Empowering Growth and Alignment to Company Goals: Team Vision Setting Sessions at the7stars

JourneyHR has been a long-standing partner to the7stars, the UK’s largest independent media agency, renowned for its people-centric culture and progressive ways of working.

As the agency continued to expand — with headcount surpassing 300 — it became increasingly critical to ensure that every team member clearly understood how their individual contributions aligned with the company’s broader business objectives.

Having started as a small, independent agency, the7stars has always relied on high-performing individuals to drive its culture forward and to challenge traditional ways of working with courage and innovation. While the7stars has always championed transparency — exemplified by its company-wide annual business planning event — the leadership team recognised an emerging challenge as the agency scaled: ensuring that each team member’s individual growth and development remained closely connected to the agency’s broader ambitions. They were concerned that without deliberate action, siloed working practices and missed opportunities for both individual and collective development could arise.

The Solution

In 2024, JourneyHR facilitated a series of off-site Team Vision Setting Sessions designed to:

• Enhance team cohesion and provide meaningful time together to establish the rhythms and rituals that drive high performance.

• Strengthen collaboration through the exploration of shared values and communication preferences.

• Define team identity and shape future aspirations.

• Foster understanding of each team member’s role and individual accountability in delivering the wider business plan.

• Support the creation of personalised development objectives for ongoing professional growth.

• Instil a culture of ownership for the agency’s future.

Approach

JourneyHR began by conducting stakeholder interviews with key figures across the business, including the Founder and the Head of Planning, to gain a clear understanding of the company's vision and how to best bring the business plan to life at all levels.

Additionally, JourneyHR engaged Heads of Department to identify specific team challenges — including newly formed teams in need of building connections, and others undergoing significant change and rapid growth.

Implementation

Through a series of off-site, interactive workshops, all 16 departments engaged in activities focused on exploring personal values, communication styles, and collective team ambitions. JourneyHR empowered discussions to help teams map their contributions to wider agency objectives, co-create development objectives, and commit to clear, actionable goals.