Otherside at Work has grown from 15 colleagues to more than 160, and its software now supports over 3 million professionals. The leadership team saw AI as key to getting there, but also saw the real challenge: AI only creates impact when people change how they work, not just which tools they use.
The challenge
Every colleague was coming to AI from a different place. Some were already enthusiastic, some were skeptical, and some had real concerns. Otherside at Work wanted to move the whole organization from talking about AI to working with it, and to do that together with every team.
Our approach: the Connect Festival
OrganizationBuilders designed and facilitated a half-day "Connect Festival" for the whole company.
One shared story. The MT opened with a clear change story: the goal is not more AI, the goal is better work.
Surface the real challenge. An interactive stand-up/sit-down energizer then let colleagues show where they stood on AI, from excitement to concerns about impact or security or the human effect.
Teams at work. Around 20 teams spread across four floors, each led by its own team lead. We prepared the team leads with a manager briefing, step-by-step posters and a worked example (an AI-assisted candidate search for recruitment). Coaches circulated on every floor.
A clear 7-step format. Each team went from a check-in on the story, through its current AI use cases and a shared objective, to an impact/effort brainstorm. It then defined one concrete experiment, with process redesign, data, a way to measure results, a learning loop and risks. A pre-mortem on the team's biggest adoption challenge turned likely pitfalls into team agreements.
Share and celebrate. All teams put their experiment posters on the wall for a gallery walk, and three teams pitched their experiment to the whole company.
The result
In one afternoon, every team left with a concrete AI experiment designed to deliver early results, an action plan with owners, and agreements on how they would stay on track. AI progress became part of regular team meetings, with monthly updates to the MT and Board. The plan also included a company-wide moment to celebrate results and share lessons learned.
Why it works
AI adoption rarely fails on the technology. It fails on workflows and behavior. By putting team leads in charge, keeping each team's first step small, and building in measurement and learning loops from day one, Otherside at Work made AI part of normal work rather than a side project.
Facilitated by Babette, Bart, Koen and Linda (OrganizationBuilders).