Progressive Insurance

Seguros onboarding Redesign

Overview

The Challenge

The Progressive Seguros(bilingual) Sales team was experiencing a high attrition rate amongst new hires due to an english first onboarding program. These consultants experienced a English onboarding program until there was a "flipping the switch" moment when they were abruptly transitioned to Spanish customer calls. After months of doing everything in English, Seguros new hires reported frustration, doubt, and apprehension with the sudden shift.

My Approach

I led a comprehensive visioning project to reimagine the bilingual onboarding experience. Conducting research with 45+ stakeholders and new hires, I uncovered systemic issues in how we prepared Spanish-speaking consultants to serve Spanish-speaking customers. I facilitated cross-functional workshops to co-create solutions, developed a phased implementation roadmap, and secured executive approval for a multi-year transformation.

Impact

  • Leadership approval: Directors praised the work as "masterful" and "testament to collaboration"

  • Executive buy-in: Presented to Director of Customer Relations (reports to CEO) and Director of Seguros

  • Implementation launched: Phase 1 began Q3 2025 following final readout

  • Strategic roadmap: 2-3 year plan balancing language immersion with operational feasibility

Role

Lead Product Designer

Experience Designer

Researcher

Partners

2 Process Consultants

Cross-Functional Stakeholders

Work Force Mgt.

Training

Timeline

6 Months (2025)

THE Problem

An English-Heavy Program Failing Bilingual Employees

Progressive's 26-week Seguros Sales onboarding program was designed specially for the English Sales department and later retrofitting to attempt to meet the needs of the Seguros consultants. In the beginning, the Seguros department was very small but as time progressed it became one of the quickest growing departments within the organization. The growing numbers and complexity started to show the cracks in the program. As the company began to prioritize the bilingual customer experience, we had an opportunity to reimagine the onboarding experience for our bilingual consultants.

Current State Journey Map

Seguros touchpoints within the Sales Journey

Sales New Hire Journey

Seguros only

The COre Issue

Bilingual new hires spent nearly 4 months in English-only training before abruptly switching to Spanish customer calls. This "factory reset" approach—gaining confidence in English, then flipping to Spanish under stress—created:

  • Apprehension: "Why are my call taking stats falling so much?"

  • Doubt: "Why am I not using my language skills earlier?"

  • Frustration: "These customers are completely different my english customers"

The Business Impact

  • Higher attrition among bilingual new hires compared to English-only peers. Most leaving immediately the factory reset

  • Skills gaps when transitioning to Spanish calls

  • Inconsistent customer experiences for Spanish-speaking callers

  • Untapped potential of bilingual workforce

How might we improve the onboarding experience and reduce attrition among Seguros Sales new hires?

RESEARCH QUESTION

Quantitative Evidence: The "Factory Reset" Impact

The quantitative data also pointed to the issues with the Seguros program design. I analyzed metrics for the agents performance across their entire 26-week journey, while focusing on weeks 14 - 20 (the period when they switched from English to Spanish).

Data Insights:

  • Sales Per Week: Decreased volume during transition meant longer calls and reduced efficiency leading to fewer opportunities to close sales

  • Average Handle Time: Significant increase as Spanish-speaking customers required more education, dialect translation, and trust-building

  • Calls Per Week: Sharp decline during Spanish transition while English-only agents maintained steady growth

These metrics validated new hire feedback we were receiving. The sudden language switch created a steep learning curve that undermined performance. New hires had to "start over" in Spanish rather than building on their English-call confidence.

This data became the key driver for "Hablamos": gradual Spanish integration prevents the performance dip by building bilingual confidence progressively.

AVG. # of Sales Per Week

Average number of sales per week
Average number of sales per week
Average number of sales per week

AVG. Call Handle Time

Average call handle time
Average call handle time
Average call handle time

AVG. # of Calls per Week

Average number of calls per week
Average number of calls per week
Average number of calls per week

Discovery & Research

Research & Dicovery

45+ Stakeholder Interviews + Focus Groups

I led discovery with new hires, supervisors, trainers, and operations leaders. Through interviews, focus groups, and journey mapping, I identified pain points, moments of delight, and critical transitions across the 26-week experience.

Insights

Insights Mural Board
Insights Mural Board
Insights Mural Board

Themes

Themes Mural Board
Themes Mural Board
Themes Mural Board

Themes

  1. Viva Español

Innate desire to use language skills and cultural identity from day one

  1. Something Good

Strong esprit de corps is an incredible asset to preserve

  1. Not Separate but Equal

No dedicated Seguros track makes it impossible to address unique needs

  1. Less is Not More

Minimal Spanish materials don't support range of fluency levels

  1. Factory Reset

Sudden switch to Spanish undermines confidence built in English

  1. It's Complex

Shared journey with English new hires requires careful coordination

Serving Unique Customer

Auto sales Customer Persona
Auto sales Customer Persona
Auto sales Customer Persona

English-Speaking Customers: Familiar with insurance, prefer self-service, shop for best price.

Seguros sales Customer Persona
Seguros sales Customer Persona
Seguros sales Customer Persona

Spanish-Speaking Customers: Less familiar with insurance systems, require education and conversation, need to trust consultant, value personal interaction.

Ideation: Three Conceptual Models

Introduction Study
(NYU Partnership)

Introduction Study
(NYU Partnership)

Through co-creation workshops, we explored three distinct approaches rather than jumping to a single solution:

Puzzle Icon
Puzzle Icon

The Puzzle

Formally know as:

Content-Specific Language Model

Assign topics by language (technical in English, empathy in Spanish)

Mirror Icon
Mirror Icon

The Mirror

Formally know as:

Simultaneous Bilingual Instruction

Both languages side-by-side in every session

Climb Icon
Climb Icon

The Climb

Formally know as:

Two-Way Immersion

Gradual Spanish increase while gradually decreasing English over time

The Solution: "Hablamos" Model

As we anchor our Seguros onboarding experience around the "Hablamos" model, there are several key considerations to guide our planning and execution.

Key Considerations:

  • Translation & Content Alignment: Selected Spanish content only—formalizing what consultants already do informally. Regular checkpoints track feasibility and adjust resources.

  • Cross-Team Collaboration & Tools: Org-wide effort to build data foundations for AI translation tools, aligned to North American Spanish standard.

  • Operational Must-Haves: Bilingual instructors, Spanish materials, and role-play scenarios. Early coordination needed for platform integration challenges.

Real-World Practice:

  • Spanish role-plays throughout (not just at the end)

  • Bilingual coaching from supervisors who model language switching

  • Practice transitioning between languages before live calls

Design Principles

Confident

Mirrors real-world practice, builds skills gradually, safe environment for language switching

Mirrors real-world practice, builds skills gradually, safe environment for language switching

Confident
Confident
Confident

Connected

Bilingual cohorts foster mutual support, shared cultural identity, peer learning

Bilingual cohorts foster mutual support, shared cultural identity, peer learning

Connected
Connected
Connected

Supported

Gradual exposure reduces cognitive load, bilingual coaches, Spanish-language materials

Gradual exposure reduces cognitive load, bilingual coaches, Spanish-language materials

Supported
Supported
Supported

Strategic Roadmap

Auto sales Customer Persona
Auto sales Customer Persona
Auto sales Customer Persona

A Phased 2-3 Year Approach

Phase 0 (Q2 2025): Alignment - Secure executive sponsorship, establish steering committee

Phase 1 (Q3 2025): Set Foundation

Form dedicated bilingual cohorts

  • High-impact translation (role-plays, scripts, guidelines)

  • Define criteria for Spanish content selection

  • Teams: Onboarding, Learning Design, Training, Recruiting, WFM, HR

Phase 2 (Q1-Q2 2026): Begin Integration - Introduce Spanish instruction, Spanish-branded guidelines, bilingual role-plays, Spanish call library

Phase 3 (Q3-Q4 2026): Deepen Immersion - Spanish training courses, Seguros-Pro Days (full Spanish immersion)

Phase 4 (Q1-Q2 2027): Rebuild Structure - Spanish knowledge checks, bilingual academy redesign

Prioritization

I facilitated workshops to plot ideas by impact and difficulty:

High Impact, Low Difficulty (Do First): Bilingual cohorts, high-impact translation, Spanish role-plays

High Impact, High Difficulty (Phase Over Time): Spanish-branded guidelines, bilingual academy redesign, Seguros-Pro Days

This ensured we focused resources on initiatives with highest value while being realistic about organizational capacity.

LEADERSHIP APPROVAL

May 19, 2025 - Final Readout

I led the final presentation to executive stakeholders, walking through research findings, three conceptual models, "Hablamos" synthesis, and 2-3 year roadmap.

Presented to:

  • Director of Customer Relations (reports to CEO)

  • Director of Seguros Organization

  • Onboarding and Operations Leadership

Leadership Reaction:

Described the work as "masterful" and a "testament to collaboration." Leaders appreciated:

  • Research rigor (45+ interviews, journey mapping, synthesis)

  • Phased planning balancing ambition with feasibility

  • Co-creation approach building stakeholder buy-in

  • Clear roadmap with dependencies and cross-team alignment

Result: Project approved, funded, and launched. Phase 1 implementation began Q3 2025.

HANDOFF + CURRENT STATUS

Handoff & Current Status

After leading the strategic phase through final readout, I transitioned the project to the Seguros organization for execution. The Seguros team owns implementation with sustained capacity to execute the multi-year roadmap.

Current Status:

  • Phase 1 in progress (bilingual cohorts, supervisor/trainer preparation)

  • Implementation team executing roadmap

Results + Impact

  • Research-Driven: 45+ interviews, journey mapping, quantitative data analysis

  • Conceptual Thinking: Explored three models before synthesizing hybrid solution

  • Facilitation: Co-created with stakeholders rather than designing in isolation

  • Inclusive Design: Centered bilingual employees and Spanish-speaking customers

  • Executive Communication: Secured C-suite approval and funding

  • Systems Thinking: Balanced vision with operational feasibility across 2-3 years

What I'm Most Proud Of:

  • The process rigor: Research → three models → synthesis → roadmap

  • The data validation: Performance metrics proved the "Factory Reset" problem

  • The inclusive approach: Bilingual skills as assets, not accommodations

  • The practical roadmap: Vision balanced with organizational reality

  • The executive buy-in: Approval from Director reporting to CEO

This work represents my strength: taking complex, ambiguous problems and creating clear strategic direction through research, collaboration, and systems thinking—while ensuring solutions center equity, inclusion, and real user needs.

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