How Cemex created training programs in 8 languages
CEMEX is a global leader in the building materials industry, headquartered in San Pedro, Mexico. The company, with over 40,000 employees, produces and distributes cement and ready-mix concrete in over 50 countries.
We spoke with Luis Fernando Gonzales, the manager of CEMEX University. CEMEX University was created to help the company meet specific learning needs, such as sales enablement, by designing and developing learning experiences.
Luis told us how he worked with Synthesia to develop a commercial training and development program with 12 modules in 8 languages.
The challenge
Luis leads a learning project called “Lead”. The focus? Improving the interaction between CEMEX commercial teams and their customers.
To provide a high-quality experience, videos are an important part of the training program. However, the video creation process was very lengthy.
It looked like this:
- Luis and the team selected an internal specialists for the video
- The video was shot
- The video was edited, subtitles were created for all relevant languages
While the final video product was a great way to engage learners, its production came with a number of limitations:
- Translation: Localising traditional video content is time-consuming, costly and difficult to scale.
- Speed: Creating videos took a lot of time, taking into account re-takes, selection of actors, etc.
- Cost: Shooting video required filming equipment, editing tools and personnel that stretched CEMEX content budgets.
- Video length: The videos would be very long, which goes against the best practice of learning content in small formats.
We used to use subtitles for localised content, but they can distract the viewer from the content and take time to generate, sync, etc. - Luis Fernando Gonzales, CEMEX University Manager
Scaling the current process proved difficult. The team was challenged in providing their commercial teams valuable content in time – which had effects on the bottom line.
The learning team knew they had to find a better solution.
The Solution
Synthesia helped the CEMEX team streamline their video creation processes.
Here’s how they handle video production today:
- The team is writing learning scripts (in 8 languages).
- Inserts the scripts into Synthesia’s script box.
- Selects an avatar add, text, and animated video backgrounds.
- Generates the video and add it to the course modules.
What the team appreciates most about Synthesia?
- Localisation: Synthesia can generate videos with 120+ languages and accents, allowing to reach new countries without leaving the desk.
- Flexibility: once created, a video can be easily updated at any time, without having to start from the beginning.
- AI Avatars & Voices: The 140+ diverse stock AI Avatars and 120+ AI voices provide an easy way to create engaging, relatable video content without having to hire actors or record voiceovers.
- Intuitive editing: Synthesia editing features make video creation as simple as PowerPoint. Videos, images, icons, animations, music and more can be easily added.
We are using animated video backgrounds, it makes a big difference in terms of realism. The 65+ big language catalogue is also a huge advantage! - Luis Fernando Gonzales, CEMEX University Manager
The Results
CEMEX video production process took off. The results speak for themselves:
- Speed: CEMEX was able to reduce the time-to-market of training videos by up to 50%
- Localisation: The team was able to transition from distracting subtitles to voice overs in 8 languages.
- Content quality: The team was able to shorten the duration of training videos and turn them into bite-sized content that’s been proven to provide the most effective learning experience.
- Agility: The learning team is more agile now and can adapt their content on the go since there is no longer a need to shoot videos.
Since Luis and the team successfully optimised the video creation process to improve sales training, they've begun to expand the use of video in other training programs.
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