In today’s ever-changing business landscape, organizations must find innovative ways to connect employees to their strategic goals while fostering engagement and collaboration. For organizations looking to elevate employee engagement and strategic alignment, a well-executed journey map can be a game-changer.
The Power of Visual Strategy Mapping
Senior living leader LCS created Strategic Journey Maps—a dynamic storybook-like visual—to represent the company’s vision, priorities, and focus areas. Rather than relying on traditional text-heavy strategy documents, the maps bring strategy to life through cartoon characters illustrating key company initiatives. This accessible and engaging tool engages employees at all levels, driving both individual and organizational success.
Bringing the Strategy to Life
The Strategic Journey Map was first introduced at the LCS Leadership Summit in 2023, where 750 employees—including corporate, field, and community leaders—gathered for a week of professional development and networking.
LCS leaders served as trained facilitators to guide employees through the journey map experience. Tables were assigned to ensure participants were a mix of job levels, locations, and roles. Participants engaged in activities such as:
- Searching for key elements on the map that related to their work
- Identifying where they and their teams fit into the strategic journey
- Discussing challenges and setting future goals in alignment with the company’s vision.
This approach enabled employees to learn the company strategy and hear from others about how the initiatives impact areas of the company differently. Employee feedback shared the exercise made strategy more meaningful to their role and fostered a deeper understanding of how their roles contribute to the company’s success.
Sustaining Engagement and Evolution
Since its launch, the Strategic Journey Map has remained a cornerstone of the LCS strategy work: It has been used in quarterly town hall meetings, added to the company intranet, and used in new employee orientation to ensure that every team member—regardless of when they join—understands the company’s strategic direction from day one.
As the company strategy evolved, so did the need to refresh the strategy maps to keep the initiative fresh and engaging. The LCS Strategic Journey Map 2.0 was launched through a second company-wide interactive session in 2024 (along with a virtual offering) to showcase company progress and highlight new initiatives. A third iteration of the map is already being discussed for a debut at a future all-employee meeting.
Measuring the Impact of Employee Journey Mapping
The success of the LCS journey map initiative extends far beyond the 750 employees who initially participated. Leaders have shared the map with their extended teams, expanding its reach to thousands. The overwhelmingly positive response to both the original and updated versions demonstrates the power of engaging employees through creative and interactive experiences.
“Our strategy maps have sparked meaningful conversations about how each employee’s role aligns with our broader strategy,” notes Annette Jorden, senior director, LCS Talent Development. “We have seen that when employees see the direct impact they can make to our strategy, they become more motivated, innovative, and engaged in shaping our future.”
The strategy map and all of the tactics that are linked to it have made the strategy page on the company intranet one of the most visited resources by employees. Surveys from employee meetings where the strategy maps were featured also echoed the effectiveness and demand for more map-like exercises to stay engaged with the strategy, as well as other company initiatives.
“As we continue refining our strategy, we remain committed to keeping employees at the heart of our journey,” says LCS EVP/Chief Human Resources Officer Monica Friedman. “Our experience has shown that our strategy maps are more than just strategy communications—it’s about fostering a workplace where every individual feels seen, valued, and empowered to contribute to our shared success.”
