Features

Published June 2009

Gaming the System

Ivo Wenzler and John G. Higgins

Continued

“I’m adamant about tapping into innovations wherever they come from, as long as they contribute to the overall goal of driving better business performance from learning,” Butler said. “Sometimes you need to engage external organizations to keep you aware of new trends in the learning marketplace.”

Simulation-based learning experiences can result in the increased effectiveness of critical workforces. Performance simulations can result in a significantly higher retention of content than traditional classroom learning. Compared with traditional classroom learning, simulations help participants master content and new behaviors 40-70 percent faster. In some situations, a performance simulation can reduce the time needed for new employees to reach a level of competent performance by 80 percent.

Speeding workers to competency means business results can be delivered more quickly. For example, GE Money, the financial services unit of GE’s global enterprise, used simulation-based learning in support of an organic growth strategy, equipping its customer-service workforce to be more effective at cross selling to existing customers. Developers began by analyzing the behaviors of its top sellers from around the world, identifying the key behaviors for successful cross selling and defining a sales model that could be replicated across business lines.

Based on this design, the team created an interactive, Web-based simulation that placed the learner into a realistic performance environment using simulated customer conversations. The learner was challenged first to resolve the customer’s needs and then to appropriately transition the conversation to cross-sell solutions based on the customer’s specific needs. To aid learning, the simulation tool also included a virtual coach to provide feedback at each step and access to expert stories and reference topics.

Similar simulations can support manager-level employees. German railway company Deutsche Bahn, for example, employed a simulation solution to help its cost-center managers — whose backgrounds were primarily in engineering — acquire the financial management skills that would increase their entrepreneurial capabilities. During the course of the simulation experience, participants engaged in increasingly complex role-playing, helping them manage events and perform operational and planning activities similar to actual situations encountered on the job.

Market Simulations
Simulations provide an important capability to perform “what if” analyses. They are, in effect, a representation of the complex web of cause-and-effect relationships in the particular environment being modeled. The human mind has a difficult time tracking multiple interactions, where one action may have an effect on parts of the system, each of which then affects 10 more things, some of which loop back and cause additional changes to some of the prior influencers.

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Executive Search

Senior Manager, Global Learning & Talent Development
11/19/2009
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) is an organization of member firms devoted to excellence in providing professional services and advice. We are focused on client service through a global strategy executed locally in nearly 150 countries.

Director, Leadership & Organizational Development Parkland Health & Hospital System
10/26/2009
Parkland Health & Hospital System (www.parklandhospital.com) located in Dallas, Texas has been voted one of "America's Best Hospitals" by U.S. News & World Report for 16 consecutive years and recently named one of the "Top 100 Hospitals to Work For" by Nursing Professionals Magazine.

The World Bank Knowledge and Learning Coordinator Washington, DC
12/22/2008
The Latin America & Caribbean Region (LCR) of the World Bank serves over 30 countries, mostly middle-income which, despite having middle-income economies, still struggle with pockets of poverty and high level of inequalities.