Choosing the right theme?

I'm not sure how effective it is to add something totally unrelated to the content itself. I'm a big fan of storytelling, but I find relevant context to be critical. I think it would be more interesting to show the journey of a new employee this insurance company. You could exaggerate a bit for humor or drama, but I'd keep it still within the context of the job.

If you create a completely fake context for learning, I'd worry that you might actually reduce the transfer to the job. In general, the more realistic the context for practice, the easier it is to transfer those skills to your real job.

I also hate sending learners the unspoken message that "your job is so boring that the only way we can get you to learn about it is with a bait and switch about a cruise ship." I know that's not your intention, but that can be the result.

I can't find the article right now, but last year I read about a company that spent a lot of money making a cool "mission impossible" themed course that was a total waste. The story wrapper didn't have anything to do with the content, so it just distracted learners from what they actually needed.

Thank you for your reply Christy! You confirmed what was in the back of my mind...it might be fun but not relevant to the job and may even cause some confusion.

Thanks again.

If you want to go a little fun (and it would fit the organizational culture), I once saw a great onboarding with intros to the team roles as sort of super versions of themselves. The multimedia developer had super powers of visual design; the project manager could juggle 10 projects at once. It was exaggerated and lighthearted, but it also emphasized the relevant parts of each role. It's a tricky balance, and it depends a lot on the company culture. Sometimes insurance companies are less open to that kind of playfulness.