Forsta, a global provider of market research, CX, and employee experience (EX) technology, will broaden its solution set via the recently announced acquisition of HelloIgnite. HelloIgnite offers a collaboration platform that helps companies collect, share, and manage ideas from employees.
Crowdsourcing is becoming an important part of employee listening, and it is where a lot of innovative process and product improvements are coming from for both the customer and employee segments. Employees need to not just be stakeholders in EX; they should be looked at as design partners.
Related Article: Forsta Extends the Reach of its CX Solutions to Market Research Agencies
Dash Research recently spoke with Forsta Chief Product Officer Brian Bhuta, as well as Joel Morris, who will be joining Forsta as VP, Product, after having served as HelloIgnite’s CEO. HelloIgnite’s origins came from the founders working with Fortune 100 companies, and seeing the potential to use technology to enhance collaboration and move ideas to action.
Says Morris, “We saw an opportunity to allow employees to be part of the innovation process, wherever they are located in the world and in whatever manner they work on a day-to-day basis, whether it be remote, in-office, or deskless.” HelloIgnite has worked with global organizations and Fortune 100 clients across a variety of industries.
Bhuta shares that this acquisition helps Forsta fill a growing “ask” from their customers–how can a company best engage its employees in translating data to action? According to Bhuta, “The ability to take in data, visualize it, and take action has become even more important in the remote world. There are fewer people sitting in meetings together white boarding out ideas, and fewer casual in-person interactions in general. This technology helps both employees and employers by allowing those who are often closest to the action with customers, or perhaps experiencing some internal operational inefficiencies to have their voices heard. And more importantly, to see action being taken.”
Forsta was itself a HelloIgnite client, leveraging the company’s technology to support innovation in its own enterprise. “From an employer point of view, this technology allows us to see what will have the biggest impact,” says Bhuta. “Being able to hear from many different people means we aren’t just hearing from the loudest voices; we are hearing from many different voices.”
From an employee point of view, it was easy to use with minimal training. One of the benefits Forsta employees saw was being able to hear other people’s ideas, not just those of management. Employees wanted to hear their colleagues’ ideas, and were able to feed off that collaboration.
According to Morris, employers can issue specific challenges, which could be a time-constrained answer to a specific issue. As an example, it could be something creative for an upcoming marketing effort, or input into a new feature being launched on a product road map. They also have an always-on component where ideas can be shared on any topic an employee would like. The solution has proprietary ranking mechanisms to help see what rises to the top. Innovations can often result in cost savings and revenue generation for the employer.
Aside from the employer-centered benefits, this type of collaboration solution can be a valuable tool to build connection, purpose, and belonging in an employee population. Morris says, “This collaborative technology enhances an employee’s experience and relationship with their employer by feeling appreciated and engaged via their contributions and their voice being heard. It also helps contribute to a sense of transparency that employees are desiring these days, as well as trust in their employer when they see the information-to-action loop closed.”
For Forsta, this acquisition helps to broaden its HX (Human Experience) Platform, and can help to combine employee voice on customer issues, helping to break down silos between the two areas. The solution will be integrated into Forsta’s HX platform, and the HelloIgnite technology is immediately available to both current and potential customers.
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Author Information
As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.
She brings more than 20 years of experience in technology research and marketing; prior to her current role, she was a Research Analyst at Omdia, authoring market and ecosystem reports on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and User Interface technologies. Sherril was previously Manager of Market Research at Intrado Life and Safety, providing competitive analysis and intelligence, business development support, and analyst relations.
Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.
