Handcrafted Learning Launches Impact Measurement Plans for New Fortune 500 Clients
Handcrafted Learning, a learning and development company that creates learning experiences for Fortune 500 companies, launched an offer for new clients: custom impact measurement plans to help Fortune 500 companies track the impact of skill development programs. Each measurement plan is designed to reveal changes in employee behavior and organizational culture.
Handcrafted Learning is known for developing highly interactive learning experiences that are simulations of the jobs people do. In those experiences, users make choices, make mistakes, and experience the outcomes of their decisions. The announcement of this offer means that new Handcrafted Learning clients will receive an accompanying impact measurement plan that allows them to track the concrete outcomes of learning experiences and learning journeys.
“Since our founding, we’ve designed impact measurement strategies for select clients,” said Handcrafted Learning’s owner and co-founder, Dorothy Cafino Finnigan. “We’re excited to now offer that service to all our partners.” Handcrafted Learning’s impact measurement model avoids the pitfalls of traditional methods. “If you deploy surveys that ask ‘did you enjoy this training,’ you’re not going to find out if the learning experience was effective. Instead, we measure four areas of impact: business outcomes, job performance, behavioral indicators, and personal experience.”
At Handcrafted Learning, the desired outcomes are what guide the learning experience design. “When we kick off projects, I ask clients: What are you being measured on? What metric are you trying to move?” said Lead Learning Experience Designer Tony Clavelli. “Once we know the business outcomes we’re working towards, we identify the employee behaviors most likely to improve those metrics. Then, we design learning experiences that give employees the opportunity to practice those behaviors.”
Examples of past impact measurement strategies include A/B tests measuring sales for a major retailer, equity and inclusion metrics for a healthcare organization, and performance data on speed and accuracy for a global transportation company.
About Handcrafted Learning
Handcrafted Learning is a learning and development company that designs and develops innovative learning experiences for its Fortune 500 clients. Handcrafted Learning is certified as a minority- and woman-owned small business by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). In accordance with the recommendations of Disability:IN, the global disability inclusion non-profit that works with 400 of the world’s largest companies, Handcrafted Learning creates experiences that meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), 2.1 Level AA. Handcrafted Learning advocates for all companies to sign Disability:IN’s Procure Access Statement, which includes Google, AT&T, and CVS Health among its first 20 signatories.
Contact:
Dorothy Cafino Finnigan
Handcrafted Learning Celebrates Its Anniversary as a Certified Minority- and Woman-owned Business
Handcrafted Learning, a learning and development company that serves Fortune 500 clients, has been minority- and woman-owned since it was founded in 2009. This month marks the five-year anniversary of Handcrafted Learning becoming certified by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the two leading certification organizations for minority- and women-owned businesses in the United States.
Certification by each organization was a milestone in Handcrafted Learning’s history. “Handcrafted Learning has always been proud to be a woman- and minority-owned small business,” said Handcrafted Learning’s owner and co-founder, Dorothy Cafino Finnigan. “One of the best parts of becoming certified by WBENC and NMSDC has been the opportunity to connect with other women of color who lead businesses. It’s a really special community that supports one another.”
Increasingly, Fortune 500 companies are measuring their internal and external impact on equity. “Over the last few years, many of our clients have started using an inclusion index or diversity scorecard to track their progress,” said Handcrafted Learning’s Director of Operations, Soo Choi. “One of the ways companies evaluate their impact on diversity and inclusion is by collecting data on the diversity of their supplier base.”
For Handcrafted Learning and the 12,000 minority-owned businesses certified by NMSDC and the 18,000 women-owned businesses certified by WBENC, being certified allows clients to track and report that data.
Women of color are a distinct minority among founders and leaders of tech companies. “Thanks to WBENC and NMSDC, we’ve met trailblazing women of color leading companies in other male-dominated industries like finance, data and analytics, and manufacturing,” Cafino Finnigan said. “As women of color running a business, it can be easy to feel alone because you don’t often see yourself represented. That’s why it’s so powerful and inspiring to be part of these organizations. I’m grateful for all the people I’ve met, and the ways we’ve been able to help each other, practically and personally.”
About Handcrafted Learning
Handcrafted Learning is a learning and development company that designs and develops innovative learning experiences for its Fortune 500 clients. They have served clients in every major industry, including high-tech, hospitality, and financial services. Handcrafted Learning creates experiences that meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), 2.1 Level AA. Handcrafted Learning advocates for all companies to sign Disability:IN’s Procure Access Statement, which includes Google, Merck, and T-Mobile among its first 20 signatories.
Contact:
Dorothy Cafino Finnigan
Handcrafted Learning Announces the Launch of Custom Interactive Learning Experiences for Learners Who Are Blind
Handcrafted Learning, a learning and development company that creates learning solutions for Fortune 500 clients, announced the launch of a new offering: custom interactive learning experiences that serve users who are legally blind. Through this service, Handcrafted Learning supports organizations that are committed to meeting Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) at a AA level while providing end users with best-in-class interactive digital training.
Handcrafted Learning is known for creating highly interactive learning experiences that are simulations of the jobs people do. In those experiences, users make choices, make mistakes, and experience the outcomes of their decisions. This announcement signals that learners with no vision or low vision can fully engage in the same game-like experience as their colleagues.
“Computer-based training for learners who are blind has traditionally been awful. If you use a screen reader, you probably know what I mean,” said Handcrafted Learning’s owner and co-founder, Dorothy Cafino Finnigan. “For years, our team has been passionate about answering the question: what makes a great interactive learning experience when you can’t see the screen?”
Handcrafted Learning’s research and development led the team beyond the training industry into the world of games. “In early interviews with learners who use screen readers, we asked what games people played and what made those experiences either frustrating or enjoyable,” Cafino Finnigan said. “We experimented and gathered feedback from learners who used their assistive technology in a variety of ways. We iterated until the user experience was as smooth and engaging for non-sighted learners as it was for sighted ones.”
Accessible learning experiences by Handcrafted Learning have already been launched to over a hundred thousand learners. With today’s announcement, the company is officially offering this service to more clients.
“Our goal is to create equivalent experiences, so we test during development and get feedback from real learners who use assistive technology,” said Gem Moon, a Lead Learning Experience Designer at Handcrafted Learning. “If part of our design doesn’t give them the intended experience, we change the design. We want something that will be equally interactive for all learners.”
More and more Fortune 500 companies are committing to providing accessible experiences to their employees, as outlined in statements like the one launched in September by Disability:IN, the global disability inclusion non-profit that works with 400 of the world’s largest companies. Google, Merck, and T-Mobile are among the first 20 signers of the Procure Access Statement, which publicly confirms a company’s commitment to advancing the procurement of accessible digital products and services.
“We’re excited that some of our clients are starting to prioritize creating accessible learning experiences for their employees,” said Soo Choi, Handcrafted Learning’s Director of Operations. “Our developers, visual designers, and learning experience designers have spent years improving our user experience design processes, and are proud to have integrated accessibility considerations into our project lifecycle.”
“Upholding WCAG AA standards is a baseline, or at least it should be,” Cafino Finnigan said. “Our team strives for a higher standard: to create accessible interactive learning experiences that are meaningful, fun, and allow people to practice real job skills.”
About Handcrafted Learning
Handcrafted Learning is a learning and development company that designs and develops innovative learning experiences for its Fortune 500 clients. Handcrafted Learning integrates accessibility considerations into prototyping processes and learner testing practices, and consults with clients who are new to accessible learning design. Handcrafted Learning is certified as a minority- and woman-owned small business by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
Contact:
Dorothy Cafino Finnigan
Handcrafted Learning welcomes Soo Choi as Director of Operations
Handcrafted Learning, a learning and development company for Fortune 500 companies, welcomes Soo Choi as its Director of Operations. Choi was the Director of Content Operations at HarperCollins Publishers and brings 15 years of experience to her role at Handcrafted Learning.
“Soo’s experience building and analyzing operational workflows for a major organization will be valuable as we prepare for growth,” said Handcrafted Learning’s owner and co-founder, Dorothy Cafino Finnigan.
While at HarperCollins, Choi spearheaded the growth of their eBooks division and helped the organization move from analog publishing to a fully digital workflow. Handcrafted Learning is a partner to dozens of Fortune 500 companies and adding Choi to the team will support continued growth while maintaining their quality of service.
“I was intrigued by the high-quality work that Handcrafted Learning produces and the caliber of their clients, but what really struck me is their vibrant internal culture,” said Choi. “I’m excited to be part of it.”
Choi graduated from the University of Florida and spent over a decade in New York City during her publishing career. She now lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family.
Choi will be establishing processes at Handcrafted Learning that combine her insights from her career at a Fortune 500 company with the people-centered values of Handcrafted Learning’s custom creative work.
About Handcrafted Learning
Handcrafted Learning is a learning and development company that designs and develops innovative learning experiences for its Fortune 500 clients. The company has been 100% remote since its founding in 2009 and its team members live across North America. Handcrafted Learning is certified as a minority- and woman-owned small business by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Handcrafted Learning creates experiences that meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), 2.1 Level AA and advocates for all companies to sign Disability:IN’s Procure Access Statement, which includes Google, AT&T, and CVS Health among its first 20 signatories.
Contact:
Dorothy Cafino Finnigan