How CENTURY 21 Affiliated fast-tracked its remote training strategy

CENTURY 21 Affiliated was already in the process of launching an LMS. Wanting to convert in-person training to online learning, the leading real estate organization meticulously planned and scheduled every step of the roll-out.

Then, in the spring of 2020, things changed. With the emergence of COVID-19, employees and independent agents now had to work remotely. The CENTURY 21 Affiliated team could no longer deliver training face-to-face or communicate like they once did. Their online learning plans needed to change—fast.

Equipped with LearnUpon’s learning management system and with help from the team, CENTURY 21 Affiliated accelerated the launch and successfully moved their training online.

The original plan: Revolutionize training

The CENTURY 21 Affiliated team set out with a single goal – revolutionize training. 

With 2,500+ agents and 250+ employees dotted across five different U.S. states, delivering in-person training was becoming an impossible mountain to climb. With so many agents and employees and so much training materials available, there was no way of knowing who was training, what training they were taking, and when it was happening. 

The CENTURY 21 Affiliated team knew they needed to move to online learning. They wanted to change how training and, in turn, the company operates. To achieve this goal, they needed to set up a new Learning and Development department, consisting of Kathy Grove and Monika Mikulionis, who would onboard and educate all new agents. And, invest in an LMS that centralizes training in a user-friendly, flexible, trackable way. LearnUpon’s LMS was the perfect fit.

The need to adapt

LMS and team in hand, CENTURY 21 Affiliated carefully planned every step of the online training journey, from implementation to content, and beyond. But, due to COVID-19 and the work from home order that many states implemented, the way they did business had to change. 

CENTURY 21 Affiliated could no longer run in-person training or communicate with employees and agents like they once did. A new plan of action was needed. 

The newly established Learning and Development team decided to fast track the roll out of the LMS, and create or update course content for not only new, but existing agents too.

Fast tracking online learning

Using LearnUpon’s quick to set up LMS and working with a personal Onboarding Specialist, the CENTURY 21 Affiliated team set about getting training out to their people. 

The first move was to launch the LMS, or as it’s known internally the knowledge management hub, initially to office managers, then to the broader organization. For the team, it alleviated one big problem – decentralization of training – while also providing the resources needed to learn and work remotely.

Kathy and Monika from the Learning and Development team also quickly adapted and created new course content for their agents. Topics like how to use Zoom and how to do virtual showings were built to support the new ways agents were doing business. This task was made simple thanks to LearnUpon’s SCORM compliant functionality. Once created in the authoring tool, the team uploaded the content into the LMS with just a few clicks.

At the very beginning of their search, user-friendly was a must-have LMS feature for CENTURY 21 Affiliated team but now, with the need for a speedy launch, it has become more vital than ever. Many of their learners aren’t the most tech savvy, and a solution that made remote training more complicated was the last thing they needed. Thankfully, LearnUpon’s easy to-use functionality has made taking training a simple process for every single learner.

It isn’t just the LMS that’s made every step of CENTURY 21 Affiliated’s transition go smoothly, it’s LearnUpon’s team too. At each stage, a personal Onboarding Specialist has been at their side offering advice.

Although it’s only in its infancy, the response from the team leaders and agents has been glowing. Review after review, captured within the LMS, praises the content and the solution. And, essentially, it gives the team a chance to gauge and measure the launch’s success.

For the CENTURY 21 Affiliated team, the fast-paced roll out has not only boosted their confidence in their strategy, it’s also solidified and guided their plans for the future. They believe the LMS is more than just a training portal, instead it’s a “major tool” that will revolutionize communication, learning, and professional development throughout the company.