SNCF Réseau
Bringing employees together and building lasting team cohesion during a merger of departments
How do you successfully merge two long-established structures and encourage teamwork? When two entities of SNCF Réseaumerged, with staff until then split across two separate sites, the company needed to create immediate collective momentum. To meet this change management challenge and spark collective intelligence, Arcane Experience designed “L’Enigm’Article”. A bespoke team building experience for merging teams , designed as a genuine cohesion offsite to unite teams, value employees and set the tone for a great working atmosphere.
The challenge: breaking down silos and building team spirit
Merging departments often triggers apprehension and a tendency to withdraw. The aim of SNCF Réseau’s management was to bring 60 employees together for a memorable company offsite, laying the foundations of a shared culture and strengthening group cohesion.
The difficulty was avoiding the trap of a generic activity with no connection to the day job. The session had to strengthen the sense of belonging, help team members get to know each other better, and encourage every employee to physically take ownership of their new collaborative workspace.
Our answer: a collaborative investigation and a one-of-a-kind experience
To unite your teams and create real synergy, our agency developed an immersive, creative investigation rooted directly in their professional day-to-day.
Mixed teams and mutual support
Teams of 4 to 6 players, each combining staff from both entities, to break the ice, collaborate and work towards a shared goal.
Indoor treasure hunt
A physical trail designed to send employees exploring the offices, building cohesion while mapping out the key points of interest.
A unifying storyline
A race against the clock in which every participant becomes a reporter, piecing back together the sabotaged layout of a strategic in-house newspaper.
Learning design: a shared project to rebuild connections
Team performance and the success of this team building experience for merging teams rest on a 3.5-month co-creation and production phase. Our consultants ran 5 in-depth interviews with key figures in the organisation. Far from being mere window dressing, these conversations revealed how the teams work and what was at stake in the restructuring, and shaped the content of the article players had to piece together.
By solving puzzles built on their own professional jargon (screening, ballast, points), the teams learned to work together better, strengthened their cohesion and built lasting bonds around shared values.
The impact: real team synergy and a stronger working atmosphere
In a single day, this corporate team building turned a merger of departments into a constructive collective experience, praised by the management teams.
Camaraderie and good spirits
Excellent communication and genuinely warm moments between colleagues who had never met before the game.
Smoother team management
Tackling business issues in an original way to defuse fears and keep cohesion alive between teams.
A team up and running
A positive group dynamic and strong team spirit to approach shared future objectives with confidence.
FAQ: team building for merging teams
Why is collaborative team building essential when departments merge?
Because putting teams in the same meeting room isn’t enough to create cohesion. A scripted team building activity makes teams cooperate naturally and spontaneously. Faced with a playful challenge, barriers fall: every member puts their skills at the service of the team’s success, which builds team spirit and better ways of working together far faster than any speech ever could.
How do your offsite activities adapt to our company culture?
Our method rests on fully bespoke game design. Just like the Enigm’Article created for SNCF Réseau, we weave in your own language, your stress management or leadership challenges, so the game mirrors your daily reality. Your employees aren’t just doing a generic treasure hunt or an off-the-shelf murder mystery: they take part in a shared project that strengthens cohesion and their sense of belonging to a dynamic team. If your challenges are more about transforming your managers’ customer culture, explore our customer experience serious game.
How does a treasure hunt format help employees settle into new premises?
That’s the double benefit of our mobile, offbeat formats. By making participants move around to track down clues, the game builds cohesion while giving everyone a perfect mental map of the new spaces (key departments, break-out areas). It’s the ideal team management tool to motivate, reassure and unite a team during a relocation. Leading a restructuring, a reorganisation or a change management project? You can contact us directly to design your next bespoke event.
