Too many meetings, little efficiency

‘In the past, our approach was very formal – countless emails, workshops with flipcharts or whiteboards, taking photos, sending them by email, and often nothing happened afterward. Creative collaboration was the exception rather than the rule. Conceptboard has changed that: we now develop concepts collaboratively, visualise ideas in real time, and even move beyond our familiar Word and PowerPoint routines,’ explains Sandrina Spiegl,Project Manager digitalisation & e-file at the County District Office Ludwigsburg.  

At the County District Office, teamwork has always been part of the culture, but typically within clearly defined responsibilities and using rather traditional methods. Spontaneously co-creating content in real time was rare. With the introduction of the whiteboard tool, this is gradually changing. Of course, cultural transformation does not happen through technology alone – but the tool opens the door: ideas can now be visualised instantly, collaboratively refined, and documented seamlessly. As a result, digital collaboration is not only becoming more visible, but also more tangible and is step by step becoming a natural part of everyday work at the County District Office.

From login to a smile: the chameleon as the gateway to the first contact with Conceptboard

For the rollout of Conceptboard, the two team leaders of the climate protection and digitalisation & e-file teams came up with something very special for their colleagues: a chameleon as a mascot to guide the way, ‘because it is as adaptable as Conceptboard’, explains Sandrina Spiegl.

From day one of the rollout, it has created instant recognition:

Person sitting in fron of his laptop in a workshop meeting using a digital online whiteboard

‘Every time we log in to Conceptboard, our chameleon appears as the logo at the top of the screen. Axel and I came up with it, alongside the self-learning board, as a symbol of recognition and change.’

In addition to the mascot, the two of them launched several other initiatives designed to make it even easier for employees to get started with Conceptboard: a concise onboarding roadmap, training sessions, a template for introducing Conceptboard, and a self-learning board for employees were all developed and put into practice.

Tangible changes in everyday work

It is particularly in day-to-day work that the small, smart features of the whiteboard tool make a big difference for the two teams, emphasises Axel Waltner, team lead climate protection at County District Office Ludwigsburg: ‘Just starting a brainstorming session, posting ideas as sticky notes, thinking them through together, and then clustering everything at the end – it all works effortlessly and already covers many topics. Gathering feedback is just as quick: a few smileys on the board, and everyone can share how they are feeling today.’

In his team, Axel Waltner has also observed that during presentations in Conceptboard, it is now rare for everyone to fall silent – a situation he previously experienced often at the end of Microsoft Teams meetings:

‘I can divide content into sections and create a mix of presentation and collaboration. First, I present a few key points, and then I work through them step by step using the moderation feature. In between, there are interactive phases where everyone can contribute their thoughts and the results become visible immediately. This creates a lively discussion in which everyone is engaged and collaboratively works toward the outcome.’

A similar effect can be seen in project work for the digitalisation & e-file team for example, when defining a project mandate or structuring requirements. The whiteboard provides the team with clear, visual structures that all participants can follow. As a result, not only do clear and organised outcomes emerge, but a shared understanding is created that facilitates the subsequent workflow and improves communication, explains Sandrina Spiegl:

‘Most of the time, we first need to think conceptually about what we actually want to achieve. And that’s where Conceptboard is just fantastic because we can start by visually clustering ideas. From there, the entire board often evolves. There often comes a moment when someone asks what exactly we are doing internally, and with a board like this, we can visually illustrate the project’s goal much more effectively, in a way that is very different from a project brief in a Word or Excel document.’

Making processes not just explainable, but experiential

Conceptboard is also widely used at the County District Office Ludwigsburg for onboarding new employees and for process analysis.

‘Analysing, documenting, and identifying processes – that is something we do a great deal in Conceptboard. Especially during workshops, processes are mapped and visualised because it’s so quick and easy to draw. The drawing function is used frequently here and of course, sticky notes. They are definitely our number one feature, and they’re perfect for capturing ideas quickly.’

As a County District Administration, the County District Office Ludwigsburg works with a traditional folder system. With Conceptboard, however, it has gained the ability to access, review, and revise everything at any time. This alone has enabled the teams to collaborate in an entirely new way, as Sandrina Spiegl sees it: ‘This, too, is a major innovation for us as a public district administration to collaborate digitally at all, and to be able to meet live on a board.’

The digital breakthrough: visual collaboration that connects teams across departments

As part of the rollout of the legally mandated tool for using the e-file, Conceptboard is primarily employed for project organisation. Questions that arise during the introduction often affecting a variety of departments are collected directly on Conceptboards. Templates, for example, are drafted within Conceptboard and can then be reused by other departments.

‘It definitely promotes collaboration and transparency for us. I always find it nice to be able to ‘peek over the fence’ at what others are doing, so that we can improve together. It also brings a clear traceability to our projects’, Sandrina Spiegl explains. 

The same applies to the field of climate protection, which is currently developing and implementing an energy guideline as a project. The project brief, sketches – everything is documented in Conceptboard. A feasibility study on river heat pumps is also intended to be made available to municipalities in the long term.

‘This is also being developed in part on Conceptboard and will likely be mapped there as well, because we don’t have any other project management tools that can do this. It also gives us a different way of building our arguments, particularly with regard to future project work internally and coordination with other departments,’ Axel Waltner explains regarding the background and current status of the project. 

Change thrives on example: a new path to collaboration

The introduction of Conceptboard at the County District Administration Ludwigsburg marks the beginning of an exciting process of change. Although only two teams are actively using the whiteboard tool so far and some employees remain hesitant, one thing is already clear: the shift toward more visual collaboration opens up new possibilities. Especially in public organisations, the adoption of new tools is often met with skepticism, fear of the unknown or concern about not being able to create perfect, polished boards right away. This is precisely where the first active teams are stepping in and encouraging others.

For example, Axel Waltner, head of the climate protection team, organised a networking event with the municipalities and created his presentation directly in Conceptboard. In addition, onboarding sessions, internal events, and a specially developed roadmap for new users have been introduced. These efforts make the tool more tangible and send an important signal: change thrives on example. Employees are more likely to engage when leadership sets the tone and lowers the barriers for taking those first steps.

From meeting marathons to efficient collaboration

‘I think ‘time savings’ is a bit of the wrong term. In fact, I believe it actually takes us more time overall but we are doing things now that we didn’t do before. The real efficiency gain comes from no longer hopping from meeting to meeting, with everyone working on their tasks in isolation and only later comparing whether we were even on the right track. That’s where the real added value lies and it ultimately makes us much more efficient,” says Axel Waltner, head of the climate protection team at the County District Office Ludwigsburg. 

This thought gets to the heart of the transformation: it is not about taking shortcuts, but about achieving sustainable efficiency. Conceptboard provides the County District Office Ludwigsburg with the space to make content visible, structure tasks, and move forward without endless rounds of alignment.

Looking ahead: step by step toward established practice

The County District Administration is still at the beginning of its journey with Conceptboard. Yet the experiences of the first teams make one thing clear: with patience, the right leadership by example, and an open approach to initial uncertainties, Conceptboard will find its place in day-to-day work. There is no need for ‘perfect’ boards right from the start what matters is having the courage to take the first step.

The successes so far speak for themselves: more and more teams are discovering the added value, and visual collaboration is gradually becoming a firmly established practice. Over time, a new culture is emerging, one in which communication is clearer, processes are more transparent, and collaboration is more efficient, driven by curiosity, inspiration, and the reassuring sense that digital collaboration can, in fact, be easy.