Last month's Office Hours tackled a challenge every L&D team knows: getting field teams to actually engage with training. Note: This workshop was a live discussion and was not recorded to preserve Office Hours as a safe space for open dialogue. Our guest, Cierra Miller, Director of Field Operations at Bahama Buck's, showed us exactly how to turn this around.

The Problem We All Face

Our opening poll revealed what we suspected—teams don't know where to start, corporate sends too many emails, and measuring real buy-in feels impossible. Sound familiar?

Bahama Buck's Breakthrough Results

Cierra didn't just talk strategy—she delivered numbers:

  • 25% faster ramp time for new hires
  • Higher franchisee satisfaction with training and support
  • 80% adoption rate across franchisees using Opus' mobile app

These results came from completely rethinking their field communication approach.

Four Strategies That Actually Work

Involve Field Leaders Early: Stop creating programs in isolation. Bahama Buck's brought field leaders and franchisees into development from day one. Result? Built-in champions who understood the value.

Ditch the Email Dumps: They abandoned lengthy emails and traditional LMS approaches that field teams ignored. Instead: mobile-first, visual communications that work in the real world.

Own the Engagement: Cierra took ownership of field engagement at the operations level. Successful rollouts need dedicated champions beyond L&D teams.

Measure What Matters: Completion rates don't equal understanding. They developed ways to actually sense buy-in and comprehension.

Tools That Bridge the Gap

The session highlighted specific solutions for common breakdowns:

  • Check-ins confirm teams completed AND understood training—no more guessing who's bought in
  • Messages deliver voice and visuals instead of text walls nobody reads
  • Opus Docs make SOPs searchable and accessible when teams actually need them

The Game-Changing Question

Cierra shared the mindset shift that changed everything: Stop asking "What do we need to tell them?" Start asking "Why should they care?"

This audience-first approach transforms field communications from information dumps into compelling reasons to engage.

Take Action Now

Ready to implement? Start with these immediate wins:

  • Replace long emails with 2-minute voice memos from ops leaders
  • Identify your field champions and activate them early
  • Design communications like you design training—with the audience first

The Bottom Line

Bahama Buck's proved that field buy-in isn't a persistent problem—it's a solvable challenge. The right approach, tools, and mindset can transform resistant field teams into engaged partners.

Stop pushing information. Start creating buy-in. Your field teams—and your results—will thank you.