Successfully towards the future: How the HGV is driving innovation within the association and for companies in South Tyrol
HGV is the first point of contact for South Tyrol’s hospitality industry, a strong and competent service provider and source of inspiration for members and customers as well as a political, social, and economic mouthpiece. It is the first point of contact for the hospitality industry in South Tyrol. With its vision for the future, the HGV aims to position the catering and hotel industry as the most promising sustainable economic sector in South Tyrol.
Challenge: Strengthening future competence – The initial spark for innovation
HGV faced the challenge of strengthening the understanding of innovation and future topics among its member companies and within the association. The aim was to establish an innovation staff unit and an innovation advisory service. Decision-makers, officials and member companies were to be actively involved in the development of new advisory services. In addition, the aim was to build up innovation knowledge and methodological skills within the association.
The approach – integration & participation
To strengthen HGV’s innovative capacity in the long term, we have adopted a comprehensive, integrative approach. Targeted measures and participative formats were used to create a broad understanding of innovation and lay the foundation for forward-looking advisory services:
- Multi-stakeholder approach
A basic understanding of innovation was developed among all participants through a variety of participatory formats. Employees from all departments – from accounting and management consulting to IT and legal – as well as stakeholders, e.g. decision-makers, officials, and businesses from the hotel and catering industry in South Tyrol were involved. - Innovation kick-off for managers
A kick-off event for managers served as an introduction to the topic of innovation. Here we discussed and worked on relevant future trends to optimally prepare businesses and employees for upcoming challenges. - Involvement of the member companies
Member companies were involved via the HYVE Crowd to gain insights into current challenges and future drivers in the industry - 1-day sprint & training format
An intensive sprint and training day enabled employees from various specialist areas of the association to develop four concepts for improving communication with members. We used the user-centered design thinking process for this. - Concept development with the core project team
Together with the core project team, we developed consulting services on the topic of innovation for member companies. The focus was on topics such as digitalization, future scenarios, research & development collaborations, product development, and building a community around future topics. - Concept validation
The new advisory services were validated at the national committee meeting to confirm their relevance and benefits for member companies. - Regular coaching
The innovation unit received regular coaching to ensure the transfer of knowledge and the implementation of the innovation offerings.
Result: From vision to reality – tangible successes in HGV
HGV has secured its future viability through its innovation initiative. The successful implementation of training and management workshops significantly sharpened the participants’ knowledge of innovation, foresight, and new technologies.
Ongoing coaching for those responsible for innovation ensures the continuous development and implementation of new approaches. In addition, nine information and advisory services were developed for member companies, two of which – the “Future Workshop” and the “Digi-Check” – have already been successfully implemented. These measures not only strengthened knowledge within the association and among member companies but also provided concrete, future-oriented solutions.
Targeted measures and participative formats created a broad understanding of innovation and the basis for forward-looking advisory services from HGV.
