Redesigning content to increase self-directed learning.
30%
Increase in training platform users
Objectives
Enable creation of high-quality images by employees with limited experience using creative tools
Improve ability to create original content to maintain value of video content
Eliminate concerns of copyright infringement from using free materials
Results
Increased users of Digital Academy training platform by 30% with attractive content
Reduced time to create original content by 50% and improve quality of content
Limits risk of copyright infringement using image generation AI with IP protection
“Even if you're not a professional designer, you can produce high-quality content in-house to accelerate the use of employee training platforms.”
Toshihiro Koshiishi, Digital Academy Promotion Group Leader, Office of Human Resource Development, Human Resources Development Center, Corporate Planning Division
The Human Resources Development Center at RICOH Japan Corporation introduced Adobe Express to improve the quality of thumbnails for videos on the company's internal training platform, images and fonts used in educational content, and to reduce the risk of copyright infringement. With improvements made to the quality of images in training videos, the number of users of the platform increased by approximately 30%.
We spoke with three members of the Human Resources Development Center about the introduction of Adobe Express, the results achieved, and future prospects.
RICOH uses these products
Improving the quality of training video thumbnails, images, and fonts
The Human Resources Development Center of the Corporate Planning Division of RICOH Japan Corporation is responsible for training the company's 18,000 employees. The division uses a variety of methods to conduct human resources development, and one of these is the RICOH Japan Digital Academy. Mr. Koshiishi, leader of the Digital Academy Promotion Group, explains the Digital Academy as follows.
"Digital Academy is an in-house training platform for all employees to become skilled in the use of digital content. With the mission of 'promoting the autonomous growth of employees and strengthening the competitiveness of the entire company,' we provide a variety of educational content, including training videos."
The Human Resources Development Center is also in charge of creating the training videos posted in the Digital Academy. However, they were having a variety of issues including the quality of the thumbnails for videos and the images and fonts used in the educational content. To get more employees to watch the more than 3,500 training videos, the thumbnails needed to stand out to encourage employees to click and watch. However, few employees had experience using creative tools, so it was difficult to create high-quality images.
In addition, the training materials that RICOH sold to other companies lacked original imagery, which impacted their value. To help the content stand out and appeal to external audiences, the team knew they needed to include unique, compelling, and commercially safe visuals.
With these issues in mind, the Human Resources Development Center introduced Adobe Express, which has more than 200,000 templates and 200 million royalty-free materials. With Adobe Firefly enhanced features built into Adobe Express including the Firefly AI image generator, the center’s team can now quickly create compelling educational content for Digital Academy, paid training materials, and materials and flyers for their customers.
Mr. Hiroaki Matsumoto (left), Digital Academy Promotion Group, Human Resource Development Planning Office, Human Resources Development Center, Corporate Planning Division; HR/EDTech Support Group, Human Resources Center, Human Resources & Corporate Division
Mr. Norio Yamamoto (center), Information Security Consulting Group, Human Resource Development Center, Human Resources Development Planning Office, Corporate Planning Division
Mr. Tosihiro Koshiishi (right), Leader of the Digital Academy Promotion Group, Human Resource Development Planning Office, Human Resources Development Center, Corporate Planning Division
Using commercially-safe content and reducing risk of copyright infringement
The Human Resources Development Center appreciated the fact that materials generated with Adobe Firefly and materials in Adobe Stock, which are made available with an Adobe Express license, can be used commercially. Mr. Yamamoto of the Human Resources Development Center, which provides training to external parties in the security field, said, "Since we sometimes release paid training videos and conduct training seminars for external parties, it was necessary for the images used in videos and training materials to be available for commercial use." He said that there were no other AI image generation services that could be used commercially.
The very low risk of copyright infringement was another important factor in choosing Adobe Firefly. Mr. Matsumoto, who promoted the introduction of Adobe Express, explained, "Since Adobe Firefly generates images based only on images that have been cleared of copyright issues, such as images from Adobe Stock or with open licenses, the risk of infringing on copyrights is extremely low.
Thumbnail example using images generated with Adobe Firefly and template from Adobe Express.
Increasing the number of Digital Academy users by about 5,500
Content created using Adobe Express has led to a significant increase in the number of users of Digital Academy.
"In the six months since we started using images generated by and acquired through Adobe Firefly and Adobe Stock through Adobe Express on our educational site, the number of users of Digital Academy has increased by about 5,500 to 13,500," said Mr. Koshiishi. "With approximately 18,000 employees, this means that the usage rate has increased from 30% to 75%. We believe this is the result of using AB testing to select the best video thumbnails and images to stimulate interest in learning."
Not only did the number of users increase, but the number of times the videos were played increased by 15%, and the completion rate also improved by 10%. Employees have said that the content looks better, which makes them more likely to watch it. Mr. Koshiishi acknowledges that the improvement in image quality has contributed greatly to the increase in the number of users and the number of times the videos have been played.
Mr. Yamamoto added, "Many of our paid training courses are specialized and unique, so we had a lot of trouble finding images that matched the content. With Adobe Express, which can be used commercially, we have greatly reduced the time spent searching for and editing images, and the time spent on image creation has been reduced by about half." He also praised Adobe Express for its contribution to improving operational efficiency.
Adobe Express also contributed to the branding of Digital Academy. "We use Adobe Express to maintain a consistent design for banners and text, as well as the materials that we create for the company portal," said Mr. Koshiishi. "I think this strengthens the Digital Academy brand."
Example of a content screen where a person’s images has been processed using the Adobe Express AI background removal feature.
Continuing to create educational content that encourages self-directed learning among employees
The Human Resources Development Center plans to continue to accelerate the use of Adobe Express in Digital Academy.
"Our company places a high value on independent learning," said Mr. Koshiishi. "We would like to continue using Adobe Express to create video thumbnails and educational content that motivates people to learn."
Based on these comments, we can see that Adobe Express plays a part in promoting the autonomous learning valued by RICOH Japan. In addition, Mr. Matsumoto is looking forward to new uses for Adobe Express that will be made possible through the addition of functions to the automated AI speech synthesis system.
"With the addition of an automated AI speech synthesis system, it would be easier to add narration to training videos, for example," he said. "Increasing the number of videos with narration should also help to make them easier to understand for viewers."
In some cases, when an employee is the instructor, they will provide the narration themselves. But in other cases, an automated voice might be preferred. By linking up with the automated AI voice synthesis system, they will be able to meet the needs of their employees. The Human Resources Development Center is also looking at a variety of other possibilities, such as using Adobe Express to reduce outsourcing costs by creating content in-house including training announcements, videos, and intranet banners, and publicity materials to speed up publicity activities.
* This information is current as of October 2024.
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