Every move matters
Problem
Understanding wasn’t the issue. Belief was.
Spark
Turning strategy into human action
Impact
From understanding to ownership
PROBLEM
Overview
Understanding wasn’t the issue. Belief was.
Each year, 11,000 Sage colleagues come together for Kickoffs – a global internal communications and employee engagement programme to align, inspire and energise teams around the business strategy.
By FY25, the signals were strong. Satisfaction was high. Strategic clarity was improving. But one insight changed everything: while colleagues understood the ambition, far fewer truly believed Sage could deliver it.
In a fast-moving, global technology business serving millions of small and medium-sized businesses, belief isn’t optional. Without it, strategy stalls.
For FY26, Sage didn’t need more information. It needed momentum – a culture of bold action and ownership that would close the gap between knowing and believing.
ACTION
Making it happen
Turning strategy into human action
Rather than delivering ambition through traditional change communication, we reframed it as something to be lived. One move at a time. Every move matters became the heartbeat of Kickoffs – translating strategy into tangible action colleagues could see, feel and own. A global internal communications campaign designed to drive employee engagement, leadership alignment and strategic clarity across the business.
It began with curiosity. A cinematic plenary at Hackney Empire set the tone, as CEO Steve Hare shared Sage’s renewed mission and ambition. Open, reflective and human, he celebrated progress, acknowledged challenges and issued a clear call to action: every colleague had a role to play in moving Sage forward. Not next quarter. Not someday. Now.
The Bold Move Challenge invited each colleague to name one commitment that would move Sage forward. What began with a global launch unfolded over weeks – as regional and functional Kickoffs translated ambition into local realities, and colleagues moved from listening to contributing.
It’s our new way of life at Sage.
01
Make ambition feel possible
By grounding strategy in human stories and lived examples, ambition shifted from abstract to achievable.
02
Create permission to act
Senior leaders modelled ownership first – signalling that bold action wasn’t optional, but expected at every level.
03
Turn participation into momentum
Through shared pledges and global visibility, colleagues moved from observers to contributors.
IMPACT
The outcome
From understanding to ownership
As Sage TV Live drew to a close, Steve Hare shared his own Bold Move – and a fearless call to experiment, learn and lead forward.
At the start of the year, just 60% of colleagues believed Sage could achieve its ambitions. By the end of the programme, that number had soared to 97%.
Across the business, colleagues moved from understanding the strategy to owning it — demonstrating the power of internal communications and employee engagement in driving strategic alignment, belief and business performance. Understanding remained high at 95%, and more than 1,400 colleagues publicly shared Bold Moves. But the story’s not over. With more Sage TV Live dates scheduled colleagues will continue to live their shared ambitions.
When people believe their move matters, they move. And when 11,000 people move together, strategy becomes momentum.
97%
now believe Sage can achieve its FY26 ambitions
+91.3
colleague satisfaction – a record high
94%
see how their role contributes to delivering the strategy
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