British tech retailer Currys has announced plans to expand its new AI-powered, staff-led ideas platform.
The platform, called ‘the Pitch’, enables employees to suggest improvements, flag inefficiencies, and solve everyday problems.
The technology, developed by Sideways 6, is already available to 5,000 staff members across the tech retailer’s supply chain and services teams.
Since launch, 450 ideas have been submitted by employees to ‘the Pitch’ platform, with 100 of these in progress.
Following this success, the company has said it plans to expand the platform to a further 9,000 employees by the end of the financial year.
Currys currently employees 24,000 colleagues and has more than 700 stores across six countries.
The expansion will spans stores, support functions, digital operations, contact centres and Currys’ third-party partner, Concentrix.
Ideas implemented so far including improving in-house training processes and console repairs.
The AI-driven platform, which is fully embedded in Microsoft Teams, streamlines ideas by automatically grouping similar suggestions and identifying trends.
“Our colleagues are our greatest asset; close to our customers, they are full of ideas, insights and practical suggestions,” said Lindsay Haselhurst, Chief Operating Officer, Currys. “We’ve always believed in the value of colleague ideas but struggled to consistently capture, assess, action and track them. This is where ‘the Pitch’ has been a game changer for us.”
In May, Currys announced its largest ever investment in in-store security with the rollout of headsets across stores nationwide.
The headsets, which have been rolled out to all in-store employees, aim to help staff stay better connected and therefore safer on the shop floor amidst a rise in shoplifting and abuse incidents across the retail industry.
