Hr ops · Production

Beyond Retro scales retail operations training to 140 employees across 14 stores with Synthesia

The problem

Due to COVID-related store closures and layoffs, Beyond Retro needed to rapidly up-skill remaining salespeople to cover 80% of store management responsibilities, but relying on individual store managers would create inconsistencies, and traditional video production was too costly and inflexible for a 2-person L&D team working across multiple markets.

First attempt

Traditional video production required flying to multiple locations at prohibitive cost and, once created, videos were nearly impossible to update without significant additional time and resources.

Workflow diagram · grounded in source
1
Managers submit draft scripts
trigger
“Retail business managers send in their initial draft scripts.”
2
L&D reviews and adjusts scripts
human_review
“Ashley reviews the scripts and adjusts them if needed.”
3
AI video generation
ai_action
“Ashley then uses Synthesia to turn the script into a video.”
4
Managers review video
validation
“Retail business managers review the video.”
5
Quick edits if needed
feedback_loop
“If updates are needed, Ashley can make edits quick and hassle-free.”
6
Publish to LMS
output
“Once everyone is happy, she publishes the video to their LMS system.”
Reported outcome

Ashley's 2-person team released a full training course every 2 weeks, centrally up-skilled 140 employees across 14 stores, and quickly rolled out training across additional markets.

Reported metrics
Time to release a full course2 weeks
Employees up-skilled140
Additional markets receiving training+3
Stores covered14
Reported stack
SynthesiaSynthesia STUDIOLMS system
Source
https://www.synthesia.io/case-studies/beyond-retro
Read source ↗

Frequently asked questions

What did this team achieve with this AI workflow?

Ashley's 2-person team released a full training course every 2 weeks, centrally up-skilled 140 employees across 14 stores, and quickly rolled out training across additional markets.

What tools did this team use?

Synthesia, Synthesia STUDIO, LMS system.

What results were reported?

Time to release a full course: 2 weeks; Employees up-skilled: 140; Additional markets receiving training: +3; Stores covered: 14 (source-reported, not independently verified).

What failed first in this deployment?

Traditional video production required flying to multiple locations at prohibitive cost and, once created, videos were nearly impossible to update without significant additional time and resources.

How is this hr ops AI workflow structured?

Managers submit draft scripts → L&D reviews and adjusts scripts → AI video generation → Managers review video → Quick edits if needed → Publish to LMS.