A clear roadmap 

In today’s rapidly transforming business world, this quote rings true. At LOCAL, we’ve found that successful transformations always begin with a well-thought-out plan. While each part of a change initiative may make sense on its own, without a sense of how all the pieces relate to one another, things get messy. Intertangled initiatives can make big-picture transformations inefficient, ineffective, and even alienating to your people. 

According to BCG, the foundation of any successful transformation is an integrated strategy that clearly defines your goals—the "why," "what," and "how." This crucial planning step significantly boosts your chances of building, launching, and sustaining successful change. 

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
— Benjamin Franklin

Where do I start? 

At LOCAL, our planning process begins with the end in mind. What do we want to achieve? Whether it’s a shift in company culture, new behaviors aligned with values, or the adoption of cutting-edge technology, clarity is key.

Once we define a goal, we create a detailed roadmap to get there, considering your audiences, communication channels, and the narrative we’ll use to guide your team through the change. These elements come together to form what we call a Storymap. It’s our go-to tool when your Planning the change.

Building a Storymap

A Storymap applies the principles of great storytelling to help teams align on their goals. The process has three key steps:

Step 1: Insight Gathering and Knowledge Transfer

LOCAL collaborates with stakeholders to understand why the change is happening, why it’s happening now, and whether the organization is ready (i.e., Are people excited about this? Why would they possibly reject it?).

Our insight-gathering often includes:

• A short survey to collect team input 
• Sponsor interviews to understand background, context, and focus
• Workshop planning to optimize our time spent together in a Storymap Session 

Step 2: The Storymap Session

During this live workshop with key stakeholders, we co-develop the Storymap, setting the foundation for change.

We Build the Change by:

• Defining the mission, vision, and goals of the transformation
• Highlighting critical moments that matter
• Identifying gaps, barriers, and opportunities
• Setting clear, measurable success criteria and desired outcomes

Once the change is defined, we prepare to Launch the Change. At this stage, we assess the current state and address key questions for each audience impacted by the transformation.

When preparing for Launch, we consider:

• Who are the target audiences?
• How can we reach everyone in the organization?
• What communication channels will resonate most?
• How do we ensure our messages cut through the noise?
• How can we coordinate with other ongoing initiatives?
• When will audiences be informed and asked to take action?

Finally, we create a plan to Sustain the Change, integrating the transformation into the daily routines of all employees—from executives to the front lines.

To Sustain Change, we ask:

• What does the end-to-end employee experience look like?
• Where are there opportunities to introduce new behaviors?
• What is the one shared experience every employee should have?
• What tools, partnerships, or resources are needed to make the change stick?

Step 3: Readout

Following the Storymap session, we consolidate our insights into a clear and shareable format, which includes:

• A “tissue session” with key sponsors to review and finalize the Storymap
• A professional, executive-level presentation of key insights and recommendations
• Work proposals with cost and timeline estimates to help secure budgets and approvals

Here’s an example of the full process in action:

Case Study: AI in the airline industry

In early 2024, a prominent airline’s new AI team needed to communicate their modernization efforts while addressing common concerns around AI.

Through the Storymap process, LOCAL helped craft a compelling narrative and communications plan that addressed these tensions and aligned the team with the company’s vision of success.

Interviews and focus groups with the airline’s tech, design, legal, and operations teams revealed differing perspectives on AI. We used these insights to define barriers to change and chart the path from awareness to adoption. The goal was to shift from uncertainty to a future where employees embraced AI as a tool that simplified their work.

Our story, told in chapters, focused on education, legalities, applications of AI, and the future of work. Each chapter outlined the initiatives, when to communicate them, and how case studies could aid understanding. Most importantly, each chapter conveyed its intent by specifying what an employee needs to believe. 

Using this plan, the airline’s communications team delivered the right messages at the right time, using the most effective channels.

Do I need a Storymap? 

The Storymap is our go-to tool when your Planning the change. If you’re grappling with questions like…

• Why are we pursuing this transformation?
• Where do we want to go?
• Where are we today?
• What should we do first?
• What challenges should we prepare for?
• What will the change look like?
• How, where, and when will it happen?

...then a Storymap may be the next step in your change journey.

“It has been a real pleasure to partner with LOCAL as strategic thought leaders. They are very good at getting into the crux of the situation quickly, understanding cultural nuances and intricacies adeptly, and bringing a refreshing energy and creativity into the solution. Our key stakeholders are blown away and wanting to know more. We have immensely enjoyed working with them and wouldn’t hesitate to partner with them again in the future.”

— EVP, Employee Experience