How Axalta scaled global field training across 13 languages in 18 months

The Challenge

The ask from leadership was clear: train 1,200 to 1,400 field specialists globally, certify them, and give them a path for career growth. However, there was no budget to contract out video production, and in-house marketing support was stretched across the whole company. The result was a library of aging documents and presentations being passed around informally — with no formal training content and no way to track knowledge comprehension. 

When Carol's boss found Synthesia and started experimenting, the team saw a path forward. Once leadership saw what was possible, the case made itself.

"Before Synthesia, we had no budget and very little marketing resources. We had zero video trainings — just very old documents floating around. It probably would have taken more than a year to create a single video, and it never would have gotten done." — Carol Szatkowski, Advantage Process Specialist, Axalta

The Solution

Carol and her boss turned to Synthesia to build Axalta's field training program from the ground up. Neither of them came from a marketing or instructional design background — but Synthesia closed that gap. AI-assisted scripting helped two engineers write content that reads clearly and teaches effectively. Scene design tools helped them avoid the instinct to pack too much on screen. The result was a training library that looks and feels like it came from a professional production team.

Every video Axalta produces includes a 10-question quiz, making completion trackable and tying directly to the company's certification goals. The interactivity feature lets field representatives — who are often in fast-paced manufacturing environments with limited time — navigate to the segments most relevant to them rather than sitting through a full video linearly. Subject matter experts inside the company vet every video before it goes live, keeping technical accuracy intact while freeing the production process from bottlenecks. Content is then loaded into Axalta's LMS, where new hires follow a structured learner journey through the full library.

As other teams saw what Carol's segment was producing, adoption spread. Manufacturing, HR, and other divisions have since added their own licenses as Synthesia gained internal buzz. “Leadership has been thrilled with the amount of training we can create as well as our ability to dynamically engage field employees all over the world," says Carol.  

The Results

"The results speak for themselves but what I didn't expect was how much fun we'd have getting there." — Carol Szatkowski, Advantage Process Specialist, Axalta

• 39 videos produced in 18 months by a two-person team with no video production background
• 1,200+ specialists trained across the field
• 4,500 views across 13 languages in a year and a half
• Under two weeks per video — down from a process that would have taken more than a year
• Translation cost savings — Axalta had to contract out translation work which cost significant time and money, but with Synthesia, they can seamlessly translate into 13 languages. “It's been a real game changer for productivity," says Carol
• Organic expansion — additional departments including HR and manufacturing have adopted Synthesia licenses after seeing the mobility team's results

What's Next

Carol's team is focused on continuing to grow the training library — releasing videos in batches and promoting them through internal channels to drive engagement. HR is exploring video agents for the next phase of their enablement work. And with a learner journey already in place for new hires, the team is building toward a training and certification program that gives leadership full visibility into the expertise level of every team member in the field.

"Synthesia empowers anyone to make a training video. My boss and I are both engineers — not certified teachers, graphic designers, or technical writers. And yet it makes us feel like all three." — Carol Szatkowski, Advantage Process Specialist, Axalta 

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