Client
Expedia Group
Audience
Customer Service Agents
Responsibilities
Prototype and test a modern approach to self-paced learning.
Tools Used
Articulate Storyline
Articulate Rise
Reaper
Microsoft Clipchamp
Adobe Character Animator
Adobe Premiere
Adobe Illustrator
Vyond
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Overview
The onboarding training initiative for newly hired customer service agents at Expedia aimed to enhance learner satisfaction, improving learning and performance outcomes. By leveraging modern learning approaches, I sought to create an engaging and effective training experience that better prepares agents for being successful in their role.
Problem
Traditional onboarding training were leading to lower engagement and learner satisfaction. The blended approach, which featured primarily instructor-led training often left new agents struggling to retain information and apply it effectively in real-world scenarios. There was a clear need for an innovative training solution to address these challenges and elevate the overall training experience.
Solution
To increase learner satisfaction and improve performance outcomes, I developed a prototype featuring:
MOOC-Style Format: This boosts learner engagement and retention by providing focused, easily digestible content.
Micro Video Content: Short, engaging videos standardize learning content, allowing for consistent delivery across all instructors.
Interactive Transcripts: Clickable transcripts enable learners to navigate video content efficiently, as well as revisit and quickly retrieve relevant information.
Engaging Activities: Interactive experiences provide immersive learning opportunities.
360-Image: Exploration Activity
Interactive Video: Crossroads Activity
Social Learning: Discussion prompts encourage deeper reflection and peer-to-peer learning, facilitating collaborative discussions that reinforce understanding. This aligns with the 20% in the 70/20/10 model, emphasizing the importance of social interactions in the learning process.
Design Process
Note: During the prototyping phase, I created tutorial videos to engage my LXD team, gather feedback, and ensure they could replicate the process for future course development. Throughout this case study, you will find these tutorial videos included for your reference.
Research
I began by empathizing with learners to define their issues with the current training approach. I conducted focus groups and surveys with agents, supervisors, and trainers. Additionally, I researched learning tools and modern approaches, validating my findings with these key stakeholders.
MOOC-Style Format
Research shows our agent population is predominantly younger and that Gen Z learners prefer a MOOC-style format due to its flexibility and bite-sized content, allowing them to focus on topics of interest and progress at their own pace. The modular, selfpaced structure encourages autonomy in learning.
Given this, I created a MOOC-style course prototype using Articulate Rise, which featured a consistent format. Each topic featured a microvideo, followed by an activity to apply the concepts, a knowledge check to assess comprehension, and a discussion prompt for learners to share insights and reinforce learning.
Video
Research also indicated that talking head microvideos enhance learner engagement and satisfaction by creating a personal connection with the instructor, delivering concise information, and using visual and vocal cues to aid understanding. This format allows learners to absorb content in manageable chunks, reducing cognitive overload and making it easier to retain information. Additionally, the flexibility to revisit these videos empowers learners to control their learning pace, leading to increased motivation and overall satisfaction with the training experience.
For the prototype, I created a sample microvideo using Reaper for voiceover, Adobe Character Animator for the talking head animation, and Vyond for the B-roll animation.
Animation vs Live Action
I opted for animation over live action to expedite video development and ensure scalability/easy updates for our new hire curriculum.
The character "e," inspired by the Expedia Group logo, was created in Adobe Illustrator and converted into a puppet in Adobe Character Animator.
I supplemented the talking head video with associated B-roll animation from our Vyond template library and sequenced the video in Adobe Premiere.
Click Play to watch the prototype intro video.
Audio (v1)
Initially, I recorded voiceover myself using a digital audio workstation software: Reaper.
Click Play to watch my tutorial on using Reaper/Adobe Character Animator.
Audio (v2)
For future iterations of the prototype, I substituted AI voiceover using Microsoft Clipchamp, enabling us to scale this initiative and generate videos rapidly for the new hire curriculum.
Interactive Transcript
The prototype featured interactive transcript functionality, which highlighted words as they were spoken, enabling learners to engage with the video in a novel way. Benefits included improved comprehension, particularly for ESL agents, flexible viewing options, and enhanced user experience, leading to increased engagement and learning outcomes.
Click Play to see my example of interactive transcripts being used in MOOCs.
Click Play to watch my tutorial on creating interactive transcripts.
Interactive Activities
360-Image: Exploration Activity
The prototype featured a 360-image activity created in Articulate Storyline. This immersive approach allowed learners to explore environments interactively, improving contextual understanding, and enhance engagement with dynamic visuals.
Click Play to watch my tutorial on creating 360-image activities.
Interactive Video: Crossroads Activity
The prototype included interactive video, which has been shown to boost engagement, provide immediate feedback, personalize learning, and improve retention, making it more effective than traditional video.
Specifically, I developed a Crossroads activity using Lumi H5P. Learners watch a customer describe an issue, after which the video pauses, prompting them to answer a question. A correct answer leads to a video with positive feedback, while an incorrect answer shows a video of the mistake and allows learners to try again.
Click Play to watch my tutorial on creating interactive video.
Seen in this video, I also explored using Synthesia, an AI video tool, to scale video production for the new hire curriculum, but budget constraints led me to opt for animation instead.
Social Learning
The prototype featured a discussion forum within the Adobe Learning Manager LMS. Although the discussion prompt feature could not be embedded in Articulate Rise, I provided links to the forum with navigation instructions to facilitate user interaction. For future versions, I would want an integrated solution to align with optimizing for the user experience.
Full Development
Following a successful prototyping phase, the onboarding training underwent a round of review with stakeholders to incorporate their feedback before proceeding to full development. This phase included the production of all video content, the creation of interactive transcripts, and the complete design of the 360-image activity.
Click Play to watch a demonstration of the prototype.
Testing
The objective of this prototype was to assess whether the new training format would enhance learner satisfaction. To test this, we divided agent participants into two groups: the control group (Group A), which completed the course in its traditional blended learning format, and the experimental group (Group B), which experienced the new prototype I had designed. Both groups received the same content and conditions to ensure fair comparison.
After training, we surveyed participants to measure satisfaction. The experimental group achieved a score of 4.8 out of 5, significantly higher than the control group's 4.1/5.
Additionally, a focus group provided qualitative insights, revealing a strong preference for the engaging content presentation, the utility of interactive transcripts for quick information retrieval, and the immersive experience of exploring 360 images to emphasize the traveler experience.
This positive feedback, coupled with the quantitative data indicating increased learner satisfaction, ultimately influenced our decision to implement the new training format for the New Hire curriculum.
