Godiva Curriculum Design

Godiva came to ELM with a specific problem: How to provide a consistent experience for learners while maintaining a sophisticated edge?

ELM began the project with a Learning Experience Design session. There, it became clear that gaps between boutique manager training and training for their sales associate chocolatiers were causing a disconnect within the company. Boutique managers enjoyed an elevated training experience, but that wasn’t always passed on to the employees.

Together, the ELM and Godiva teams designed a new strategy geared toward employee success and preserving the brand’s overall image. By combining new online learning experiences with the company’s existing manager/chocolatier shoulder-to-shoulder training, Godiva could better manage and control the customer experience at every boutique.

ELM’s solution was to design separate training for boutique managers and chocolatiers. Chocolatiers would experience onboarding training to enhance specific, brand-centric skills like building rapport with customers, better salesmanship, questioning, storytelling, and perhaps most importantly, listening. These skills were broken up into six 10-minute, self-paced videos that paired each teaching activity with a self study. Once they completed each module, chocolatiers were then invited to practice their new skills with real customers to ensure better retention and action.

For boutique managers, ELM created a coaching program designed to help them better assist chocolatiers through shoulder-to-shoulder training and targeted leadership opportunities.

All training and content–some new, some taken from existing initiatives–was created and updated with a custom template patterned after the Godiva website. The design team even created cover slides to look like Godiva’s iconic gold boxes. By tying the training to the company’s branding, boutique managers and chocolatiers were better able to understand Godiva’s image, brand, and overall vision for an elegant customer experience.