Claims Detective
Project Attributes
Character Development
Storytelling
Articulate Storyline
Camtasia Video Editing
Voiceover Editing
Illustration
About This Project
For this particular project, the stakeholders wanted to introduce new guidelines on when to offer a cash settlement, a.k.a “cash out,” on a claim. While the guidelines are black and white, the key concern was that the employees take the time to really understand the customer’s issue before even entertaining the cash out solution. They wanted the employees to adopt a more "investigative approach."
Based on their description of the employee’s role in the interaction and the fact that the topic can easily lend itself to very dry, boring content, I decided that storytelling was going to be the best approach to keep the learners engaged and to ensure retention of the learning. So, I created a mentor-like character for the module, Detective Heart – Claims Detective.
Character Research
When developing a detective character there are many routes one can take. There’s the intense, immensely intelligent, arrogant Sherlock route, the comedic, bumbling, and endearing Jacques Clouseau, or even the protective, unconventional, stern Elliot Stabler.
While all good choices, I envisioned Detective Heart as a mysterious, confident gumshoe type of detective. This choice was surprising since that was the character profile I knew the least about.
So my research began. I learned that this iconic character was developed by Raymond Chandler in novels such as The Big Sleep which were eventually developed into films and TV shows. In reading and watching some of that content, I observed that the story typically included the following characteristics:
Honest detective in a corrupt world
Sardonic tone
First-person narrative
Heavy use of similes
Economy of language
Production
Armed with this knowledge, my outlining, storyboarding, and scriptwriting began.
During production, I selected a color palette that contributed to the mysterious undertone, commissioned an actor to provide the voice of our main character, and developed additional illustrated characters that would represent our customers.
There were many thematic elements that came together beautifully to tell the story of our humble Detective Heart who is showing the new kid (the learner) the ropes of being a Claims Detective. His mentorship included how to investigate the true issue and ultimately determine if a cash out is the best solution.
I have isolated two critical pieces of this module for preview below.
Impact and Reception
Both learners and stakeholders alike were thrilled with the content. Not only was there a near 100% adoption rate of the new guidelines but many learners commented on how fun the training was and how it kept their attention. With the key learning objectives being met, the business stakeholders noted that post-training the employees were adopting an investigative mindset during their call observations.
As a result of these successes, the module was incorporated into new-hire content.
"Impressive. I've seen some pretty tough claims in my time but with your skills you make them look like a cake walk."
Detective Heart - Claims Detective