Soft Skills Games for corporate eLearning

The 70-20-10 Model for Learning and Development states that 70% of learning comes from on-the-job experience, 20% from interaction with others and 10% from formal educational events. In other words, 70% is experiential, 20% is social and 10% is generally formal. Based on this model, experiential learning is definitely considered to be the most beneficial method of teaching. Soft skills games present a way for learners to learn by doing and can mimic experiential learning.

The use of soft skills games especially via serious games in corporate training and e-learning has become increasingly popular over the years. Soft skills need to be practiced in order to be improved and developed. In corporate e-learning, soft skills development is an especially important and complex area.

Before the development of interactive training games (Serious Games), classroom training was actually the only way to develop soft skills. Traditional e-learning and its reliance on one-way slide shows and videos were too theoretical and, most certainly, lacked the necessary interaction to train employees in skills like daily communication, leadership, negotiations, critical thinking, problem-solving and more which require constant practice to develop.

Games generally help develop cognitive potential effectively. Cognitive abilities are responsible for ‘soft skills’, so valuable in the world of corporate training. Soft skills are not learned through books. Imparting soft skills requires a learning methodology that factors in kinesthetic, audio and visual learners. The delivery should include consistent practice and storytelling. If employees have to work on specific assignments, where they need to collaborate with a team, it provides them with a wonderful opportunity to know someone really well, especially if done right with soft skills games in a virtual, interactive environment.

There are a lot of benefits we can draw from game-based learning and gamification for soft skills training. Despite multiple cases showing how gamification has a significant impact on learning outcomes, there is still some skepticism about interactive games in training. These doubts often overshadow the benefits of interactive training games, like cost-efficiency, interactivity, the increased motivation of the learners, among other advantages. Serious games are especially interesting for soft skills given that the need for interaction and immediate feedback is critical.

Here is why game-based training for soft skills is the perfect solution:

Increased cognitive function and decision making

Game-based training activities are scenario-based and require students to think on their feet, use logic and solve a problem. When training through interactive games, the use of conversation prompts and social situations is recommended to provide a platform to practice. Training needs for skills like strategic thinking, empathy, putting oneself in the position of others and the development of analytical and communicative skills can be met through game-based training.

Soft skills games develop a real interest in learning

Keeping the interest of the learners alive through an entire course is a challenge that all organizations face today. Soft skills training is no different. According to a study conducted, in a multi-device world, the average human’s attention span is eight seconds; less than a goldfish’s.

Soft skills games are a great tool to overcome this challenge and to make the modules more engaging. Traditionally, soft skill training has been considered boring and not important. The willingness to sit through these programs is NIL to negative. However, game-based training is changing this attitude issue. In addition to being interactive, digital soft skill games also have the potential to throw challenges that align to the skill level of the player. As the employees begin to progress, the difficulty level of the challenges and activities also rises. This is extremely important to implement and drive successful training and create a continuous learning culture in organizations.

Games Rejuvenate Key Reasoning and Basic Leadership

Interactive simulation-based games require learners to think rapidly and utilize rationale to deal with different scenarios. This ensures the development of some critical skills required by employees to grow as leaders. Quick thinking, analytical reasoning, people management, conflict resolutions, difficult conversation, assertive communication, among other skills can be developed through soft skills games. The learners are given scenarios and are faced with challenges to be solved. They are given scores based on their response and immediate feedback if the response was not correct. This helps in the development of people managers and subject matter experts.

In conclusion

Interactive soft skills games have gained momentum over the last couple of decades, and the organizations are incorporating the approach in their training strategy more than ever. The companies are recognizing the low risk and high reward benefit of game-based training. Games provide employees with a fun and safe environment (no-risk, consequence-free environment) to experiment, using the information they have just been taught to solve challenges. Immediate feedback and rewards are extremely motivational for the employees. Ease of capturing data and performance analytics from these training games allows companies to track learner progress, the effectiveness of learning programs and ensuring improved knowledge retention.

At Indusgeeks, we create high fidelity learning/training simulations specific to your needs and work with you to ensure that the outcome of your program is higher. Our solutions are available on desktop, mobile, tablet and browser-based, making it accessible anywhere and everywhere. #MakeanImpact