Designing Culture with a Newly Merged Team
Client:
DHL Group
Services:
Workshop Design
Year:
2025
Impact area:
Culture
Challenge
From Two Teams to One: A Culture Design Workshop
At DHL, two teams merged into one. For their offsite, their visionary executive leading the new formation had a clear goal in mind when she reached out to us: “I don’t want to prescribe culture — let’s create space for the team to define it themselves in an engaging way.”
Process
An interactive workshop format that engaged more than 100 people.
We designed and facilitated a custom, interactive workshop that helped the newly merged team connect, envision their future, and agree on shared principles — in a way that felt human, energizing, and genuinely collaborative. The session began with improv-inspired warm-ups to build trust and momentum.
Next, we split the group into ten teams and guided them through a strategic future-vision exercise. In a fun, hands-on collage activity, each team visualized the top principles they wanted to bring to life and also described the department in a single sentence: “WE AT [DEPARTMENT] …”
The session concluded with team presentations, followed by a silent gallery walk and dot voting. This process allowed the full group to align on shared themes and priorities.
And then, the design surprise …
After the workshop, we transformed the team-made posters into branded, high-quality principle posters — keeping the original spirit, but making them ready to live in the office.
Impact
Setting the foundation for lasting culture.
The team didn’t just talk about culture — they created it together. People bonded naturally, had fun, and left with principles they truly owned. Today, the posters are on the walls (and even turned into postcards), acting as a daily reminder of the team they’re building together. We’re excited to check in with the team in a while and see how those principles are used in their daily work life. Stay tuned.
“I was impressed by how energizing and collaborative the workshop felt. People had a lot of fun defining the road ahead together. It was great to watch our teams co-create the principles that truly came from the team members and not from management — and then seeing those ideas visualized on posters”
Lillian Ueng
Executive Vice President, Employee Relations, Engagement, Compensation & Benefits at DHL
Credits
WORKSHOP DESIGN & FACILITATION
Tony Gui & Franzi Sessler
CONTENT
The wonderful CD54 Team
POSTER DESIGN
Franzi Sessler
CASE STUDY ILLUSTRATIONS
Anna Mößnang
Like what you see?
Let's create some moves together
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