Designing Performance-Based Onboarding
Transforming instructor-led training and documentation into a scalable, self-paced onboarding experience that prepared new hires for real customer interactions.
Timeline
3 Months
Tools
Articulate Rise
Storyline 360
Role
Instructional
Designer
Deliverable
21 Courses,
1 Simulation,
Learning Path
Efficiency
40% Reduction
in Dev Time
The Design Brief
Design onboarding as a learning journey, not a collection of courses.
A new customer service onboarding cohort needed to be ready within three months, but the existing instructor-led program wasn't built to scale.
I redesigned the experience into a blended learning curriculum by transforming 21 instructor-led topics into self-paced learning that prepared learners for facilitator coaching, role plays, and a realistic Storyline simulation.
Designing Engaging Learning
People learn more when information becomes an experience.
Transform static documentation into interactive learning experiences that improved engagement and supported knowledge retention.
Build a Guided Learning Journey
Sequence 21 learning modules to build foundational knowledge before facilitator coaching, role plays, and performance practice.
Learning should prepare people for coaching—not replace it.
Reinforce Through Practice
Create authentic practice opportunities that built learner confidence before live customer interactions.
Confidence develops through practice before performance.
Design Principles
Design for Scalability
Design a repeatable onboarding curriculum that could support future hiring cohorts with minimal updates.
Scalable learning is designed once and improved over time.
Building the Learning Journey
Self-Paced Foundations
Learning Through Application
Performance Simulation
From Training to Performance
Self-paced learning was integrated throughout the onboarding journey, giving learners time to build foundational knowledge before participating in facilitator-led coaching, role plays, and Q&A. The curriculum concluded with a performance simulation before learners transitioned to supported live customer calls.
Rather than waiting until the end of training, learners regularly applied new knowledge through facilitator-led discussions, role plays, and Q&A. Integrating practice throughout the curriculum reinforced learning and prepared employees for increasingly complex customer interactions.
The onboarding journey concluded with a branching Storyline simulation where learners diagnosed customer issues, navigated a CRM interface, and selected appropriate solutions. Personalized feedback reinforced key decisions, allowing learners to practice in a realistic environment before supporting live customers.
Following the performance simulation, learners entered a supported nesting period where they handled live customer calls with guidance from facilitators and experienced agents. This final stage helped learners build confidence before working independently.
Learning Foundations
Guided Practice
Performance Simulation
Workplace Readiness
Project Outcomes
Converted 21 instructor-led topics into a structured self-paced learning path that could support future onboarding cohorts.
Scalable Onboarding Curriculum
Reduced development time by 40% through reusable templates, consistent standards, and a repeatable production process.
Faster Course Development
Created a branching simulation that allowed learners to diagnose customer issues, navigate a realistic CRM interface, and receive personalized feedback.
Performance-Based Practice
Self-paced learning shouldn’t replace coaching. It should prepare learners to get more from it.
Reflection & Growth
Completing 21 self-paced courses and a Storyline performance simulation in just three months pushed me to build faster without sacrificing quality. The simulation remains the highlight of the project, giving learners a safe place to practice customer interactions and receive personalized feedback before taking live calls.
Speed comes from systems, not shortcuts. Reusable templates and consistent standards let me deliver an ambitious curriculum on a demanding timeline — a philosophy I still apply today.
With more time, I'd integrate a continuous customer case study throughout the curriculum and collaborate more closely with facilitators to design the coaching and role-play sessions. Connecting self-paced learning, guided practice, and live coaching would create an even more cohesive onboarding experience.
What I’m Proud Of
Speed Comes From Systems, Not Shortcuts
What I’d Improve Today
