Lots of organizations approach their most pressing business challenges by looking outward for solutions when oftentimes, the answers already exist within. You heard that right, our experience suggests that the solutions to your organization’s greatest challenges may lay dormant in the minds of your people—all you need to do is ask. Seeking answers internally has the added benefits of employee engagement and differentiation from your competition. So, instead of searching for answers beyond your organization’s metaphorical walls, why not mine the wisdom you already have?
At Blueline, we believe the best path to business transformation is built from within, by listening to the people who live the business every day. We call this approach Voice of the Business (VotB), a process which has quietly become one of the most effective tools we use to drive alignment, engagement, and sustainable change when designing our simulations.
FUN FACT: Voice of the Business was actually named by one of our clients.
We start by listening
There’s a kind of practical wisdom that only exists inside your organization. It’s a level of insight that no AI or off-the-shelf solution can offer. Our VotB process is designed to tap this body of knowledge (while also uncovering the roots of real challenges your organization is facing) using a structured approach that draws out authentic, experience-based insights directly from your employees.
Through interviews, focus groups, surveys, and background research, we build a picture of what’s truly going on before co-creating the path forward. Our approach accomplishes two equally important things: we gain deep insights into the problems people are facing on the job, and we build alignment to the eventual solution for those problems.
Building buy-in and ownership
We’ve seen again and again how VotB changes the dynamic of a simulation design project. When employees see their ideas reflected in the solution—when they hear their own words echoed back in workshops, designs, or strategy documents—something shifts. They move from passive participants to active owners.
Take the example of a client who brought us in to build training for a new software system. This new system affected lots of different functions and changed how departments shared information. The existing belief was that people didn’t understand the software or how it could make their lives easier.
But after conducting over 50 employee interviews, we discovered the real issue: understanding how to use the software was not the greatest need. Instead, employees needed to put it into context. They couldn’t see how their roles fit into the bigger picture, and training on clicks and shortcuts wouldn’t solve that.
Along with some other themes uncovered during the VotB process, the project leaders concluded that they needed a very different approach than what they had originally imagined. We created an immersive learning experience to help employees connect the dots across departments and understand their shared goals. We paired that with targeted, just-in-time performance support. The solution worked—not because it was flashy, but because it was rooted in the real needs of the people who had to use it.
Our Voice of the Business process
Voice of the Business includes a unique combination of background research, free-form interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires designed to engage and secure the commitment of your employees while pinpointing critical issues and identifying solutions.
STEP 1 | Prepare
We start with background research and develop a tailored questioning framework based on your organization’s goals.
STEP 2 | Listen
Through free-form interviews, we surface challenges, needs, and opportunities, often discovering issues that leadership hadn’t considered.
STEP 3 | Build a Straw Man
We organize insights into themes, using your people’s own words. This early framework becomes the foundation for alignment.
STEP 4 | Test and Refine
Focus groups, questionnaires, and surveys help us validate and enrich our findings, creating broader organizational engagement.
STEP 5 | Share the Big Ideas
We deliver a findings and recommendations report that becomes a powerful platform for change because it’s owned and validated by your people.
The entire VotB process enables you to gain vital internal insights and secure employee buy-in and commitment. Armed with these insights, our creative team stands ready to design AI-powered simulations that drive real change.
So, what’s your organization’s greatest challenge?
What sets Blueline apart isn’t just our immersive simulations—it’s the way we help clients to pinpoint the problem and build enthusiasm for the right solution. While AI can accelerate parts of the development process, true transformation requires authentic intelligence. It requires listening. Understanding. Connecting the dots. When you start by listening to your people, they become your greatest source of innovation, and you shift from top-down mandates to a shared vision. And that unique vision expands the moat between you and your competition.
Whether your goal is to navigate a system rollout, shift your culture, or develop the next generation of leaders, the people closest to the work likely already have the answers. They just need to be asked.
At Blueline, we’re ready to help you listen.
