air at the "Hackathon". Here too: "-thon" stands for marathon. And "hack" means trick. The dictionary soberly describes this event, which often lasts several days, as a "workshop or competition between programmers". It is actually an inventors' party, usually initiated by software developers themselves. In teams, they develop solutions to everyday problems in code and compete for the best results. As creative as they are intense. At a "human-centered technology" hackathon, for example, a topic from a previous barcamp discussion was transformed into software: green coding. The winning team launched a tool that uncovers inefficient and therefore energy-guzzling programming and thus allows it to be improved.
At eye level with the Board of Management
How can Deutsche Telekom gear its technologies even more towards people? Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology & Innovation, regularly discusses this question with interested employees from all areas of the Group - at eye level in a working group format. "My aim is to listen carefully to the employees in the company. What ideas do you have on how we can consistently align our products and services with their benefits for people?" says Nemat, formulating the central question. This is not just about developing new products, but also about improving existing processes and products to benefit people. The discussion and networking opportunities in such a format provide a tailwind, as the example of "green coding" shows.
"Customer Café": more than just coffee with customers
It's obvious: if you develop products at Deutsche Telekom, it's best to do so together with those for whom the products are intended. For example, at the so-called "Customer Café". There, for example, chatbot answers to concerns and questions about Deutsche Telekom products are tested directly in interviews: it's all about spontaneous feedback on specific ideas and prototypes. At the same time, Deutsche Telekom employees learn more about customers' habits, preferences, dislikes and everyday circumstances.
"Ideenschmiede" (Think tank): Innovative spirit from "outside"
Deutsche Telekom employees also develop and improve their products and services together with and for users in the so called Ideenschmiede. Anyone and everyone can present, discuss and evaluate suggestions. Many innovations are then incorporated into Telekom products and services. People participate both online and on site at workshop events throughout Germany.
