In this edition fo Ask the Expert, we talk to Vanessa Estorach, Digital Business Transformation Lead at Sanofi and Co-Founder of Women in Mobile.
Vanessa, who are you and dwhat do you do?
I am Vanessa Estorach Cavaller and I lead the digital transformation in the Global Digital IA area at Sanofi. My focus is on creating agile teams and introducing the organisation and product culture in this area. I have been working on digital and innovative products for the last 15 years of my career.
In your words, what does innovation mean?
For me, innovation is what I have been doing since I started my professional career: learn, evolve and continuously improve. I believe that innovation is in the DNA of people who work in technology because it is an industry that is constantly evolving and introducing new things. In other industries, innovation is seen as disruption and change, although I believe that this meaning is changing as digitalisation advances and becomes standard.
What is the meaning of digital culture?
Digital culture encompasses all the habits, behaviours and activities that we do with technology. In my opinion, it means transferring the culture from the street to companies, as we are already immersed in a digital culture at home, at school and with our friends.
In your experience, what are the main challenges a company faces when creating a digital culture?
Changing the way we work and establishing a digital culture, even if it is not something we are unfamiliar with —because we already have a digital culture outside the company— is difficult. We don't like change. In fact, we are not programmed to change as a species and this is what has protected us from threats for thousands of years. Apart from change, the other challenge is upskilling: that everyone has the knowledge. This for me is the easy part.
How does internal communication relate to the digital transformation of companies?
Internal communication is key in the digital transformation of companies. And there is also a cultural change in this communication: until now, most communication was top-down, from management to employees. Now, what most companies are promoting is a culture of multi-sided communication, at all levels. This way, no matter who you are in the company, you have a voice.
How relevant is internal communication within companies?
The value to companies is enormous, including:
- Being able to have direct feedback from anyone within your organisation givesyou a lot of visibility and knowledge.
- Having a closer link between the company and its employees, which increases thefeeling of belonging.
- Facilitating the promotion of the(digital) culture among everyone in the organisation.
