A diverse council workforce across depots, plants, field crews, and offices all started with an eight-hour, policy-heavy induction. New starters disengaged in week one; L&D was trapped maintaining bloated, generic content.
Situation
The organisation serves the community across planning, infrastructure, parks, water, and roads. Regardless of role or location, every new starter sat through a long, repetitive induction that was hard to access for field staff and built for compliance, not learning.
Complication
Modules overlapped, content sat apart from real work, and the experience sent the wrong first impression. Leaders wanted people productive sooner; L&D spent energy sustaining a system that did not reflect what the organisation stood for or how people actually worked.
Intervention
Through tender, PoweredBy reframed the problem as architecture, not single modules. With L&D leadership we designed three tiers: a 30-minute welcome for all new starters; six 20-minute fundamentals modules (one per corporate service, no duplication); and specialist libraries owned by divisions. Integrated design meant one asset for digital or classroom so depot and office staff got equivalent quality, with enhanced media for literacy and access needs. Phased delivery proved the model to executive before scale.
Outcome
Induction cut from 8 hours to 150 minutes; employee engagement scores up 44% for new starters and existing staff
“We did not only want shorter induction. We wanted better learning for every employee, in every role, at every location. That is what we got, and the engagement numbers show it is working.”
What stuck
The three-tier model is how the organisation runs learning: standards, governance, and inclusive design are embedded. The transformation was phased with evidence at each step so the organisation owned it without ongoing dependency.