Ian Spearing is global innovation and technology leader at EY. Prior to joining the organisation in 2017, he held roles at British Airways, Eurostar and Amadeus. In June this year he was one of four judges assessing seven participants at Business Travel Show Europe's Innovation Faceoff

Our industry thrives on technological innovation and collaboration and, right now, we need it more than ever. I’m privileged to have a role focused on delivering new tools and processes within a large travel programme, but there’s scope for effective change and innovation within organisations of all sizes.

Two of my personal highlights last year were the deployment of a blockchain solution enabling EY people to book leisure travel with suppliers and the provision of our sustainable travel approval tool.

The latter is an example of one way in which we bring new tech into our travel programme. We could see that the carbon emissions information displayed in our booking tool wasn’t really resonating with travellers and we wanted to do something more visual that steers them towards greener choices.

EY teams worked with another technology company to introduce an overlay that sits on top of our pre-trip approval tool which gives a simple visual indicator of how green an itinerary or proposed trip is. There’s also nudge messaging about taking the train instead of a plane – or meeting virtually – and, with gamification, we issue users reward badges if they make the most sustainable choice.

What we’ve seen is an absolute reduction in day trips being taken in the markets where we’ve deployed the overlay, and we’ve seen the use of rail travel increase from 18 to 34 per cent where it’s feasible. We are seeing a real shift in behaviour based on visual representation of the trip.

We built the tool for internal use but it’ll be taken to market. We’re client zero and we’ve been able to prove it works and demonstrated the kind of results it can deliver. With the size of our organisation, we’re the perfect test bed.

Multiple means of innovating

Now, I hear you say “but you work at EY and have significant resources behind you”, and that is something I’m acutely aware of and grateful for. We’re not a tech organisation per se but we do have very talented automation teams. Nevertheless, collaborating with technology companies is by no means our default approach to developing new tech.

In fact, we normally kick off a new tech project by going out to all our existing suppliers to see how they might meet our needs. The TMC is normally our first port of call to see if they offer what we want – or something that might be developed in that direction. If they don’t, we’ll scan the market for start-ups and tech providers.

But you needn’t let a lack of human resource and investment hold back your own ambitions. It’s been said that the pursuit of perfection impedes improvement and I believe that to be true. Don’t be deterred by unrealistic expectations of instant success. Failing fast will get you there quicker. We must all be comfortable with trying new things even if they are not 100 per cent perfect – 70 per cent is an achievement.

A lot of the innovations we’ve come up with take us in new directions we weren’t expecting. After deploying a new tool or process we’ve often started to unearth different traveller behaviours that go on to inform future strategy.

A case in point is when we developed a tool that enabled our travellers to see which of their colleagues were on business in the same city at the same time so they could meet socially with them. It was consuming the itineraries of our travellers and then populating a map of who was where. We thought it was going to be a great cultural connecting and collaboration tool and we got some traction, but not as much as we hoped. But what it did do was pivot into something else that has proven very successful.

Just getting started

So, what paths can others tread? My advice is to start close to home and see what internal resources you have, don’t overcomplicate your goals, and don’t expect instant success. With budgets being tight, keep it simple, closely track progress and goals, and don’t worry about it being perfect because there will be learnings however it goes. Overcomplicating things can be expensive and can make it more likely to break. Get over the fear of getting started.

We’ve seen incremental gains by simply testing things. Take EY blockchain tech or our EY Lobby, for example – we didn’t know they were going to be so successful. And when you get quality feedback – positive or otherwise – it also delivers the confidence to keep building on top.

Look at your internal platforms that have inbuilt capabilities. If your systems are Microsoft-based explore Power Apps or how SharePoint can be put to good use. We have some quite complex EY technology but we actually also have a lot of processes running off SharePoint – you don’t need technical engineers for that.

We also need people in the industry to be confident in asking their suppliers what’s possible – challenge them! Do all travel managers really know what the TMC could offer or what start-ups, disruptors and tech providers outside of the traditional landscape are capable of? Go and ask what they can provide and see what fits. Firstly, is there something already available? Next, is there anything that could be adapted? Lastly, can they build it?

Our industry thrives on innovation – as individual organisations but, even better, in collaboration. We have so many talented people in the industry and I see a very bright future for it. When we get together we really are greater than the sum of our parts.

• The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organisation or its member firms.