Thomas Richards Email & Phone Number

Richmond, Va, Us

Falls Church, Virginia, United States

Richmond, Virginia, United States

I led a team of Agile Programming Engineers, Instructional Designers, Animators and 3D Modelers who developed immersive learning applications that employed emerging tech -- A/R, V/R and gamification – to drive experiential learning. Launched L&D applications with unlimited streaming capabilities across all devices that saw a dramatic increase in training completion, cost savings and avoidance with tangible performance improvement.⏩HIGHLIGHTS:• Increased training completion 543%, saved $384 in vendor costs, directing a cold calling sales pilot from roadmap to launch tested across 2K Corporate Sales associates, featuring simulated exercises with unlimited streaming capabilities across all devices. • Grew completion rates 650% launching application featuring a CEO Avatar to simulate face-to-face sales. • Piloted 3D immersive learning app to 3K Specialty Technicians that increased new hire efficiency 10%, replacing paper instructional manuals by providing both learning and real-time support. Success led to plans for Q1 2024 rollout to 20K Field Associates.

Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

200+ Videos Per Year that Replaced Company’s Print Training Library>3X Team Expansion that Supported Enterprise-Wide L&D“World’s Most Ethical Company” Award for Workplace Harassment Training Videos • Built, led and coached team that grew from 5 to 17 nationwide experts in script development, content assembly, video filming and editing. Produced >200 videos/year capable of viewing on any company-owned device to address performance gaps, resulting in significant revenue generation and cost savings.• Partnered with executive leadership, stakeholders and peers to create video learning and development solutions that supported customers and frontline employees alike through call center, office, retail store and field training. • Encouraged continuous growth and development within the team by setting ambitious objectives, offering mentorship opportunities, and challenging them to embrace skill enhancement. ⏩HIGHLIGHTS: Spearheaded launch of “Your Action Matters” series – quarterly HR training for 25K Retail Sales Associates and 25K Strategic Sales Partners nationwide.  Developed all Employee Health & Safety videos focused on emergency preparedness, defensive driving, ergonomics and more.  Directed world-class workplace harassment training from concept-to-launch in 8 months deemed as required training for all from the C-Suite to the front lines – earning Ethisphere’s “World’s Most Ethical Company” award accolades.

El Segundo, Ca

I transformed our Instructional Design & Training team to strategic partners company-wide by introducing project management rigor and training documentation and by revamping process and structure – a move that increased our productivity without expanding headcount. ⏩HIGHLIGHTS: Introduced state-of-the-art instructional videos that increased customer satisfaction by 15 points and field service engagement 5 points.  Earned coveted Customer Experience Champion Award leading first collaboration between Training and Marketing that elevated communications quality to front line staff.  Revamped new hire training and acted as Project Manager – an initiative that saved $1.5M/year and earned award recognition.  Introduced L&D sharing across mobile/smart devices, webinars, mobile website, broadcast and on-demand channels.

El Segundo

I was a key member of a team whose broadcast-quality monthly training programs and communications videos were embraced as gold standard based on success closing performance gaps.⏩HIGHLIGHTS:  Partnered with SMEs to develop training objectives, content and performance metrics.  Developed L&D that provided new product education to >16K frontline Field Technicians nationwide that increased training participation, improved knowledge retention and saved $90K annually.  Designed training intake process to formalize and prioritize requests, outline user needs/goals and roadmap deliverables across the training lifecycle.  End-to-end video production process, encompassing scripting, shooting, editing, and 3D/motion graphics design using Adobe Creative Suite.Increased video training participation 65% and knowledge retention 15% for front line workforce focused on performance gap improvement and new product rollout.Led team that championed concept-to-execution development of hundreds of training and communication videos and a mobile platform to support classroom and online learning.Built team’s network via collaborative partnerships across company and between LA and Denver-based teams. Partnered with SMEs to develop training objectives, content and performance metrics attainment. Developed training intake process that formalized and prioritized requests, outlined user needs/goals and roadmap deliverables across the training lifecycle.

Richmond, Virginia Area

An early champion of emerging technology, my team pioneered the implementation of eLearning/web-based training (WBT) and gamification into call center training. We supported explosive associate growth by overhauling new hire training to accommodate higher volumes during onboarding.