The challenge
An online learning design company experienced frequent turnover among learning designers, leading to a steady flow of new staff, new to the company and new to the team. Onboarding materials consisted only of a high-level process diagram and an organisational chart, which lacked the practical detail required for the effective onboarding of learning designers, the core of the business. This gap contributed to project delays and inconsistent content quality while the new designer got to grips with what was expected of them.
My intervention
To support new learning designers in becoming effective quickly and reduce the impact of turnover on delivery timelines and content standards, I set out to create practical, company specific onboarding resources that clearly explained the design and development process.
I collaborated with team members to co-create a comprehensive Learning Design starter pack, outlining the full development lifecycle, key milestones, timescales, and essential reference materials such as style guides. The process was intentionally collaborative to encourage peer learning and surface valuable undocumented practices from across the remote team.
The outcome
The starter pack enabled new learning designers to integrate more quickly, meet deadlines, and maintain content quality. The collaborative creation process also improved team cohesion and knowledge sharing. The lifecycle resource has since become a central reference guide for onboarding new starters and ongoing design work.