Training a distributed team: the Level.Travel case study
Level.Travel develops a travel-tech platform and an online booking service for package tours and stand-alone hotel stays. Its customer service and operations teams work remotely, so the company needs to train new hires and share knowledge quickly.
To systematize training and make it manageable, Level.Travel implemented the Talent Rocks platform.
Client
Level.Travel is an online service for finding and booking package tours and stand-alone hotel stays. Users can compare offers from the largest tour operators, read hotel reviews and ratings, and book trips online in one place. When needed, customer service steps in to help clarify tour options and trip details and to support the customer through booking. The service operates entirely online and serves hundreds of thousands of travelers a month.
A large part of the team works remotely, including customer service and operations staff. The company has about 300–350 employees in total, 100–120 of whom work in customer service. Previously, training relied mainly on passing on experience by word of mouth. That worked while the team was small and office-based, but as the company grew, it became hard to scale training and maintain a consistent level of preparation.
Project challenges
When the project started, the company had no unified training system: training was fragmented, depended heavily on experience being passed on person-to-person within teams, and materials were stored in different places. As a result, employees received scattered information, and some knowledge became outdated or got lost over time.
The company’s growth gave rise to several important problems:
- Training was hard to scale. The company is actively developing remote work and regularly hires employees remotely. In-person training and word-of-mouth knowledge sharing simply stopped working.
- Materials were scattered across sources. Courses, webinars, presentations and supplementary materials existed separately, so employees found it hard to navigate and quickly find the information they needed.
- A lack of transparent learning analytics. Managers needed to understand how employees were progressing through training, where they struggled and how effective the training system was.
“We used to pass on knowledge by word of mouth, and that worked while the team was small. As the company grew, it became clear that this approach couldn’t scale.”
In other words, the company needed a unified learning environment that would structure training, make it accessible from anywhere and give managers transparent analytics.
Solution: a training system on the Talent Rocks platform
To address these challenges, Level.Travel implemented the Talent Rocks platform and began building a systematic learning environment on it.
The platform now hosts 11 learning tracks that match the company’s key areas of work, from customer service to operations. Each track includes learning materials, presentations, tests and assignments. Employees complete training for their role and see a consistent development path within the platform.
A unified learning website was also built on the platform: onboarding courses, additional training programs, a list of materials and a corporate book library — all in one space. This brought different learning formats together and made them available to all employees.
A course catalog model was also introduced: employees can sign up for additional programs at will and study at a convenient time, combining mandatory courses with self-directed development.
Mobile learning format and analytics
Special attention was paid to accessibility and analytics. Training is available both in the platform’s web version and in the mobile app, which is especially important for a distributed team.
The platform also provides analytics tools. Managers and the training team now see employee progress, track course completion and analyze assessment results.
“It was important for us that training become part of the work environment. Employees should be able to open the platform at any moment, look at a material, take a course or return to information when they need it for work.”
Results
The Talent Rocks platform has made training at the company more structured and manageable.
One of the most noticeable effects was fewer training groups: before the unified learning environment was launched, training ran in 79 separate groups, and afterward the number dropped to 14 — a 4.5x reduction — because much of the training became asynchronous and repeatable.
The platform also earned high marks: 120 employees rated the convenience of learning 5 out of 5.
“Once training became structured and there was a single space with courses and materials, it became much easier for employees to find their way. People understand where to look for information and how to grow within the company.”
training and certification
2–3 months to 3–4 weeks
during probation
Summary
A single platform allowed Level.Travel to move from fragmented training to a systematic learning environment. Training became transparent and scalable, colleagues gained a shared space for development, and the company gained a tool for analyzing training effectiveness. What used to be a repository of materials has become a working tool for onboarding and employee development.
Olesya Monakhova
EdTech methodologist, Talent Rocks“When we started working with Level.Travel, the main goal wasn’t just to move courses onto the platform but to build a clear and sustainable learning environment for a distributed team.
We started with a basic training structure and helped bring existing materials together into a single system. Learning tracks covering the company’s key areas of work appeared on the platform.
We placed special emphasis on learning analytics. For customer service teams, training quality directly affects the quality of customer interactions, so frontline managers need to understand how employees are progressing through training and where they run into difficulties.
The platform lets managers see employee progress, certification results and course completion trends. This helps them respond faster to knowledge gaps and keep teams at a consistent level of preparation.
At the same time, we began expanding the learning environment with a course catalog, a materials library and additional development programs. Employees can not only complete mandatory programs but also choose training on their own.”