Unlocking hidden expertise: Creating Transparency for Steag Iqony's Digital Competencies

Open Innovation 

Steag Iqony is launching a new Open Innovation initiative to actively collaborate with startups, scaleups, and tech companies, bringing groundbreaking solutions and fresh perspectives into its business. 

The Challenge 

In today’s fast-paced digital economy, knowledge is the most valuable asset — yet much of it remains hidden. For Steag Iqony, a decentralized organization operating in an increasingly digital work environment, internal expertise and digital competencies are critical to driving innovation.  

However, these resources are often difficult to find and leverage across teams and departments. Studies show that employees spend up to 20% of their time searching for information or expertise — time that could fuel collaboration and progress. At the same time, external consultants are engaged for tasks that internal experts could solve.  

To unlock its full potential, Steag Iqony aims to make internal knowledge and digital skills more transparent and accessible. The goal of this challenge is to design a user-friendly, motivating, and scalable solution that identifies, documents, and connects internal expertise — starting with digital competencies — while fostering voluntary participation and enabling cross-functional collaboration. 

Key-Question  

How can Steag Iqony design and implement a scalable and engaging solution that makes internal digital competencies and knowledge visible, connects knowledge seekers with experts, and motivates employees to voluntarily share their expertise? 

Solution Areas 

Your solution should cover the following aspects: 

1. Knowledge Capture and Structuring 
   Develop ways to systematically collect and maintain data on internal expertise and experiences, while integrating with existing tools such as the intranet, Microsoft Teams, LMS, and the internal ChatGPT API. 
2. Visibility and Matching Mechanisms 
   Create accessible and intuitive ways to present internal knowledge and enable employees to quickly find the right experts for their needs. 
3. Motivation and Engagement 
   Incorporate incentives, user-friendly design, and cultural elements that encourage employees to voluntarily share their expertise and engage with the platform. 
4. Scalability and Integration 
   The solution should expand to other competencies and departments over time, while ensuring GDPR compliance and compatibility with Steag Iqony’s cloud infrastructure Status Quo 

• There is currently no structured system to capture, document, and make internal knowledge and digital competencies visible across departments. 
• An internal ChatGPT system with API is available but not yet strategically integrated into knowledge management. 
• No central database, process, or platform exists to connect knowledge seekers with internal experts or to document who knows what and where they contribute. 
• Existing tools (intranet, Microsoft Teams, LMS) are not yet systematically used for knowledge sharing or management. 
• The company’s leadership has made addressing this gap a strategic priority, with budget allocated for a proof of concept focused initially on digital competencies (e.g., AI, data analytics, agile methods).