CASE STUDY

Trader Joe’s Meets OSHA Safety Requirements with Personality

“Among employees, the “Say Aloha To Safety” eLearning received a 30% higher approval
rating than our more traditional training methods. To me, that means we’re not just passing
along information - we’ve engaged employees with a memorable, effective message that will
be understood and retained.”
-Randy Jucksch
Safety Administrator, Trader Joe’s

Executive Summary Organization

With a mandate from OSHA to provide specific safety training Trader Joe’s
to employees, specialty grocery store chain Trader Joe’s had a
challenge ahead. They needed to educate employees consistently, Solution Implmented
nationwide on topics that could easily be considered mundane. Fully interactive eLearing
application with compliance
reporting
With a fresh approach and previously unconsidered delivery
mechanism - eLearning- Projections assisted Trader Joe’s in Benefits
meeting requirements, engaging employees, and continuing to • Compliance with
governmental requirements
promote their employer brand.
• Effortless, simultaneous,
and consistent nationwide
About Trader Joe’s
deployment
With about 310 stores in some two dozen states, Trader Joe’s
prides itself on it unique brand and product offering. Their stores • Fully engaged learners who
continue to embrace Trader
carry upscale grocery fare such as health foods, organic produce,
Joe’s employer brand
and nutritional supplements. To keep costs down, its stores
have no service departments and average about 10,000 sq. ft.
The company’s specialty is its line of more than 2,000 private-
label products (70% of sales), including beverages (its signature
Charles Shaw brand wine sells for $2 a bottle), soup, snacks,
and frozen items. Started by Joe Coulombe as a Los Angeles
convenience store chain in 1958, the company was bought in
1979 by German billionaires Karl and Theo Albrecht, who also own
the ALDI food chain.

OSHA Mandates are a Tricky Business

Trader Joe’s had been tasked with OSHA training requirements www.projectionsinc.com
CASE STUDY
Trader Joe’s Meets OSHA Safety Requirements with Personality
that included mandatory safety education for store employees. From box cutter use to heavy lifting
and even cart retrival, the training topics were varied and detailed. With the help of their employment
attorney, Trader Joe’s worked on a video script in-house to deliver the information. When it was
complete, Trader Joe’s training staff felt the video was ready to move into production, but the script felt
stiff and routine, and didn’t reflect the company’s unique personality.

From Cookie-Cutter to Custom

To reach Trader Joe’s somewhat young and engergetic audience, the training had to be more than a
basic video delivered over time to employees in a breakroom. And while much safety knowledge seems
to be based on common sense, it was imperative that Trader Joe’s knew their employees would be able
protect themselves, their co-workers, and even customers, from harm.

The true challenge was that so much of the content was mandated. But by first understanding the
Trader Joe’s employer brand, and then understanding the audience, the Projections team began to craft
a creative solution. “Creativity truly comes from the limits you have to work within,” explained writer/
producer Jacqui Gregory.

In the end, Projections’ forward-thinking delivery solution was eLearning. “The design process for this
project was fun but very time consuming since each section has a different location and tone,” said
Projections certified eLearning developer, Matt Hulgan. “A typical project requires one design that is
used throughout. This one had 8 sets, 3 animated characters, an intro for an 80’s melodrama and
dozens of props that needed to be created and animated. Sheep crushing cardboard bailers don’t come
out of thin air (thankfully). All said, over 150 objects were created before the animation and programing
could begin.”

A Star is Born
With Projections’ development of Trader Joe’s new safety spokesperson, “Tiki Man,” the training took on
a personality and a sense of humor, without diminishing the vital importance of the subject matter. The
training was then broken down into a series of topical modules, allowing users to absorb the material at
intervals as necessary. Throughout, Tiki Man is a unifying element, designed to guide learners to true
understanding of the necessary safety practices.

Tiki Man also plays a pivotal role in the interactive testing, encouraging employees and taking the
CASE STUDY
Trader Joe’s Meets OSHA Safety Requirements with Personality
precepts of Adult Learning Theory to a whole new place.

Just Desserts
In the end, Trader Joe’s employees appreciated the abililty to
complete the training at their own pace. With the added element
of humor and the unique Trader Joe’s style, the “Say Aloha Projections
To Safety” eLearning program enabled the company to avoid
Projections is arguably the
reactions of boredom and non-compliance. foremost provider of employee
communication resources to
North American companies.
While specific metrics for determining improvements in safety
compliance are still being developed, employee reaction has been With capabilities ranging from
overwhelmingly positive, inspiring the Trader Joe’s training staff to custom video to websites
and interactive eLearning,
approach the idea of developing additional training as eLearning. Projections has been serving
the communication needs of
Meet Tiki Man companies large and small
since 1979 by providing all
If you’d like to get a glimpse of how engaging eLearning can be, services from consulting
please visit the Trader Joe’s “Say Aloha To Safety” eLearning to scriptwriting, producing,
editing, graphic design and
demo at http://www.projectionsinc.com/prod_training.html.
more in-house.

Over the last 30 years,

Projections has crafted the
right message in the right
medium for thousands of
corporations and millions of
employees.

www.projectionsinc.com