CASE STUDY
Cella Helps Investment Client Unlock AI’s Potential Through Tailored AI Bootcamp
Many organizations today find themselves in the same position: They’ve invested in AI, rolled out licenses and even provided training, but day-to-day work just hasn’t changed. Teams know AI could help, but they aren’t confident using it well or even where to start.
That’s exactly where our client, a global investment management leader, found themselves.
Despite giving their teams access to AI tools, adoption was inconsistent. Teams were experimenting with it, but workflows remained largely manual. The client needed a way to move teams from “We know AI exists” to “We know exactly how to use it for our work.”
Relying on an eight-year partnership, they called on Cella to help.
The Client Need
Cella approached the engagement the same way we approach any strategic initiative: understanding the audience and their challenges first and then designing a tailored solution.
A Deep Discovery Process
Through a two-week deep discovery, where Cella’s experts met with stakeholders and end-users across the organization, they:
- Identified individual-specific pain points and workflows
- Gathered real client documents for use in hands-on exercises
- Assessed sentiment (from enthusiastic to deeply skeptical)
- Understood tool access, limitations and usage patterns
- Started building trust by listening, validating concerns and clarifying expectations
The discovery process surfaced three key insights.
.Training wasn’t translating into behavior change.
Most internal education was online or self-led, helpful for awareness but ineffective for building hands-on confidence. Many employees were hesitant to use AI for real deliverables.
Experimentation was happening, but it was scattered.
Teams didn’t have clarity on when to/not to use AI tools, how to prompt effectively, how to gauge accuracy or reliability, or how AI could streamline their specific workflows. This led to:
- Time drain: Repetitive tasks still took hours.
- Underutilized investment: Enterprise tools sat idle.
- Competitive risk: Industry peers were advancing faster.
- Growing frustration: The gap between AI’s promise and reality widened.
Low confidence, not lack of interest, was the barrier.
Baseline confidence surveys that Cella conducted revealed concerns about job displacement, trustworthiness of outputs and fear of “doing it wrong.”
The bottom line? The client needed a solution that would build real confidence, not just awareness.
Our Solution
Cella’s AI Bootcamp: Immersive, Hands-On and Designed Around Client Workflows
The discovery insights directly shaped a custom learning experience tailored to the client’s needs. Our experts conducted a large-scale AI bootcamp that, across multiple sessions, was delivered to accommodate their entire creative, marketing and project management teams.
Our focus?
Foundational AI Education
Our experts provided practical explanations of how large language models (LLMs) interpret instructions, giving participants a mental model they could use immediately.
Tool Deep Dives
Clear guidance on when, why and how to use a certain tool for a given task.
Hands-On Workshop Labs
Participants practiced applying tools to their actual day-to-day tasks.
Personal Prompt Playbooks
Participants created reusable prompt sets they could take back into their daily workflow. We also conducted a more targeted bootcamp for a specific marketing team, which focused on hands-on applications like:
- Synthesizing lengthy, technical documents
- Running AI-powered competitor analyses
- Enhancing research workflows using deep research tools
- Applying AI to marketing strategy and decision-making
The intimate format enabled deeper discussion and real-time troubleshooting.
What Made Cella’s Approach Different
1. Deep Customization
No off-the-shelf content. Every example, exercise and tool demonstration aligned to the client’s actual workflows, tools, documents and AI maturity level. All of this is tailored to end users, not just high-level executives.
2. Hands-On, Applied Learning
Participants didn’t just listen; they practiced. They spent most of the session working in AI tools, testing prompts, iterating and applying techniques to real documents.
3. Change Management, Baked In
Throughout the engagement, our team integrated core change-management principles:
- Reassuring teams that AI is a partnering tool for their roles, not a threat to their roles
- Normalizing discomfort and skepticism
- Meeting participants wherever they were in their AI journey
- Creating a safe environment for experimentation
These elements helped dissolve fear and build trust. Post bootcamp, the team also conducted surveys to measure skill lift, follow-up debriefs and provided recommendations for next step training.
The Results Measurable Skill Lift and Mindset Shift
immediate application
100% of participants learned at least one thing they could immediately apply the next day.
increase in tool confidence
Comfort with CoPilot’s Notes and CoPilot Pages features increased.
improvement in core skills
Confidence in using AI for brainstorming and summarization increased by 33%.
Beginner gaps eliminated
100% of attendees ranked “Beginner” in prompting and summarizing moved to “Basic understanding” or better.
lift in research skills
Familiarity with Deep Research tools increased dramatically.
The most significant shift was mindset, positioning the client to strengthen competitive advantage and unlock new efficiencies and cost savings.
Ready to Bridge Your Team’s AI Confidence Gap?
Access to AI tools is important, but it’s only the starting point. True impact comes when teams have the confidence, skills and hands-on experience to use those tools in their daily work.
If your organization has invested in generative AI but adoption is lagging, Cella can help you:
- Identify the real confidence and skill gaps
- Design training aligned with your workflows
- Deliver immersive, practical learning experiences
- Measure progress with clear before-and-after results
