How JELD-WEN increased training output and learning engagement 8x with AI video
How JELD-WEN increased training output and learning engagement 8x with AI video
We interviewed Doug Canfield, Senior Learning and Training Manager at JELD-WEN, Inc. He shared how JELD-WEN is using Synthesia to scale internal and external product training, drastically reducing production and maintenance time while significantly increasing content output.
8x
increased learner engagement
80%
time saved updating training
8x
faster content production
JELD-WEN, Inc. is a leading global manufacturer of windows and doors, with around 16,000 employees across 15 countries. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, the company serves residential and commercial markets with a strong focus on quality, innovation, and sustainability.
Industry
Manufacturing
Headquarters
US
Company size
Enterprise: 1000+
Industry Context
Building material manufacturers face pressure to train large frontline teams while controlling costs. Manuals and presentations are too slow to produce and rarely hold employee attention.
The Challenge
Doug plays a key role in developing training for new sales hires and educating customers on product offerings. Despite successfully delivering live training webinars, Doug and his colleagues faced persistent challenges:
- Time-Intensive Content Creation: Each webinar recording and editing cycle took up to 3.5 hours to complete.
- Duplicate Work When Updating Content: Any small product change meant a complete re-recording and re-editing cycle.
- Limited Capacity to Scale: High production demands limited the team's ability to create new content or respond quickly to evolving product updates.
“We were probably looking at upwards of three and a half hours to complete a training webinar.”– Doug Canfield, Senior Learning and Training Manager
The Solution
With Synthesia, the team can now streamline video creation by uploading PowerPoint decks, attaching speaker notes, and easily generating videos with AI avatars.
What Doug values most about Synthesia:
- Ease of Use: The platform is intuitive, allowing Doug and his team to adopt it quickly without requiring extensive training.
- Seamless Maintenance: Updates can be made easily by adjusting speaker notes or slides, then regenerating the video — often in under 30 minutes.
- Enhanced Engagement: Visual animations like timed bullet point reveals and text highlights keep learners focused on what's being discussed in real time.
“With Synthesia, I can modify, regenerate, and re-upload training content within 30 minutes instead of spending an entire day.” – Doug Canfield, Senior Learning and Training Manager
The Results
Doug changed how training content is created at JELD-WEN, increasing output and serving 1,500 – 2,000 learners faster and more effectively:
- Training Output Increase: Doug increased training output by around 8x, creating ~100 Synthesia-based modules in just six months compared to 15–20 modules over two months recording webinars.
- Time Savings on Maintenance: Updating existing training modules, previously a full day's task, now takes as little as 15–30 minutes — reflecting an ~80% time reduction.
- Engagement Increase: Switching from webinar recordings to short AI videos led to an 8x increase in learner engagement, measured by the number of trainings completed.