PostNord is the Nordic leader in e-commerce logistics, growing strongly also in Finland. You’ve likely seen their signature blue at checkout pages or when receiving parcels – PostNord delivers smoothly and sustainably to your door, parcel lockers, service points, and even between businesses.

Josefina Honkanen is responsible for commercial development and SME sales at PostNord and tells how they took a new approach to communicating the commercial strategy. 

When the new business plan kicked off, Josefina felt something important was missing. Sure, PowerPoint decks are essential, but she wanted more than a presentation: she aimed for engagement, dialogue, and true ownership among the entire staff.

That’s when she introduced Topaasia, a gamified discussion tool, into the strategic rollout. Rather than merely presenting the strategy, small cross-functional groups played through it in customized sessions with Topaasia.

PowerPoint is great – and yes, we used it too – but we also wanted something participatory. Something that gets people talking.

She also thinks, that mixing people in a non-usual way was a successful strategy. “We got so many new different viewpoints this way”, says Josefina.

Even when the tool was familiar to Josefina and her team, they were still a bit anxious about the interactive nature of the game – what about participants who prefer listening over talking? The result was overwhelmingly positive:

• Over 90% of participants rated their experience as 4 or 5 out of 5
  
• The structured format encouraged even quieter voices to speak up
  
• Open comments praised the opportunity to share ideas through gameplay:
  

Those who naturally retreat a bit into the background were very grateful. The dialogue method gave them a structure which helped them express their thoughts. We captured many more ideas than usual.

What began as an ambitious six‑week timeline came together even faster:

We built a customized Topaasia deck tailored to our needs, and it was surprisingly easy! With solid materials and support, we created our own deck quickly and efficiently. Topaasia’s guidance meant we needed minimal time to get great results: a highly cost‑effective method.

Over ten engaging sessions in groups of 5–7 people, internal commercial leaders facilitated the discussions. The Topaasia team trained all the facilitators beforehand, making it easy for them to run the sessions with confidence.

We quickly got the hang of it—and, as the feedback shows, it went extremely well.

The approach delivered exactly what it aimed for:

Compared to previous rollout methods, this one clearly improved strategy comprehension, based on both feedback and atmosphere. We have a positive buzz around the strategy now. Of course, one round isn’t the end, it’s the beginning of the next three years, but it was a fantastic launch.

The insights gathered aren’t just nice to have. They are actively shaping future decisions:

It’s fascinating to see which themes and individual cards were most picked. That gives us real insight into what employees care about, and where we should focus our efforts going forward. These areas will guide our next dialogues.

Josefina is also pleased with the internal capability built, since the process teaches everything that is needed to be able to take the matters completely in one’s own hands:

We plan to keep using our customized deck, and explore other Topaasia content too. It was great to develop the first deck with Topaasia’s team. If we’d done it entirely ourselves, it might’ve taken much longer and not turned out as well. With their support, training and sparring, we nailed it. Next time, we’ll definitely be able to create our own deck independently.

What stood out most to Josefina was the authenticity of the process:

We customized the content in our own words and themes. It was our own people, who truly understand the business, leading sessions for their colleagues. Even with mixed teams, the model was intimate, honest, and overall, extremely effective.

Small cross-functional groups played through the themes of the new business plan using a customized Topaasia deck. It wasn’t just about reading strategy – it was about interpreting it, challenging it, and owning it together.

What happened?

• Over 90% of participants rated the sessions 4 or 5 out of 5
  
• Even the quieter voices got heard
  
• Strategy understanding increased noticeably
  
• Insights are now shaping future planning
  

And the process didn’t take months – just a few focused weeks.

Interested to see how this could work for you?
Get in touch, and let’s start the dialogue!