Building one Novonesis brick by brick - or: how a simple idea seriously surprised us!

In January, when our two companies merged to form Novonesis , we faced the challenge of fostering a sense of belonging and togetherness among our 10,000 employees worldwide. We sought a solution that would encourage colleagues connect - both to each other and to our new purpose – regardless of whether our employees were office-based, remote, or stationed at production sites. It turns out, the answer was child's play.

A Simple Solution

Our approach was to include a bag of LEGO bricks in our Day 1 gift bag, launching a collaborative competition. Employees were tasked with using these bricks to visualize their shared vision of how Novonesis could 'Better Our World With Biology (our new purpose). The competition entries were collected in a mailbox, with the winning team receiving branded hoodies.

Unexpected Results

The outcome exceeded our expectations. Colleagues from different departments, legacy companies, and nations connected and collaborated. From big groups assembling in break rooms to remote employees involving their families, the creations were incredibly imaginative, and all without any instructions or models to help. It was immediately clear that the brick-building competition brought people together and sparked creativity in an informal and playful way.

Connecting With Our Purpose

Within our first week as a company, entries started pouring in. The level of innovation and teamwork displayed was truly inspiring. Submissions ranged from stop-motion videos of micro-bacterial processes, set-piece fairytales and new company mascots to complex displays of biosolutions and their impact on our world. Our sustainability team even recreated icons of various UN SDGs to illustrate our commitment to support healthier lives and a healthier planet.

Seeing the variety in approaches and themes as well as the heartfelt reactions to the challenge in various internal articles and videos, it really hit home that – more than any polished video – our hands-on challenge helped employees connect with our purpose organically and reflect on our future potential as 'One Novonesis'. ?

?

The Gift That Kept on Giving

From an Internal Communication standpoint, this initiative has been a raging success. Not only did thousands of employees participate in the challenge itself, but hundreds more reacted and engaged with the content derived from the competition. We've activated the content multiple times - in reminders to participate, showcasing the leadership committee who short-listed entries, promoting the final online vote, and – of course – announcing our five global winners.

More importantly, without the IC team’s involvement, participants began sharing their creations and ideas on Viva Engage – eliciting many more reactions and receiving authentic praise and encouragement from colleagues all over the world.

Many Key Success Factors

In retrospect, quite a few factors contributed to this initiative’s success:

• It was simple – and thus easy to grasp and be part of
• The open task description meant there was no right or wrong – so participants couldn't fail the task
• It appealed to our particular colleagues’ penchant for construction and innovation
• There was a competition element, which we always find draws more attention
• It re-ignited our childhood sense of playful imagination (big #kudos to the LEGO Group for a universally engaging toy!)

Finally, a big thank you to our amazing colleagues for playing along – we obviously couldn’t do it without you!

If you like this idea, please feel free to steal with pride – and I’d love to hear about where you’re going with it! If you’re curious about exactly how we did everything, reach out to me anytime.