Simulations for Employee Training - Are They Effective Tools

Simulations Effective Tools of Employee Training

Employee training is critical for all organizations because it is instrumental in upskilling the workforce, which in turn keeps them competitive. Workplaces have become complex and are changing every day. You have to ensure that your employees are aware of all the recent trends that affect them.

Here are some instances where you may consider using simulation training.

When you want to introduce new tools and technology in your organization, simulations can help train your employees in less time than in-person training. They can practice their skills in the virtual environment without the fear of their mistakes causing any negative impact.
When your trainign employees need to learn a skill immediately, then training simulations are ideal because they reduce the seat time considerably. Instead of just reading about or watching someone else perform the skill, the learners get hands-on experience. They learn by doing, which is the best way to learn.
When you need to train your workforce on safety hazards, simulations are a great method to do so. It is impossible to reenact multiple hazardous safety situations in real life. But, you have to train your employees to be able to deal with these situations. Simulations will put the learner in a first-hand scenario without creating any actual safety hazards.

Simulations are effective training tools that help learning teams meet their training objectives, without compromising on efficiency. However, detailed simulations can involve a substantial investment in time, effort, and resources. You need to conduct a thorough cost versus benefits analysis to decide if creating simulations is the best route for you.

Here are 5 benefits of training simulations. Weighing these pros will help you decide whether you should include simulations in your training strategy or not.

#1: Enhance knowledge retention

Online training simulations are fun and interactive. When you make training fun for your employees, they enjoy learning. As a result, they are more likely to remember the concepts they learned and apply them to their work. Also in simulations, the learners learn by doing instead of sitting passively. This cements their knowledge and helps them retain it longer.

#2: Provide real-life experience

Simulations create a real-life experience inside a virtual environment. They typically use relevant examples from the workplace, set in a familiar work environment, so the learner can easily identify with the scenario. That way, employees are able to recreate the behavior at their workplace when faced with situations similar to the ones they experienced in the simulation.

#3: Boost confidence

Employees are often extra careful about practicing new behaviors in their job role. What if they make a mistake and put the organization’s reputation at stake? In a simulated environment, they can cast their worries aside and try anything they want . They can experiment and receive instant feedback on the outcome. Learners are encouraged to make mistakes and learn from them. Every wrong decision they make helps them fine-tune their thought process and finally emerge as a winner. There are no real-world repercussions of their mistakes since it’s all in the virtual environment. In the end, employees come out as confident individuals ready to excel in their workplace.

#4: Offer immediate feedback

Unless you provide immediate feedback to your employees, they will not be able to improve. There’s no point in telling them what they did wrong a month ago! In simulations, the program delivers immediate feedback to learners.This instantaneous coaching allows learners to know where they went wrong and make appropriate improvements. Instant feedback ensures that improper behaviors are not committed to the long-term memory of the learners. Instead, they remember the correct path they had to work hard to find in the simulation.

#5: Can be tracked

A major benefit that simulations offer is that they can be tracked. You can track and analyze the training data of your employees. You know who has taken the training, how well they did, which modules were easy to complete, which ones posed difficulties, and so on. Learning managers can utilize this data to create future programs that are more effective. They can also leverage this data for employee assessments.

If your workforce sees value in building their skills or learning new things in an engaging format, then simulations may be a great choice. Designing Digitally, Inc. creates custom training simulations that empower your workforce to practice in virtual environments, allowing the audience to ‘learn by doing’ anytime, anywhere. Our custom training simulations will reduce your training costs, accelerate employee learning, provide a consistent message, and dissolve the need for expensive live training.

Get in touch with our experts today to discuss how training simulations can benefit your learners.