The Challenge: Tech changes move faster than training timelines
Border States Electric supports a large internal workforce of employee-owners—and when new technology rolls out, the learning team is expected to enable adoption quickly across branches, warehouses, and operations.
The problem wasn’t just content volume. It was who had the knowledge—and how hard it was to turn that knowledge into usable training.
Before iorad, creating training often meant subject matter experts (SMEs) building PowerPoints and adding audio. That process was heavy, slow, and intimidating for people whose real job is running the process, not producing learning content.
“We had people making PowerPoints and having to add audio… it was kind of like, ‘I don’t want to create that because I don’t want to have to do all of that.’”
On top of that, Border States wanted training that felt more like doing the task—not watching someone else do it. They needed interactive walkthroughs that employees could follow, repeat, and use in the moment.
The Shift: SME extraction + ID polish = training at rollout speed
iorad changed the production model.
Instead of requiring instructional designers to build everything from scratch, Border States could train SMEs quickly, let them capture workflows, and then have the ID team refine and standardize the output.
“The learning curve is so low… we can train a subject matter expert for 90 minutes and get them up and running.”
That mattered because internal tech launches don’t wait for L&D. As Sara described it, once a tool is released internally, it’s immediately in the hands of thousands of employee-owners—often before formal training can catch up.
“There’s never enough time to create the training that needs to be done.”
With iorad, SMEs could move faster, and IDs could focus on structure, clarity, and consistency instead of spending weeks on screenshots and manual assembly.
The Outcome: Training delivered in the LMS, SharePoint, and (soon) in the workflow
Border States now distributes iorad content in three primary ways:
- LMS delivery (Storyline → Adobe Learning Manager)
Their most structured learning—especially onboarding—runs through Adobe Learning Manager. To support required training and tracking, they embed iorad tutorials inside Articulate Storyline as web objects, and then layer in quiz questions at the end.
“The thing we’re missing… is the quizzing part… so when we put it in Storyline, we add quiz questions at the end.”
- SharePoint process document library (replacing Word documents)
For operational job aids, they’re rapidly replacing traditional Word documents with iorad PDFs—while also linking the interactive tutorial in the same library search results.
“We’re very quickly replacing what used to be Word documents with the downloaded PDF… and the tutorial itself as a second result in the search.”
- Just-in-time learning via browser extension (planned rollout)
They haven’t rolled it out to learners yet, but they’re now at the tipping point: enough content exists to enable in-the-moment support inside key web-based tools (without introducing another platform or creating heavy IT lift).
“The fact that it can be delivered… without involving a third party… is a big advantage for us.”
Why it worked: Interactive step navigation builds muscle memory
Learners responded to iorad because it gave them control—forward/back, skip, replay—without forcing them to rewatch a full recording when they only needed one step.
“It was so easy… they could go back and forward… and skip over… and watch it again.”
For frontline and warehouse-adjacent audiences, that click-through flow created a more realistic practice experience.
“Driving the muscle memory of actually doing the task… when you click… it moves forward… it’s seamless.”