I have been an integral part of a startup’s journey right from its inception. If you have ever worked in a startup environment, you would know that the early days are full of excitement. Each passing moment brings an opportunity to demonstrate your creativity and potential. Of course, the excitement also brings its fair share of challenges. You are required to be agile and willing to dive into the unknown. Yet these challenges fuel your growth, pushing you to discover innovative solutions. In this article, I will talk about my team’s experience working on a project that forced us to step outside of our comfort zone in order to learn and deliver. 

Birth of a vision 

Our company, born with a shared passion for change and progress, soon blossomed into a thriving community of individuals from all walks of life. As our team grew, we realized that we needed to nurture an environment that celebrates our differences, where every individual feels valued and heard.  

Our founders had envisioned a workplace where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) weren’t mere buzzwords but a living reality. It was the HR team’s responsibility to lead the way in putting this vision into practice. 

Roadmap to DEI culture 

We were aware that fostering DEI requires a multi-faceted approach. We initiated a detailed needs assessment, set clear objectives, and established key performance indicators. Our efforts extended beyond hiring strategy and HR policies, to lay a foundation for an inclusive workplace.  

Need for an effective training solution 

Through these combined efforts, we realized that effective training is a stepping stone in our roadmap. This is where the journey of our DEI training project began. 

We needed a training solution that could swiftly reach every member of our diverse team. As our team continued to expand and it still does, we wanted to effortlessly deploy training across various locations. We wanted to ensure that every new member is onboarded with the same level of understanding and commitment to DEI. eLearning offered the flexibility, accessibility, and consistency in content delivery we were looking for. With the added benefit of tracking progress, eLearning was our natural choice for training delivery.  

The challenges 

Startup environments are known for their agility and adaptability. This often means having lean teams with multifaceted responsibilities. In our case, the HR team was tasked with creating a robust eLearning course on diversity, equity, and inclusion. We needed more than just a page-turner course. Our employees deserved an engaging learning experience that would resonate with our dynamic workforce. However, we had a few challenges to deal with: 

• Curating content for maximum impact: One of the most significant challenges we faced was the lack of pre-existing content. We needed to create content from scratch that should be comprehensive and relevant.  
• Figuring out the eLearning development process: Given that we didn’t have the extensive hands-on experience nor the technical expertise in eLearning development, the next big question looming before us was, “How do we go about creating the course?” 
• Working within budget constraints: Resource and budget allocation was a constant consideration for us. We did not have the luxury of having content or technical experts to help us. We needed a solution that was both effective and cost-efficient. 

• Ensuring timely implementation: A rapidly growing team meant that the need for training was pressing. We had a target to roll out the course in three to four weeks so we couldn’t afford a lengthy development process. 

Discovering solutions 

While we didn’t have substantial practical exposure, we were eager to learn. We tapped into the wealth of online resources available and engaged in discussions with a few acquaintances from the eLearning industry to gain detailed insights. As we were piecing together the puzzle, we started understanding the nuances of course design, development, and delivery.  

We were confident about navigating through the initial steps of analysis and course content design. However, the development part was tricky for us. Choosing the right eLearning authoring tool was one of the success factors for our project. We needed a cost-efficient tool that we could learn and start using quickly to create an interactive, mobile-friendly course. We were looking for a solution not only for our immediate needs but also to achieve our future learning and development goals. 

Adobe Captivate to the rescue 

After thorough research and consultation with our experts, we decided to go ahead with the new Adobe Captivate as our authoring tool. Its quick learning curve, intuitive user interface, and ability to create interactive, device-responsive, and accessible eLearning content aligned perfectly with our goals.  

Here is how Adobe Captivate helped us in the eLearning development process. 

• Prebuilt courses with real content for a quick start 

Adobe Captivate offers Quick Start Projects (QSPs) preloaded with real content. These are structured courses on different trending topics that are ready for customization. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is one of them. It was a great starting point for our team.  

Without needing to spend too much time thinking about how to structure our course content and what interactive elements to use, we were able to leverage and adapt this rich content to suit our specific organizational context. All we had to focus on was customizing this content to align with our overarching strategy. From multimedia-rich slides and predesigned interactive elements to quizzes and real-life scenarios, we found everything we needed to create the DEI course. This saved us time and ensured that our course was a comprehensive learning experience for our employees. 

• Elegant course aesthetics 

Using Adobe Captivate’s range of design options, we could effortlessly create a professional-looking course. The vast library of royalty-free images, characters, and icons helped us to make it visually stunning. The tool offered us the ability to customize the course theme to match our branding style guide. We were also able to customize the appearance and layout of individual slides and blocks to give them the look we wanted.

• Interactivity for lasting impact 

Adobe Captivate empowered us to infuse interactivity into our course without the need for programming. Its predesigned widget gallery and interactive components helped us easily include engaging elements such as scenarios, quizzes, and exploratory interactions to make the learning experience more immersive and memorable. 

• Rapid development without compromising quality 

Adobe Captivate’s streamlined workflows allowed us to expedite course creation without compromising on quality. The built-in responsive design feature allowed us to create content that can automatically adapt to different screen sizes. The tool provides a swift preview of how the content will look on devices of different sizes. We could focus on the content and design as we were confident that the technical aspects of adjusting the content for each screen type would be seamlessly taken care of by the tool.  

• Budget-friendly solution 

As I mentioned earlier, we had a tight budget to follow. Adobe Captivate provided us with an affordable monthly subscription plan. The return on investment was evident from the final output in addition to the time saved during development. 

The outcome 

In about four weeks, we were able to design, develop, and deploy a functional, responsive course on DEI. Throughout the project, the team kept the end-users – our employees – at the forefront. This user-centric approach ensured that the final course was relevant to the diverse workforce. 

With clear planning, close collaboration, and harnessing the capabilities of Adobe Captivate, our project not only met the tight deadline but also exceeded expectations. While the monitoring and evaluation phase is still ongoing, the overall feedback from our employees has been overwhelmingly positive. Many of them praised the interactive and informative nature of the course and also the ability to take the course on any device, on the go. 

Conclusion 

Our experience working on this project demonstrates the power of innovative solutions in the world of Learning and Development. With Adobe Captivate, we were able to leverage technology to create the DEI course that elevated the learning experience for our employees.  

The lesson learned? In challenging situations, the right support, resources, and tools can transform a vision into an action.