Smith & Carson Onboarding

Brief

Smith & Carson is a leading investigative research firm in the Atlanta area that counts Am Law 100 firms and Fortune 500 companies among its clients. Growing demand meant that Smith & Carson needed to bring on more investigative staff. Supervisors had been spending up to 36 hours per new hire on one-on-one training, plus ongoing support. This inefficiency sometimes meant turning away new clients for the firm until capacity was increased.

The processes on which investigators need training include the firm’s internal software platforms, multiple external tools, and detailed processes to ensure consistent reporting within the investigative team. One challenge to address was the lack of training material provided by the maker of a key software tool used in investigations.

Learning Solution

I built a branded, media-rich, 22-module eLearning course that follows a fictional new employee through a big-picture orientation to their role and step-by-step instructions for each process. I worked with staff to turn internal knowledge of processes into audio scripts and screen capture videos that clearly laid out each step. In-course knowledge checks keep learners engaged, while end-of-module practice activities let learners apply new skills and compare their work to model screenshots and reports.

The course is accompanied by a reference library of 28 PDF job aids.

Tools Used

• Articulate Storyline

• Articulate Replay

• Canva

• Audacity

Results

The course freed up internal resources with an anticipated 50% reduction in supervisor contact hours spent on training and 75% reduction in hours spent on new employee support.