AMERiCA LEARNiNG MEDiA

Recommendations to develop successful training projects including games and simulations. How important is the use of analytical tools in a training process? Suggestions to create better online training in sales, customer service, telemarketing and other areas.

Interview with Sergey Snegirev - CEO at BranchTrack

“The key is to move away from linear PowerPoint-like training and offer learners realistic work-related experiences. In other words, if you train managers, let them make decisions instead of having them read some bullet points. And if you train sales people, let them sell to a virtual customer instead of reading about it”, said Sergey Snegirev - CEO at BranchTrack.com.

Why should an organization implement games and simulations in its training processes?

Sergey Snegirev: I might be a bit biased but I think that they are crucial for a number of reasons.

- First of all, they are more effective at changing learner behaviors. They provide more impact in less time. It is also much easier to apply lessons learned while ‘playing’ on the actual job as compared to reading and answering quiz questions.
- Second, comprehending written and long-versed information is getting harder for this generation (and the next for sure) as compared to visual, interactive and concise experiences. Young people expect to be engaged with your content within the first few seconds or they’ll move away.

So if your training is linear and text-based, you might be missing your audience.

What recommendations can you give to develop successful training projects including games and simulations?

Don’t start with information, start with actions. Put yourself into your learner’s shoes. Ask yourself, what is it that they’ll have to do after they complete your training. Then fill your course with activities that mimic your leaners’ duties.

Let learners pull necessary information as they perform your tasks. E.g. if you are training insurance salespeople, don’t force the policy information on them in the first place. Let them talk to a client and dig into policies when the client asks instead.

You said that people will not learn to sell until they try and fail repeatedly. Could you explain more about your point of view?

Think back to when we were kids. Did we believe our parents when they said “Don’t do it, you’ll get hurt”? No, we had to try that and get hurt to learn our lessons. Adult training works in surprisingly similar ways. Learners are more likely to believe what you are saying if they can see what happens when they don’t follow your advice. Don't just say “Don’t do that”. Let them do that and show the outcome.

Conventional training stops learners too soon when they make a mistake, before they have a chance to suffer the consequences. It might be a good approach for practical sky-diving training but in every other case it is much more effective to let them learn from their mistakes.

Einstein said that failure is success in progress. I couldn’t agree more.

How important is the use of analytical tools in a training process? What features should have these tools?

It’s not as much about features as about the willingness of training managers and instructional designers to dig deeper than course completions and scores. For example, Google Analytics (which has been around for years) can provide a whole new level of insight into what your learners are doing with your content.

BranchTrack aspires to not only show you WHAT your learners achieved within a simulation but also HOW they did it. What paths they took individually or as a group, how much time they spent on certain decisions etc.

Let me give you an example. We ran a pilot project with a client some time ago. Their sales people played a simulation where they had a choice to lie to a customer in order to get a sale. A lot of learners did it, so our client had to do a whole training on ethics to explain why lying to customers is bad. No other method be it mystery shoppers or sending out surveys would reveal this. People tend to expose their true nature, their real behaviors when they play a game and aim for the prize. Such information is extremely valuable to the T&D managers.

Does BranchTrack use artificial intelligence to create virtual clients?

BranchTrack simulations are 100% programmed by their authors. It is essential to provide a consistent experience, which cannot be achieved with AI. When learners know that the simulation outcome depends on their actions, not some random factors, they are more likely to replay and learn more.

Do you believe that online courses tutors may be replaced wholly or partially by virtual tutors developed with artificial intelligence?

I believe that solid instructional design is key to online training. An artificial tutor would still have to be programmed by a team of developers and instructional designers. It would bring an extra level level of technical complexity to a process that isn’t simple in the first place. At BranchTrack, we aim to reduce technical load on instructional designers and empower them to build better training without technical skills.

What was the market context that led you to create BranchTrack?

I used to run an e-learning company where we created a lot of branching scenarios (since they work so well). However, the technical process behind them was too complex. It resulted in longer turnaround times and higher cost. So we created a tool that lets anyone create branching scenarios with simulated customers within minutes and without any technical skills.

What is the differential value that BranchTrack brings to the market?

There are a few business simulation platforms out there but they are extremely complex, inflexible and really expensive. We want any instructional designer to be able to improve their training with BranchTrack with minimal effort, time and financial investment.

Could you describe the software you developed and what are its main features?

BranchTrack follows a very simple pattern: Create, Design, Deliver. We have a great visual editor for branching scenarios that is as easy to use as a whiteboard. You simply have to type what the customer says and what the reply options should be. Then you simply select a character and a background from our asset library (you can upload your own images, too), tweak the colors to match your corporate brand and you are good to go.

BranchTrack dialogues can be delivered as SCORM packages or embedded into any course built in major authoring tools (Articulate Storyline, Lectora, Adobe Captivate etc). They can also be launched online directly from our platform.

July 2014