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This entry is a Finalist in the “Harnessing Technology for Learning” category on Wednesday 22 June 2011
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Michelle Russell UK & Ireland Training Manager Royal Caribbean Cruise Line |
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| elearning as a virtual experience: online training in the 21st century |
| We have relaunched our Cruising for Excellence Online elearning programme for the Travel Trade. When first launched in 2006 we soon had the reputation of being ‘leaders in innovative e-learning’. Direct competitors have since caught up and therefore it’s important that we continue to maintain our reputation. Elearning impacts the positive promotion of our brands and the choices our travel partners have to learn about cruise products. The new site is more interactive and includes 3D graphical ship environments encouraging more engagement. It is now a more concise and blended learning approach to cover all essential areas of cruise knowledge. |
| Impact | Innovation | |
| The business need the project was designed to address was to educate large volumes of Travel Agents and increase awareness of our three brands. By year two, our success was seen through various awards and this evidence saw our cruise competitors following suit. We became leaders in our own industry seeing over 20,000 users, winning an array of awards and having developed and launched the programme internationally in thirteen languages. In addition to achieving its original objective, we have excelled the scope of the project and become champions in elearning globally within our company where our headquarters is in Miami. | Five years on, the need to continue educating our trade partners and enhancing brand awareness in a growing industry is even more significant. Through a major relaunch we have been able to firmly re-instate ourselves as the leaders in the cruise sector for travel agent e-learning. State-of-the-art 3D graphical environments showcase the ship in all key areas and reinforce learning by offering a virtual onboard experience. This powerful tool has enabled agents to not only maximise their knowledge but also use the virtual environments as a clever sales tool, taking potential guests on a virtual tour to explore before buying! | |
| Insight | Inspiration | |
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We adapted the programme three times and looking back we rushed development in order to stay ahead of the competition. Launching globally was challenging and communication proved difficult with time zones, key stakeholders time limitations and each market having a different focus. With hindsight, I would have assigned a full time project manager to cover each stage more effectively allowing me to be more strategic. Evaluating the programme’s roi was limited and therefore we created a dashboard to provide qualitative and quantitative feedback. We are now in a position to focus on specific needs, not what we ‘think’ will work.
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We have taken onboard feedback including but not limited to, bringing the agent closer to our ships, creating a more engaging learning experience, making sessions succinct, more visual and relevant to what the learner needs. We have ensured the programme has a balance of flexibility and challenges to maximise individual’s own achievements. We have taken it to another dimension creating a buzz for elearning in cruise and ensured scope to continue developing. Sounds simple but for the first time since its launch, we have thought about where we want to be in the future and focused on our original objectives. |
| Michelle Russell |
 Michelle Russell created Cruising for Excellence in 2003 for the UK & Ireland markets and alongside a team of passionate trainers has been able to prove how training, especially elearning, can be a key driver in the education and brand awareness of cruise. Michelle has never seen herself as an expert in the field of elearning and doesn’t profess to be one however, with the backing of her peers and support of her team; the elearning model that has been created has grown to become the key training success to date and seen the program launch globally in 13 languages. |
