The benefits of simulation-based training are indisputable and innumerable. With it’s strong power and efficacy, this training methodology is used in a litany of sectors beyond aerospace and military, where it gained its initial foothold. These include everything from manufacturing and retail to healthcare, fitness, fashion and hospitality, reports indicate.
A training solution fit for all
No longer reserved for mammoth corporations, now businesses of every size and scope can benefit from highly optimized interactive cyber-training innovations. This in the form of short-burst microlearning 3D simulations that are now as accessible as they are effective. This brief, easy-to-digest content, which learners can access on their own time, provides numerous posthaste benefits.
At its highest level, these modern 3D simulation remote training methods can immediately teach employees how to effectively navigate hard conversations and communicate in a way that drives optimal outcomes and enriches work relationships — all irrespective of where that employee is based.
This microlearning technology, which complements any in-person training, is helping companies rapidly improve internal and external communication skills relating to sensitive subject matter and operational mandates. This helps lessen customer confusion and unconscious bias to create a more inclusive culture, stemming microaggressions, promoting conflict resolution and de-escalation, conveying appropriate and consistent responses to crises like COVID-19, which drives feedback conversations that can enhance employee relations, allowing employees to constructively escalate issues that aren’t usually discussed outside of “water cooler whispers” and more.
Acceptance continues to grow
This approach is already so powerful that Allied Market Research indicates the virtual training and simulation market size, currently valued at $204.41 billion, is projected to more than double and reach $579.44 billion by 2027. This, and other such forecasts, reflect the extent to which companies are now requiring their executives and managers to participate in virtual training and simulation to become better prepared for real-life situations. This is not surprising given the several points of substantiation.
For one, the global consulting firm Accenture accented that “experiential learning has long been argued as the most effective way to learn, and studies have shown that learning through experience increases learning quality by up to 75%.”The firm indicates this approach allows companies to recreate real-life situations, reduces the costs of outside training and increases the repetition of experiences to allow employees the chance to practice more.
Special focus training opportunities
As one case in point, it notes that major retailers, like Walmart, often leverage the technology only to train managers to prepare for key events, such as Black Friday, with potential benefits including an 80% savings in training time.
“3D simulations help companies provide employees with interactive bite-sized learning sessions that provide a quick and easy way to engage in real-world scenarios, explore emotional responses and receive immediate feedback so they can reflect on their own performance — all in a safe virtual environment,” says Ed Beltran, CEO of Fierce Conversations, which is a company spearheading customized simulations that teach employees how to handle difficult customer conversations like those relating to the coronavirus pandemic, diversity and inclusion and other notorious, angst-inducing points of contention.
“This kind of training can address and resolve veritably any on-the-job challenge,” Beltran continues. “The overarching goal of microlearning immersion is to help employees become expert conversationalists by knowing what to talk about, how to talk about it and why it matters for the bottom line of the specific employer. This is why the most effective 3D simulations are those that are ‘bite-sized’ — as in 15-minutes or less — and also fully customized for each business and situation. In this way, businesses can efficiently address several critical issues via interactive real-world situations, all with the look and feel of your own location, organization and audiences. Personalized avatars are also used to recreate scenarios and build empathy, and immediate feedback helps employees learn and improve with each session.”
Learn and improve they do, as these gamification capabilities are shown to maximize learner engagement and knowledge retention. As a matter of fact, interactive learning is not only shown to boost learning engagement by 50%, but it also enhances knowledge retention by 20%. “It also scales cost effectively per learner so employers can mitigate training expenses,” Beltran notes.
Duration is also key
As reported by Software Advice, 58% of employees would more likely use online learning courses if material was broken into “multiple, shorter lessons” and this would create more than 50% higher engagement. Additional metrics say that microlearning in segments of three to seven minutes “matches the memory capacity and attention spans” of most humans.
So, when you need to address internal complications or enhance operations, consider opting for 3D simulations in place of long, boring training videos. You know, the ones that make employees lose their interest and can barely resolve the issues at hand, especially when you need that genuine resolution fast.
This such customized 3D reality-based microlearning, practiced virtually, can get to the heart of challenges that your employees are facing with immediacy. The result will be conversations that make a real, meaningful and measurable impact.
Merilee Kern, MBA, is a Forbes Business Council Member and internationally-regarded brand analyst, strategist and futurist who reports on noteworthy industry change-makers, movers, shakers and innovators across all B2B and B2C categories. Connect with her at www.TheLuxeList.com and www.SavvyLiving.tv.
