Lindström wanted to make responsibility a shared matter for the entire personnel – not only at the level of reports and strategy documents, but genuinely visible in everyday actions. The solution was found in cooperation with Muutostaito and a responsibility game, which brought the theme to life throughout the organization.
Responsibility Strategy as Everyone’s Business
Lindström is an international family business founded in 1848, with circular economy at the core of its business: textile services are based on rental, maintenance, and recycling. Responsibility is therefore part of the entire business DNA. In the Finnish organization, the aim was to bring the theme into personnel’s everyday life in a new, participatory way – through gamification.
The cooperation with Muutostaito started from the idea that responsibility topics cannot be addressed only with PowerPoints. The themes were perceived as complex and difficult to articulate. The solution was a responsibility game, which enables discussion, interaction, and bringing out one’s own perspective.
In the game there are no wrong answers – everyone can share their view, and the discussion creates a shared understanding. Lindström decided to implement the game as a physical board game, so that face-to-face encounters and conversations strengthen the experience.
How was the game implemented?
The responsibility game was designed in close cooperation with Lindström’s HR, communications and production responsibility working group, as well as Muutostaito’s consultants. The game was based on Lindström’s very extensive responsibility report, but its content was shaped into everyday language and practicality with the help of Muutostaito’s long experience in formulating game questions. Muutostaito trained Lindström’s internal culture captains to act as game facilitators. The facilitators implemented the games in different business units in teams of 4–6 people, and the duration of the games flexibly adapted to situations. Most of the games were played in sessions of about two hours, during which the entire game was played through. In some situations, the game has been played piece by piece, e.g., during coffee breaks.
The game questions addressed the most important areas of Lindström’s Responsibility Strategy in the fields of environmental responsibility and social responsibility. The questions were built in such a way that they also included Lindström’s responsibility knowledge, so that in addition to engagement, the personnel’s responsibility competence would also increase.
Each game generated discussion, insights, and also concrete development suggestions for improving production and customer work.
Starting points of the cooperation
Goal: To make responsibility into everyday actions and a shared matter for the entire personnel.
Solution: A responsibility game, facilitated by Lindström’s own culture captains with Muutostaito’s training.
What was done?
✅ Designing the game content with Lindström’s responsibility working group
✅ Training the culture captains as game facilitators
✅ Implementing the responsibility game as a board game in Finnish and English
✅ Playing in different business units flexibly: full two-hour sessions or short segments
✅ 80% of Lindström’s Finnish personnel have participated in the game
✅ The games generated concrete development suggestions for improving production and customer work
Why was responsibility played?
✅ Content. Everyday-language questions made responsibility understandable for everyone.
✅ Concept. The game enabled open dialogue – also for those whose voices are not usually heard in meetings.
✅ Everyday actions. Themes were concretely tied to the employee’s daily work: for example, repairing textiles was seen as a responsibility action.
✅ Effectiveness. Numerous development ideas and measures emerged during the games, which Lindström is taking forward.
✅ Commitment. The games facilitated by culture captains created community and increased understanding.
“For us, responsibility is not new – it is the core of our business. However, with the help of the game, we were able to engage the entire personnel in discussing and realizing what responsibility means in their own everyday work.”
– Jenni Hintzell, HR Director, Lindström
Results
✅ Responsibility moved from slides into everyday teams and coffee break conversations
✅ The game produced concrete development measures that are being taken forward in production and customer work
✅ The game strengthened Lindström’s WeCare culture
Muutostaito can support the implementation of a responsibility strategy with gamified or other dialogical tools.
The process can include only individual workshops, or it can form a broader change journey covering the entire organization. Muutostaito has facilitated workshops in Finnish, English, Swedish, and German. In broader projects, it is advisable to utilize the organization’s internal facilitators or supervisors.
In longer change journeys, we support the achievement of goals systematically by making use of checkpoints with management and supervisors and by measuring the realization of goals at a practical level.
More information
Sabina Ågren-Hellman
sabina.agren-hellman@muutostaito.fi
+358 50 486 0124