Case Study · Program Design · Pandora Media
A blended onboarding program for 300+ client services hires across the US and Australia, built to feel consistent no matter which office someone walked into.
The Problem
Pandora's Revenue Operations team was hiring client services staff in both the US and Australia. Onboarding needed to land the same way in both places: consistent enough that a new hire in Sydney and a new hire in Oakland ended up equally ready, without forcing every session into the same room at the same time, which wasn't possible across that many time zones.
Role
I directed a cross-functional team of three, a UX designer, a graphic designer, and an interaction developer, to design and build the program. I set the direction and structure; they built the pieces.
Approach
Blended format: self-paced digital modules for the parts that needed to be identical everywhere, paired with live, in-person components for the parts that benefited from a real room and a real person. The mix is what kept the two countries consistent without making either one feel like a lesser version of the other.
Rollout
I piloted the program first to validate speed-to-competency before committing to a global rollout, rather than building for 300+ hires and finding out what didn't work after the fact.
Artifacts
I got to have a bit of fun with this one because Pandora is all about music. Every module used a different music theme, from Hip-Hop and Jazz to Rock, Classical, Punk, and Pop.
These repositories are for viewing purposes only.
Outcome
The program onboarded 300+ client services hires across the US and Australia on a single blended format. The pilot-first approach confirmed speed-to-competency before the global rollout, though I don't have a precise time-to-competency figure confirmed for this one, so I'm not reporting one here.