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This is what organisational transformation actually looks like.
Merkle's teams had gone remote — but the habits that make remote work feel human were slipping. Cameras off, late joins, talking over each other in client meetings. They'd tried cascades, workshops, e-learning, and internal comms. None of them stuck. Here's what did.
Merkle × AhaPlay
How a global digital agency aligned 350+ people on practices that directly impact customers
"The sessions made it personal, and the team commitment made it stick. We can see these practices happening now — consistently, across teams."
Since COVID-19, Merkle had become a largely remote organisation. But as distributed work became the norm, the everyday habits that shape customer relationships began to slip. Cameras off in client meetings. Late joins. Talking over each other. Individually minor. Collectively, these habits were shaping how customers perceived the entire relationship. The irony: the less people meet in person, the more every virtual interaction carries. Merkle needed those moments to be consistent, professional, and intentional — across every team.
The Challenge
Merkle had four options on the table.
Each had been tried before. None had fully worked.
Reaches all teams
AhaPlay
Teams actually discuss it
AhaPlay
Produces commitments
AhaPlay
Change persists
AhaPlay
Measurable
AhaPlay
| Leadership Cascade (1:1s, Team Meetings) | Workshop with Facilitator | E-Learning / LMS | Internal Comms (All-Hands, Email) | AhaPlay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reaches all teams |
Message dilutes at every level
|
One facilitator per group, months to scale
|
Easy to distribute
|
Easy to distribute
|
Every team, in parallel — no facilitator bottleneck
|
| Teams actually discuss it |
Depends on each manager's skill
|
If well-facilitated
|
Individual only
|
One-way broadcast
|
Structured discussion is the session itself
|
| Produces commitments |
No structured commitment mechanism
|
Sometimes, rarely tracked
|
No commitment mechanism
|
No commitment mechanism
|
Built into every session, signed as team contracts
|
| Change persists |
Inconsistent follow-through
|
Fades within weeks
|
Forgotten quickly
|
Lost in inbox
|
Reinforcement sessions until internalized — tracked
|
| Measurable |
No visibility beyond anecdotes
|
Anecdotal at best
|
Completion rates only
|
Open rates at best
|
Four indices, per team, over time
|
The Programme
Merkle chose a different approach — and here's why it worked.
They ran a structured AhaPlay programme based on Jane Dutton's research on high-quality connections — Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan. Instead of sending a policy memo or running a workshop, they put teams through a series of sessions where they had to confront, discuss, and commit to change together. The programme didn't just inform people. It aligned them on three levels — and locked the change in with a fourth.
Cognitive Alignment
Teams built a shared understanding of what 'building quality connections with customers' actually means — not what each person assumed it means. Using Dutton's framework, they defined it together.
Motivational Alignment
Teams confronted the real impact of their current practices on customer relationships. They didn't just hear about it — they discussed it, challenged each other, and created a shared urgency to change.
Behavioural Alignment
Teams agreed on specific, shared practices: cameras on, joining a minute early, muting when not speaking, using hand-raising and reactions. Not as a policy — as a collective commitment.
+ The Social Contract
When your team has discussed a practice together — and you know what they know — not following through becomes the hard thing. The social pressure isn't imposed. It emerges from the shared commitment.
The Content Was Built On
Respectful Engagement
Recognising and valuing the person — making others feel seen and heard in every interaction.
Task Enabling
Providing support and effective assistance — helping others do their work well, not just completing your own.
Trust Building
Demonstrating belief in others' integrity and motives — the foundation that makes collaboration sustainable.
Example from the Programme
In one session, teams are placed in a virtual meeting scenario where some participants have their cameras off. The challenge: identify which element of high-quality connection is most affected by that choice — and commit, as a team, to what they'll do differently.
Did it Work
Two goals. Both achieved.
The programme was designed around two specific thresholds — not vanity metrics, but the conditions required for lasting behavioural change at scale.
Goal 1 — Critical Mass
80%
of the entire subsidiary needed to go through the programme
Research shows that meaningful cultural change requires a critical mass of participants — not just willing early adopters. The target was 80% of the entire Merkle subsidiary. The result: 87%.
Achieved — 87%Goal 2 — The Tipping Point
25%
of people visibly changing behaviour triggers cascading change across the entire system
Once roughly one in four people in a social system adopt a new behaviour, peer dynamics take over. Change stops being driven by the programme — and starts being driven by the people. The goal wasn't to train everyone. It was to reach the tipping point.
Tipping point reachedThe most significant outcome wasn't in the numbers. Senior leadership observed a visible shift in everyday meeting behaviour — more employees using their cameras, or proactively explaining when they couldn't. Behaviour change, across 350+ people, within a single month.
Why it Worked
Two things made the difference.
A supportive environment finally existed.
The month-long focus created what had previously been missing. Discussions from the sessions spilled over into daily interactions — team meetings, reviews, casual conversations. Teams began adopting shared codes of conduct and virtual etiquette, embedding new practices into their routine rather than leaving them in the workshop room.
Shared understanding created accountability.
A unified understanding of how behaviours affect relationships led to heightened mindfulness. Once every team member understood the same framework — and had committed to it together — the social pressure to follow through emerged naturally. Not imposed. Built.
"Not using my camera could be perceived as disinterest or disrespect, affecting the trust within the team. Now, if I need to keep it off, I will make sure to explain why."
Heard Across the Organisation
What participants say
Feedback from Merkle team members who went through the programme
"Without a facilitator, something unexpected happens — everyone becomes one. The whole group becomes more active, more accountable."
Ivan Vasilev
QA Technical Lead
"You answer individually, then defend your position as a team. You see how everyone thinks — and sometimes you change your mind. That's real alignment."
Stefan Karakolev
QA Engineer
"The group self-organises without a lecturer. Everyone speaks up, defends their thinking, and the alignment emerges from the conversation itself."
Mira Malcheva
Solution Strategist
"We may start with different opinions on the same question — but by the end of the discussion, we commit to one shared answer."
Ekaterina Gusheva
QA Engineer
"The team-based decision making is brilliantly designed — it pushes people to be active, think independently, then align together."
Momchil Krastev
QA Engineer
"One hour, everyone in the room, challenging each other's thinking — and leaving with shared clarity. It works for every level, every role."
Dessislava Krasteva
QA Team Lead
"Real-life cases melt down communication barriers. Every session adds something concrete — a new way to grow professionally and work better together."
Daniela Arabova
QA Engineer
"What's remarkable is that everyone shares their perspective and insights without anyone facilitating. The alignment happens naturally."
Ivan Draganov
Product Owner
"Without a lecturer, the focus shifts entirely to the participants. We align, collaborate, and commit together — in real time."
Boyan Gagov
Programme Manager
"Without a facilitator it becomes more informal, more honest. The competitive element pushes everyone to show up and contribute."
Dragomir Belchev
Software Engineer
"The gamification brings engagement to a completely different level. I found myself actively participating in ways traditional workshops never achieved."
Konstantin Radev
Release Manager
"You play for yourself, but you have to reach consensus with the group. Hard cases provoke the most valuable discussions."
Gergana Valova
QA Team Lead
"Collaborative, flexible, and genuinely motivating. The kind of platform you recommend without hesitation."
Ridvan Bekir
Development Team Lead
"It ignites the collective mind. Total strangers become a team — and everyone's perspective becomes valuable."
Anton Draganov
Tech Support Analyst
"You collaborate independently, in a self-organised way. No coach needed — the team leads itself to a shared answer."
Yanislava Yancheva
QA Engineer
Everyday habits are the hardest thing in an organisation to change — harder than strategy, because nobody thinks they're the problem. Merkle changed them in one month, across 350+ people, measurably. If structured team sessions can do that, aligning your teams on strategy is the easier problem.
Get Started
Everyday habits changed in one month. Yours can too.
Book a 30-minute demo. Bring your strategy document, compliance policy, or culture deck — and watch it become a structured programme live. Not slides about the product. The product, working on your content.
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