Why Business Simulations are so effective

Why should you invest in a simulation for training?

Many professional fields train by experiential learning methods. Pilots, the armed forces, medical, police and many others... so why not train the people who work for you the same way?

Business simulations provide an interactive learning experience that requires participants to apply what they have learned in a business training event in a robust, risk-free environment. Participants build relevant skills, improve conceptual knowledge, and gain a better appreciation of business strategy and the systems of business management in order to build skills and improve performance.

Interpretive simulations serve as the bridge between learning and real-life experience. They provide participants with the opportunity to make relevant decisions in a competitive marketplace in functions associated with roles in your company.

Key Benefits 

"Learners retain only 5 percent of what they hear and 10 percent of what they read, but they remember more than 50 percent of what they learn through discussion and interaction" - Josh Bersin

There are several important elements to keep in mind about these learning tools:

• Creates more engaged learners - high levels of interactions make learning fun, increases retention, and builds skills.
• Application of learning creates stickiness - by immediately applying new concepts, participants learn-by-doing.  This creates stickiness and supports the transfer of knowledge back to the job.
• An abstraction of reality - more than just a business simulation game, a simulation recreates real world experiences so that learners can practice in a risk-free environment.
• Empower learners - by taking control of a business enterprise, participants see and understand  how a business works from top to bottom.  Participants make many different choices regarding business strategy day-to-day operational decisions.
• Prepares learners for the real world – users are able to practice different techniques so that they are ready and better prepared when they encounter similar conditions back on-the-job.

• Cross-functional teams result in great discussions - when it comes time to assigning teams for a workshop, we recommend a mix of levels and cross-functional teams. This often leads to great discussions throughout the exercise and creates a stronger experiential learning experience.
• Live Classroom, Virtual Classroom, eLearning, or Blended Deliveries - can be delivered in a live classroom, a virtual one, as an eLearning module, a business challenge, or as some sort of blended solution. Advantexe has built and maintains multiple platforms that enable our clients to choose the delivery experience best suited to address the needs of various levels of audience.
• Builds a community and network - a great outcome is the connection created between students. This networking and community is a valuable by-product of the learning event, and one that reaches across functions and departments.
• Analytics -  Advantexe's analytics platform allows us to track the relationship between learning and their results including revenue, profit, and shareholder value growth.

The design experts of Advantexe Learning Solutions have been building award-winning business simulations for more than 30 years. We have developed more than 50 different versions in a variety of industries and subject areas.

Additional Resources

• Blog Post - Business Simulations; Where it is ok to fail
• Blog Post - 5 Ways Management Simulations Can Improve Business Decision Making