Gaming the System

In a corporate setting, simulation games place workers in a realistic performance environment —on a computer or, increasingly, over the Web — and allow them to practice and even make errors, all in the name of advancing their skills and competence more rapidly.

In a challenging economic environment in which organizations must rapidly skill and deploy workers to areas where they are most needed, simulations offer an efficient and effective approach to develop workforce skills while also containing costs. Butler noted that companies leveraging learning providers to contain costs also should look to those providers for innovations such as simulations.

“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.