Effective Communication eLearning

I created this Effective Communication eLearning course to help our inbound call center agents reduce a noticeable spike in escalated calls. When the inbound leadership team approached me, they weren’t sure whether training was the right solution, so I started by digging into the problem. After reviewing calls and interviewing five top‑performing agents, it became clear that many representatives—especially newer ones—struggled with two core skills: active listening and empathy statements. These skills aren’t always intuitive, and without them, even simple calls could escalate quickly.

Based on what I learned, I proposed an asynchronous eLearning course that blended real agent examples with scenario‑based practice. I wanted the training to feel authentic, so I used actual phrasing from high‑performing agents and built mini‑scenarios where learners choose between empathy statements, identify customer emotions, and practice navigating internal resource tools through embedded links. Using action mapping and SAM helped me keep the course tightly aligned to the behaviors that truly prevent escalations.

Once the text‑based storyboard was approved, I created a style guide, built an interactive prototype in Adobe Captivate, and incorporated early branching so the team could see how the experience would flow. After gathering feedback, I moved into full development—building out the animations, scenarios, branching, and quiz questions.

The results were encouraging and within three months of launching the course, escalated calls dropped by 15%, and agents became more confident using the internal database to support their conversations. Looking back, I would enhance the course by adding deeper scenario‑based practice and introducing branching earlier to better support seasoned agents. Those improvements are top of mind as I continue refining my instructional design approach and expanding my use of action mapping to create even more effective learning experiences.