Hutt St Centre is not-for-profit organisation that seeks to help people facing homelessness to rebuild their lives, without judgement. Each year Hutt St Centre serves up to 40,000 meals and offers social work and support services to nearly 2,000 people. Working in partnership with clients, Hutt St Centre provides case management, housing support and life skills through education, training and employment services as key pathways out of homelessness.
Olivia Betro is a Social Enterprise Coordinator and engagement Navigator at Hutt St Centre.
This article looks the role of intrapreneurship in driving innovation through social enterprise, to tackle homelessness within a not-for-profit environment.
Whilst working at Hutt St Centre, Olivia Betro was provided with seed funding to start a social enterprise. The idea was a coffee cart that would provide training and skill-building opportunities for their clients who are struggling with homelessness. The vision was crystal clear, but the road map was a blank sheet of paper. Olivia was surprised to find that rather than feeling paralysed with fear and inadequacy as she ventured into the unknown, she embraced the challenge and jumped in head-first, and the “Beans Talk” coffee cart was born. What she didn’t realise at the time was she had just taken her first steps as an intrapreneur.
As the people who unlock the power within organisations to create significant positive impact in our communities, Intrapreneurs have so much to teach us. So when I came across Olivia, I was eager to learn more. In particular, as a young intrapreneur in a not-for-profit environment, what were the lessons she learned and what would she do differently next time around? Here are some insights she shared.
1. Surround yourself with strong advocates
Olivia knew from the start that this project would require a team effort. As an early-stage intrapreneur, she understood she would need help to get traction for the project, and needed to engage people with different skills and experience - the realm of social enterprise was also uncharted territory for Hutt St Centre. Olivia said “I had an incredibly supportive manager and colleagues, and felt trusted and empowered. I made use of this team to workshop challenges and test ideas.” She asked for help early and often, which meant the team as a whole felt committed and bought in to the success of the project. Having a team of advocates was also important in securing the support of senior management.
2. Have the client at the heart of what you do
It was easy for Olivia to keep her clients at the forefront of any decision making, as she worked closely with clients, felt incredibly connected to them, and had a deep understanding of their situations and needs. “I think this is one of the things that you take for granted working in a not-for-profit” she said. “Everyone is united around a clear purpose, in our case helping to end homelessness. This makes it easier to get support and buy-in on the vision and purpose, but the challenge then becomes more about how we use the limited time and resources we have. I needed to prove this project was worth investing in over a range of other important initiatives being driven within the organisation. That is always tough, but even more so in a not-for-profit environment where every dollar needs to be measured and accounted for in terms of outcomes achieved.”
Olivia quickly worked out that her background in hospitality and her experience working directly with clients would serve her well. She was convinced the coffee cart would be an accessible, engaging way for clients to learn skills, connect with community members and build confidence and self-esteem. She tested the program with clients and engaged them in the process so she could successfully show how the program was benefitting the people she was seeking to serve.
3. Be flexible and open minded
Olivia never felt constrained. She saw her role as being to spot opportunities and follow them. “Is there a better way?” was a question that helped her remain open-minded to alternative approaches, or to review what they had tried, to see if it needed to be done differently. She recalls countless times when she and her team mates tried something and failed, and had to pivot or start from scratch. Getting perspectives from others was also critical, as they would often see potential opportunities or pitfalls she couldn’t. “Being an intrapreneur is about driving an initiative but not being responsible for all the answers and that also means not owning all the credit” says Olivia. This sentiment was echoed in a conversation we had recently in the South Australian Intrapreneurs Group, where someone talked about egos and recognition, and said “It’s amazing what you can achieve as an intrapreneur when you don’t care who gets the credit”.
4. Beware the twin demons of time and energy
Like almost every other intrapreneur or changemaker, time and energy were two things Olivia struggled with throughout the Beans Talk project. Over time, she had less and less capacity to devote to the project, with an increasing number of competing demands on her time. The funding they initially received for the project ran out, so despite having less time, the project required more attention than ever to secure new streams of funding. Momentum was lost and expectations and obligations changed. Then, when COVID 19 came, the project was hit hard – all events and functions ceased, as did opportunities for Hutt St Centre clients to do on-the-job training at the cart and income from the coffee cart sales dried up. Reflecting on this, Olivia says “I could have worked harder at engaging others to help drive the project, and enlist some external supporters such as corporate partners who could help provide ongoing revenue streams particularly in times of uncertainty. This would have reduced the dependence of the project on me and helped in our efforts to become more sustainable.”
5. Use the power of storytelling
Looking back, Olivia says storytelling was a tool she could have utilised more to keep the Beans Talk coffee cart front-and-centre within the organisation, and ensure the continued support of stakeholders to keep building this program. “There were such rich, engaging stories to tell – about client experiences of learning new skills, chatting with customers, and what it felt like to be valued and able to contribute something to others. Most importantly, stories support the hard data with personal reflections. We did do this, but not enough.” Going forward, she says she’ll make sure takes every opportunity to have a conversation with colleagues, supporters – any one who is interested, to share the story of Beans Talk and the impact it is making.
6. Leverage connections and collaborate
Olivia partnered with a registered training organisation to train clients on the Beans Talk program. This meant they got access to high quality training, and gained accreditation at completion, making it easier for clients to secure jobs afterwards. Clients then worked with their Job Network provider to find job placement. These collaborations were instrumental in driving the success of the program by leveraging the appropriate skills and connections, building structure to the program and reducing the demands on Hutt St Centre.
Reflecting on this experience, Olivia describes driving the Beans Talk program as exciting and rewarding, but also tough and often lonely. “I think we could have explored collaborations even further, and I would also have loved some personal mentors and peers to help guide me and support me along the way.”
Just like entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs have particular attributes and behaviours, such as dreaming big, an appetite for risk, a comfort with uncertainty and an incredible ability to ‘stick-with-it’ when others have given up long ago. But unlike entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs often fly under the radar, hiding in the institutions within which they work, so they can get on with the job of doing and delivering. But that doesn’t mean the experience has to be a lonely one.
We all know the power of having a community of like-minded people to cheer you on, give honest feedback, support and inspire you and motivate you to stay the course. Social Change HQ has partnered with the League of Intrapreneurs and are starting a network of intrapreneurs in South Australia. If you would like to be part of a community like this, we invite you to join our Linked In Group, and find out more about our Pilot Intrapreneur Development Program, designed to help people like you to achieve great things.
Ø Find out more about the amazing work of Hutt St Centre or support the Beans Talk coffee cart
Ø Get in touch with Social Change HQ