How Kiehl’s Since 1851 amplified and modernized over 170 years of education

The Challenge

Accessible, engaging global learning. A vision brought to life.

Since 1851, education has been at the heart of Kiehl’s. Aaron Morse was a founding family member of Kiehl’s, and had a vision for Kiehl’s Academy: A way for employees to elevate their knowledge of Kiehl’s formulas and the science of skincare.

In order to deliver an exceptional customer experience in stores and online, Kiehl’s Since 1851 invests in expert-level education and training. Kiehl’s Skin Pros are renowned worldwide for their ability to provide highly personalized skincare consultations and product recommendations, all while having in-depth knowledge of formulas, ingredients, skin physiology, and sustainability.

As Kiehl’s expanded worldwide, they sought to bring the Kiehl’s Academy vision to life, but in a modern, uniquely-branded way. This meant creating a highly personalized, accessible, and educational platform where both new and existing users could advance their education from anywhere in the world, in any language. With the help of Docebo, Kiehl’s has been able to amplify and modernize over 170 years of education— in a single global platform.

The Solution

Kiehl’s Academy, powered by Docebo

Because Kiehl’s didn’t have an existing platform for global e-learning, they were seeking a partner to help them develop a customized LMS and create an engaging, accessible learning experience.

Personalization has always been a core part of Kiehl’s identity. Kiehl’s and Docebo collaborated to customize the platform, creating a balance between engaging formats and rich content. Docebo’s AI-based course recommendation tool provides learners with experiences tailored to their learning plans—just like customers experience tailored skincare recommendations from their Kiehl’s Skin Pros.

Upholding their long-standing dedication to quality, Kiehl’s needed a best-in-class learning experience that would reflect their brand standards. This meant thinking strategically about the holistic learning experience—including how users log onto the platform, interact with courses, and how the learning is activated and reinforced with real customers. Kiehl’s also created Advanced Certifications, which offer an engaging learning experience that helps Skin Pros advance their career and furthers Kiehl’s business strategy.

Community is also an important component of Kiehl’s long-standing heritage, and was vital to include in their LMS. Docebo helped Kiehl’s infuse their Academy with rich social functionality, including Kiehl’s Global Community, where Skin Pros are empowered as brand ambassadors to share what matters to them, demonstrate their skincare expertise, and receive peer and mentor recognition for their achievements.

Kiehl’s Academy also features an ‘Ask the Expert’ page, where users can directly interact with home office employees, strengthening their connections and helping the brand stay informed about the questions Skin Pros (and customers) are asking every day. These social pages create a feeling of community, trust, and transparency for users.

Finally, Kiehl’s was built on a tradition of giving, including their generous sampling program, 100% money-back guarantee, and extensive philanthropic efforts. To help embody this generosity and ensure that the user learning journey felt just as rewarding as being a customer, Docebo weaved gamification into Kiehl’s Academy.

Users earn badges, points, and coins for completing training. These rewards are featured on a leaderboard and can be exchanged for items in a sustainable Rewards Store, which reinforces Kiehl’s commitment to sustainability and helps Skin Pros make eco-conscious choices both in and out of the store.

The Results

Glowing user reviews, incredible learning and engagement, and a more efficient, globally-scaled education experience

Kiehl’s partnership with Docebo has been a vital tool in helping the brand ensure all training is accessible and complete while saving time and cost, increasing learning retention, and providing trackable and measurable results that help users improve performance.

Kiehl’s Academy has also made digital education accessible to over 45 countries, with over 20 of the countries onboarded during the 2021 pandemic. With Train-the-Trainer modules, Kiehl’s Educators are able to expedite their onboarding process as well, ensuring that the platform is fully optimized in their market to create the best learning experience for users.

With over 4,500 users on the platform, Kiehl’s sees 100% adoption rate for measures such as training completion and Educator adoption, demonstrating how invested learners can be in their education if they feel that the platform is invested in them, too.

Kiehl’s Academy has elevated the Educator experience as well, giving them more ways to track and measure the effectiveness of their learning programs by pulling reports on user test scores, completion rates, etc. Educators also leverage a blended-learning approach, using Kiehl’s Academy as a way to uphold traditional in-person training when possible, while enhancing the learning experience with digital education.

Kiehl’s is proud to partner with Docebo to uphold founding family member Aaron Morse’s vision of creating a Kiehl’s Academy – amplifying and modernizing over 170 years of education on one accessible, engaging LMS.