When Simulation Is Better Than Reality

Behavioral change is not easy for most adults. Lectures, training programs and workshops can explain the intellectual elements of transformation, but they are seldom effective at getting to the behavioral aspects that lie at the heart of a significant change initiative. Further, under normal working conditions, managers rarely see the full effect of their employee development efforts. As such, an intervention like a simulation can provide the catalyst for change (see “Building a Model Store at KFC” on page 20 to see how a KFC franchise applied this).

‘Fake’ Reality Works as a Learning Tool

Despite their efficacy, most simulator-based training efforts fail for several common reasons:

• The simulation feels more like a game than reality. As such, it does not mirror the organization’s complexities, which prevents employees from easily applying any learning received.

• Unless the simulation allows the participants to declare “this is us,” the ability to drive behavioral change is minimal.

• Simulation is considered to be just another form of training and therefore viewed as yet another course.

• Simulation is not immediately and directly tied to an on-the-job application that can generate the rapid results necessary to sustain the initiative and retain the new information.

• The wide misapplication of the word simulator to artificial computer-based learning misrepresents the experience.

An effective simulation can be better than experience as a learning tool because it accelerates time, compresses space, and unlike reality is specifically designed to maximize participant learning. Simulations provide an immersive learning experience where skills, process and knowledge all can be highlighted in a way reality cannot. The ability to explore, experiment and repeatedly apply new knowledge in unlimited, risk-free models is what makes simulation one of the most productive forms of learning.

Well-designed simulations can enable individuals and groups to develop a deep level of understanding about how their decisions and intuitive responses to business stimuli affect their fellow participants and the organization as a whole (see “Simulations Accelerate Tacit Knowledge Transfer” on page 19 for more on this). To reap the benefits, however, simulations must feel like reality. At the end of the successful simulation, participants must declare “this is us.” If they don’t, they will view the experience as a game, which can be difficult to apply on the job, or worse, irrelevant to everyday work tasks. To maximize benefits from simulation, participants should immediately apply the leaning from the experience to forge a seamless link between learning and doing.