Big Blue Marble (formerly ORS Group)

Big Blue Marble, in brief

Big Blue Marble is Austria's leading provider of analog and digital broadcasting services. A subsidiary of public broadcaster ORF, the company employs 280 people and transmits audio and audiovisual content worldwide via DTT, satellite, cable, IPTV, and streaming. In 2024, it expanded its international presence by investing in Polish company Insys Video Technology.

Mission: We support the democratic and cultural diversity of Austrian society by providing easily accessible services.
Website:  https://www.ors.at/

Context

As it grew, Big Blue Marble saw its activities become increasingly complex. Initially specializing in terrestrial and satellite broadcasting, the company had to adapt to new technologies (such as 5G broadcasting and streaming), constantly evolving customer expectations, and increased competition.

To remain agile and resilient, the company first adopted the Agile methodology, which allowed teams to respond to client needs more quickly. However, as teams grew and functions became more specialized, a lack of organizational clarity emerged. Employees struggled to understand how different teams worked together, roles and responsibilities were unclear, and decision-making processes lacked efficiency.

These issues became even more evident after ORS Group acquired Insys Video Technologies. The marketing department, for example, was scattered across different teams in Austria and Poland, leading to some inefficiencies in coordination. To solve these issues, the company needed a centralized system to document team structures, streamline processes, and ensure seamless collaboration post-merger.

Rather than flattening its organization, Big Blue Marble chose to implement certain principles of Holacracy to enhance transparency and agility within its existing structure. That's when Austrian consulting firm Fifty1 introduced the team to Talkspirit's governance solution— a tool that combines clarity, collaboration, and decision-making efficiency without disrupting the existing organization.

Challenges

• Lack of visibility inro roles and responsibilities: Employees didn’t have a clear understanding of how teams worked together.
• Inefficient decision-making: Meetings lacked structure, and the decision-making process was slow. 
• Post-merger integration challenges: ORS Group needed a way to streamline collaboration between its Austrian and Polish teams.
• Resistance to change: Employees were used to a traditional top-down structure and had to shift their mindset toward a more transparent, role-based approach.

Why Talkspirit

• Greater transparency: Talkspirit allows teams to clearly visualize roles and responsibilities, and understand what’s expected of them and others.
• Agility without losing hierarchy: The platform supports structured decision-making while maintaining a clear chain of command.
• Scalability and flexibility: Talkspirit enables the adaptation of Holacracy principles in a way that fits ORS Group’s needs.
• Compliance with European regulations: As a European solution, Talkspirit fully complies with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and is ISO 27001 certified, ensuring data security and sovereignty.

Implementation Process

• Structuring the organization: ORS Group conducted a two-day workshop with 17 leaders from different business units and support teams. Together, they mapped out key circles, defined their purpose, and assigned accountabilities.
• Iterating on the structure: Circle leads refined their circles’ roles and responsibilities over four weeks. A second workshop was held to finalize definitions. 
• Company-wide launch: The official rollout took place during ORS Group’s annual employee gathering, where all employees were introduced to the platform and assigned their roles. 
• Training and alignment: Employees received training sessions, and a structured alignment process was introduced. Every six months, top management and C-level executives define strategic priorities, and every four weeks, service design meetings ensure alignment across teams.

Key Features Used

• Organization chart: It helps visualize how people work together across departments, beyond traditional reporting lines.

• OKRs (Objectives and Key Results): this method of management by objectives enables Big Blue Marble to align its strategic ambitions with its operational actions.
• Proposals: Any employee wanting to make a small change in the organization can make a proposal, which people can then vote for asynchronously.
• Meetings: Bigger changes are discussed with management during strategy meetings to make sure everyone is aligned on the decisions that need to be made.

Benefits

• Greater organizational clarity: Employees now have a clear view of roles, responsibilities, and collaboration across the company. This is particularly useful for drafting job descriptions for recruitment, and onboarding new hires.
• Agile decision-making: Decision-making is more efficient, as the organization is now able to approve changes asynchronously or discuss them in meetings (depending on the scale of the change).
• Better meeting structure: Meetings are more structured and involve the right people, making them more effective.
• Enhanced integration post-merger: The platform helped streamline collaboration between Austrian and Polish teams, particularly in the marketing department, which was previously fragmented.
• A solution tailored to Big Blue Marble's structure: the company adopted certain holacratic principles without following the model to the letter, which enabled it to create self-organizing circles while retaining its hierarchy.
• A trusted technology partner: ORS Group has actively contributed feedback to improve the platform, and Talkspirit has implemented many of the requested features.
• Greater impact: By promoting transparency, collaboration, and effective decision-making, Talkspirit enables Big Blue Marble to stay true to its mission. The platform helps align teams' work with the organization's purpose, while promoting agility in a constantly changing environment.
  

In summary: Big Blue Marble's experience shows that a hierarchical organization can remain transparent, agile, and collaborative, provided it has the right tools and support. To learn more about Talkspirit's implementation at Big Blue Marble, check out this article.

If your organization faces similar challenges and needs a structured yet flexible solution, feel free to contact us!