How IRISS Used Visme to Cut an Expensive Carbon Footprint with Immersive Digital Content
Vorys, an international law firm founded in 1909 and based in Columbus, Ohio, has grown into one of the top law firms in the United States and is recognized as part of the Am Law 200. With approximately 375 attorneys across ten offices worldwide, they focus on providing strategic business and legal counsel to small business owners and multiple Fortune 500 companies.
Vanessa Ware has been the Information Technology Education Manager at Vorys for 24 years. She is part of the education department, where she and her teammates create training content for change management, onboarding, and technical education.
During the pandemic, like many other companies, Vorys had to make strategic changes to navigate the new landscape. Vanessa’s department began researching web-based software to invest in during lockdown when in-person interactions were limited or nonexistent.
As educators, they faced the challenge of finding a tool that would not only create content but also bridge the gap between sharing information and improving engagement. That’s when the team discovered Visme.
As an educator for a law firm, Vanessa had specific criteria that a content creation tool needed to meet before it could be considered for investment. Given that educational departments in companies are often viewed as cost centers, Vanessa and her team aimed to find software that would help them remain productive and cost-effective. They sought premier services without incurring exorbitant costs.
To Vanessa’s surprise, Visme met all the criteria, and with only six users across different departments, the team managed to save approximately $8000. In a law firm where time is money, such savings are crucial for the educational department to demonstrate the value of its work and justify investment in any tool.
“Although we don't have historical data for comparison of other content tools, if employees in the three departments were billed at $30 an hour by a designer, we would have saved 22 hours of work in July alone by using Visme instead of starting from scratch. Over a year, that translates to more than $8,000 in savings, thanks to the time saved when we compare starting from a blank sheet of white paper versus starting from Visme.” Vanessa shares.
Visme offers a wide range of plans to suit users' needs, with no hidden fees and free cancellation. Users can also scale their plans as they grow with the option of paying on a monthly or yearly basis.
The team's next major concern was finding a tool that would provide a standardized approach to quality control and maintain brand integrity. This would give them more autonomy over their designs and reduce potential bottlenecks that could occur if they relied on the marketing team for designs.
“Having to wait on the marketing department’s assistance for designs would have taken a significantly longer time. When we were choosing a tool we really wanted to help us produce a deliverable as good as our marketing department, Visme fit the bill”
Additionally, law firms tend to be more traditional with their content, so Vanessa and her team needed a tool that could balance being informative and creative, especially for tutorials or educational guides.
With Visme’s extensive template library, they easily found templates that aligned with their content goals or project needs. Each template either inspired them to create their own or provided a strong starting point that, once customized, was readily available for use.
“The templates have saved us a ton of time. Instead of starting from a blank slate you have a template to get your ideas generation going,” Vanessa adds.
After researching and testing, Vanessa discovered that Visme didn’t require a steep learning curve, which was crucial since most of the users weren’t experienced designers. Visme’s ease of use ultimately solidified their choice of content creation tool.
Once the team was officially onboarded to Visme, they received a quick webinar, an introduction video, and an in-app onboarding sequence to guide them through the platform. By the end of this process, the team was ready to create their first project.
At Visme, we pride ourselves on creating a design platform that’s easy to use for non-designers and designers alike. Our product team ensures the creation of a smooth onboarding experience, regardless of what pricing plan a user has so they can have an informative yet enjoyable experience.
Made with Visme Infographic Maker
This smooth onboarding experience ensured that Vanessa and her team didn't have to worry about new members integrating into the platform, even after the initial onboarding of Visme.
“When we hired a new learning solutions coordinator, we didn’t need to provide any training. Visme was so intuitive and easy for her to use that all she had to do was go in, drag, drop, and create material. She easily reached the same level of proficiency that I’ve achieved over the last six years of using Visme, and she was able to create as if she had been using the platform for six years,” Vanessa shares.
Since then, the team has created 358 projects within Visme, and counting. They regularly review past projects, allowing them to track the progression of their design skills since adopting Visme. This ongoing improvement has boosted their design confidence as they’ve become more accustomed to the software.
“Our team feels more confident with design, if something isn't placed correctly or if the colors are off, we know that it's an easy change that we can make to the design without any hassle,” Vanessa remarks.
As a legal firm, it's common for departments to primarily use traditionally word-heavy documents. However, this approach doesn't translate well when providing training for technology consumers. Educational and marketing materials need to be captivating and leave a lasting impression.
This ethos influences Vanessa and her team’s content creation methods, prompting them to choose more visual-based content and interactive features while incorporating best practices.
Since Vorys models a hybrid learning environment for employees, Vanessa and her team must ensure that their content helps to avoid information fatigue, low retention rates, knowledge gaps, and low motivation to implement learning, among other issues.
“When people read on a screen, too many words can cause fatigue. Since we work in a hybrid environment, we can't provide learning materials in a printed format. Yet when they have to read on a screen, it's helpful because the layout is clean, with plenty of white space and enough icons or images to convey the message easily. It just makes it nicer. Plus, our technology consumers can save the materials, which is beneficial for keeping these learning assets handy in case they need them for future use,” Vanessa notes.
One of Vanessa and her team's responsibilities is change management and developing educational materials to support technology adoption. Simply creating content isn’t enough to ensure it will be used or engaged with correctly, so they’ve implemented strategies like the Prosci ADKAR Model, which involves raising awareness through targeted communication efforts.
The Prosci ADKAR Model includes a series of steps aimed at encouraging content adoption, such as informing, educating, and engaging the audience in a more structured way. This is one of the many methods the team uses to guide technology consumers from awareness to reinforcement when it comes to new content, or technology.
"We've used Visme to create short GIFs demonstrating how the product can be used. We focus on ensuring that our technology consumers understand each step of the process, outlining the step-by-step instructions to equip them with the necessary knowledge. When creating content, our goal is to make sure our technology consumers have the information they need to succeed. We also use Visme for reinforcement," Vanessa remarks.
To reinforce new knowledge, the Vorys educational team creates interactive content in Visme, such as simulations, quizzes, and step-by-step guides.
For example, in 2020, when the company integrated Microsoft Teams, they used Visme to create simulations that helped overcome challenges related to onboarding, and understanding the software. They developed a quick training simulation in Visme to show technology consumers how to dial a phone number using the Microsoft Teams keypad. The interactive guide directed them on where to click, and if they dialed correctly, they received positive reinforcement.
Made with Visme Presentation Maker
This method was used again when the company upgraded to a new cloud-based document management software. Vanessa and her team created a comparison chart with hotspots to educate technology consumers on how to perform similar tasks in both the old and new software.
This significantly reduced the number of requests or calls made to the service desk or education department, allowing the team to regain time for other urgent tasks that would have otherwise been spent answering questions and troubleshooting.
“We like the interactivity that can be built into a particular PDF and saved as an asset. This keeps our technology consumers engaged, so when we create something that's customized for us, team members can save and reuse it, which is incredibly convenient,” Vanessa expresses.
The team also creates interactive infographics. These infographics strike a balance between being informative and visual, providing detailed content without overwhelming the reader, especially when teaching technical skills.
Infographics are primarily used by the team to communicate concepts or soft skills, as visuals are the most effective way to convey their points.
At Vorys, six people currently use Visme’s platform, working across various departments such as project management, education, and technology adoption. These departments collaborate continuously to create and review materials.
Vorys leverages Visme’s team collaboration and workspace features, including direct commenting, simultaneous project work, and real-time updates. These features help eliminate the time it takes to receive and act on feedback, all within one space.
With Visme, you can also assign user permissions for editing, viewing, or commenting, giving you control over access. Additionally, team members can make projects password-protected to keep sensitive information private or on a need-to-know basis.
“Visme cut our production and collaboration time in half. What took us weeks now takes a couple of days. A great deal of this is due to the features and templates Visme provides for us in our workspace,” Vanessa notes.
Team collaboration in Visme for the Vorys team typically involves commenting and feedback. For instance, if the technology adoption team needs to create marketing materials, they go directly into Visme. Each member can leave comments, engage with the content, and see the final look before it’s published.
As a law firm, Vorys must ensure that each piece of content is reviewed before being shared with internal stakeholders. Visme’s collaborative features ensure that their content is properly worded and legally compliant.
Similarly, if the education department is creating a step-by-step guide in Visme, the project manager reviews the content to ensure it meets their expectations, making cross-department approval seamless.
The Visme workspace allows teams to see all the projects designed across departments, making sharing and editing each other's work more accessible and effortless. This significantly reduces the time spent on content creation and project management that would have otherwise been spent exchanging emails or revising multiple PDFs.
When Vanessa had the opportunity to speak at ILTACON in 2024, one of the premier technology and networking events in the legal sector, she used Visme to create her presentation and an interactive table showcasing the innovative tools her panelists use to create exceptional educational and training content, including Visme.
The table featured visuals and an outline of the key features of all the tools listed. It was visually appealing and kept the audience of over 100 people engaged with the information Vanessa and the panel were presenting.
At the end of her presentation, she easily shared her table as a slide, email, handout, or PDF. To this day, Vanessa continues to receive compliments on the printed and virtual handouts.
Made with Visme
Vanessa has a few favorite Visme features that she uses daily, including the multiple ways to publish and the inclusive stock photos Visme provides.
As an educator in a hybrid space, Vanessa needs versatility in publishing and sharing her content. With Visme, she has a variety of ways to publish, including PNG, PDF, HTML5, GIF, SCORM, xAPI, and more.
Since Vorys is an international law firm, Vanessa and her team create content for a diverse range of technology consumers. Access to inclusive photographs when designing content makes a significant difference, as it allows their material to resonate with a broader audience.
The team is currently exploring Visme’s AI features to see how they can improve their workflows and content creation process.
Creating interactive and engaging training content doesn’t have to be tedious or boring. Visme offers a wide array of tools and features to streamline your content creation, from professionally designed templates and AI-powered tools to collaborative features and LMS-compliant options. That’s only the start of it.
It’s time to discover a better solution for your training and content creation needs while empowering your team with design. Click here to see how Visme can help you today!
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