SOAR Sales Onboarding Program

Overview

SOAR (Sales Optimization and Readiness) is the foundational new-hire onboarding program for ^[1]. Designed and built in partnership with ^[2], it targets new sales hires but is intended to scale across all departments to provide a shared organizational foundation.

Agility Recovery is an ~83-person company with no prior dedicated training function. Gus Donelson (Learning Leader) is the first person in this role and the primary client stakeholder. All training responsibility falls on him, which is the core driver for outsourcing content development to Asymmetric.

The program was originally scoped as a 14-week engagement. As of the April 2026 handover kickoff, it is nearing completion but behind schedule, primarily due to IT access delays.

Program Structure

SOAR is built as a two-week foundational experience. Modules are authored in Articulate Rise (e-learning) with supplementary recorded content and instructor-led components.

Modules

Key Design Decisions

Tech Stack Module: Storyline → Video Recording

The original plan called for Articulate Storyline click-through simulations for the Tech Stack module. This was deprioritized due to:
- Storyline's complexity relative to available skill on the team
- Schedule pressure from Agility Recovery leadership
- Ongoing IT/access blockers preventing tool access

Decision: Pivot to simpler screen-capture video recordings to accelerate delivery. Storyline simulations remain a future consideration for SOAR 2.0.

Participant & Facilitator Guides: Adobe with Raw Backup

Guides will be designed in Adobe for a professional, polished output. An editable raw file (Word or equivalent) will be provided to Gus so Agility Recovery can make minor updates independently. Agility Recovery's marketing team has some Adobe access for larger edits.

Articulate Rise as Foundation

All current modules are built in Articulate Rise. Gus acknowledges Rise is fast to produce but not deeply engaging ("really just reading"). This is the primary motivation for SOAR 2.0 and the Elevate program.

Access & IT Blockers

A recurring theme throughout the project has been IT-related delays. As of the April 2026 kickoff:

• Microsoft 365 licenses: Not yet provisioned for Melissa Cusumano and Avoke Onorimuo. Required to access Agility Recovery's SharePoint, where all project files live.
• Agility email setup: Temporary credentials sent; Melissa successfully authenticated. Avoke's international location (flagged as a restricted region by Agility's IT admin) is causing an additional access barrier.
• Sales tool access (Salesforce, Sales Loft, Zoom Info): Cannot be requested until Agility emails are fully functional — accounts time out within 24 hours of provisioning if not activated.
• IT vendor: Agility Recovery outsources IT to Xerox. Gus's CIO manages the relationship. Gus committed to following up with Xerox on Monday (post-kickoff) to resolve license and international access issues.

Workaround in the interim: Avoke to download available Tech Stack documents from the Asymmetric shared drive to begin content prep without SharePoint access.

Future Scope

SOAR 2.0

A planned evolution of the current program with more engaging content formats — moving beyond Rise's click-through reading experience. Likely to incorporate Storyline interactives and/or AI-generated video (see Vyond below).

Elevate Program

A continuous education initiative for the sales team, running monthly after SOAR completion. Formats will vary: e-learning, video, or instructor-led sessions. Topics will span soft skills, product training, and skill development. Goal is to build a reusable content library over time.

Elevate is not yet formally scoped or contracted. Gus identified it as a future opportunity during the April 2026 kickoff.

Vyond (AI Video Tool)

Gus is piloting Vyond (AI video creation software) as a potential tool for producing more engaging video content without requiring deep production skills. Pilot was scheduled to begin the week following the kickoff meeting.

Team

Related

• ^[3]
• ^[4]