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Effecting Change Through Scenario-Based Learning
Submitted by Sue Czeropski, CPT, Ph.D.
Creating meaningful and long-lasting change within an organization can always be challenging. Often, employees can become complacent in the way they operate on a day-to-day basis. Even if particular processes have proven to be inefficient or in need of tweaks, changing employee behavior is not easy. Especially with seasoned employees—in some cases, individuals have always approached and executed certain processes in a particular fashion.
Not only can deficient processes result in lost revenue, in many situations, they can have adverse effects on other departments. It sometimes can be difficult for long-term employees to wrap their heads around this concept. All they know is that they have “always done it this way,” and it seems to work for them. Often, managers hear some form of this answer when they try to implement change. This is when implementing a scenario-based learning process can be the best solution to create long-term meaningful change within an organization.
Behavioral change happens mostly by speaking to people’s feelings. This is according to John Kotter and Dan Cohen from their 2002 book, “The Heart of Change.” The most successful changes take place when a manager is able to help others see solutions or problems using approaches that influence emotions. This is in contrast to using an approach that speaks to an employee’s logic and reason. It is important to go beyond the thinking level and touch on a person’s feelings. With this in mind, sometimes, scenario-based learning is the optimal approach. It uses interactive scenarios to support active learning. When employees can work their way through a complex problem to a solution, they can tap into emotions such as trust, pride, and respect. This makes it much more likely the change an organization is trying to make will succeed.
Scenario-Based Learning in Action
Company X is a large organization structured in a traditional fashion: functional groups and managers. These functions act independent of one another, and thought is not given to how one function affects the other. The culture at the organization grew out of this compartmentalized approach to business. Department A at the organization uses a system that has been learned over time and ultimately is designed to operate in a silo. The training of new hires is completed on the job with an informal approach. After analyzing the cause and effect of these processes that are learned from the informal training, it is discovered that other business functions in the organization are being negatively affected. The learned processes lead to inconsistent service, and it is clear that a training intervention is needed.
The first step is to perform a cost analysis. How much is Department A costing the company? What is lost in terms of revenue and productivity?
Additionally, are there any constraints in the current procedures that are prohibiting representatives from optimizing their processes? Are their skills inadequate? Is sufficient formal training provided when they are hired?
All of these questions will need to be answered in order to design a scenario-based learning model that will sufficiently motivate the leaders in Department A to make real changes. The goal of the scenario-based learning approach is to allow Department A to identify the constraints and bottlenecks caused in downstream processes and to immerse them in real-world problem solving with the issues they encounter on the job. This kind of approach speaks to Department A leaders’ emotions. They will understand how much time and money is wasted because of errors made in their process. They will gain confidence in the decisions they now can make. Additionally, they will have respect for other functions in the overall processes of the organization.
A performance intervention will only succeed if the experienced leaders in Department A can be motivated to adopt and use the newly approved businesses processes. This is the case with almost any kind of performance intervention. The task with any scenario-based learning project is to develop content that motivates the learner. John Keller’s ARCS Model of Motivational Design (2008) is an important reference tool:
The next step is to design branching scenarios that reveal various outcomes linked to performance gaps identified previously by the process improvement team. An “ideal” scenario is mapped. Leaders in Department A actively participate in walking through different outcomes and are given the opportunity to branch back to the ideal path. This shows them the “R,” relevancy, to their training. Once several scenarios are identified and flowcharted, key task deliverables, trigger events, and motivational strategies are identified.
Seeing Is Believing
Companies continually try to make their training more interactive and engaging. Scenario-based learning is one type of e-learning strategy. Using simulation and scenario-based learning is an effective way to initiate meaningful change. Learners are able to actually “see” the outcome of their actions and take note of their effectiveness. By tapping into the emotions of the stakeholders, it’s possible to motivate them to perform at an optimal level. This kind of training can lead to more pride in one’s work, confidence in doing the job well, and trusting in one’s own ability.
Article featured in www.TrainingMag.com
Not only can deficient processes result in lost revenue, in many situations, they can have adverse effects on other departments. It sometimes can be difficult for long-term employees to wrap their heads around this concept. All they know is that they have “always done it this way,” and it seems to work for them. Often, managers hear some form of this answer when they try to implement change. This is when implementing a scenario-based learning process can be the best solution to create long-term meaningful change within an organization.
Behavioral change happens mostly by speaking to people’s feelings. This is according to John Kotter and Dan Cohen from their 2002 book, “The Heart of Change.” The most successful changes take place when a manager is able to help others see solutions or problems using approaches that influence emotions. This is in contrast to using an approach that speaks to an employee’s logic and reason. It is important to go beyond the thinking level and touch on a person’s feelings. With this in mind, sometimes, scenario-based learning is the optimal approach. It uses interactive scenarios to support active learning. When employees can work their way through a complex problem to a solution, they can tap into emotions such as trust, pride, and respect. This makes it much more likely the change an organization is trying to make will succeed.
Scenario-Based Learning in Action
Company X is a large organization structured in a traditional fashion: functional groups and managers. These functions act independent of one another, and thought is not given to how one function affects the other. The culture at the organization grew out of this compartmentalized approach to business. Department A at the organization uses a system that has been learned over time and ultimately is designed to operate in a silo. The training of new hires is completed on the job with an informal approach. After analyzing the cause and effect of these processes that are learned from the informal training, it is discovered that other business functions in the organization are being negatively affected. The learned processes lead to inconsistent service, and it is clear that a training intervention is needed.
The first step is to perform a cost analysis. How much is Department A costing the company? What is lost in terms of revenue and productivity?
Additionally, are there any constraints in the current procedures that are prohibiting representatives from optimizing their processes? Are their skills inadequate? Is sufficient formal training provided when they are hired?
All of these questions will need to be answered in order to design a scenario-based learning model that will sufficiently motivate the leaders in Department A to make real changes. The goal of the scenario-based learning approach is to allow Department A to identify the constraints and bottlenecks caused in downstream processes and to immerse them in real-world problem solving with the issues they encounter on the job. This kind of approach speaks to Department A leaders’ emotions. They will understand how much time and money is wasted because of errors made in their process. They will gain confidence in the decisions they now can make. Additionally, they will have respect for other functions in the overall processes of the organization.
A performance intervention will only succeed if the experienced leaders in Department A can be motivated to adopt and use the newly approved businesses processes. This is the case with almost any kind of performance intervention. The task with any scenario-based learning project is to develop content that motivates the learner. John Keller’s ARCS Model of Motivational Design (2008) is an important reference tool:
- The “A” in the model refers to arousing learners’ curiosity and gaining their attention. If one cannot get their attention, it is nearly impossible to motivate them. By pointing out obvious deficiencies in the process and attributing them to lost time/revenue, it should be easier to grab their attention.
- The “R” refers to relevance. Learners must see why the training is relevant to them.
- The “C” stands for confidence. The training must instill confidence in learners.
- The “S” stands for satisfaction and is the most critical to the scenario-based learning model. If learners feel satisfied with the tasks, they will be motivated.
The next step is to design branching scenarios that reveal various outcomes linked to performance gaps identified previously by the process improvement team. An “ideal” scenario is mapped. Leaders in Department A actively participate in walking through different outcomes and are given the opportunity to branch back to the ideal path. This shows them the “R,” relevancy, to their training. Once several scenarios are identified and flowcharted, key task deliverables, trigger events, and motivational strategies are identified.
Seeing Is Believing
Companies continually try to make their training more interactive and engaging. Scenario-based learning is one type of e-learning strategy. Using simulation and scenario-based learning is an effective way to initiate meaningful change. Learners are able to actually “see” the outcome of their actions and take note of their effectiveness. By tapping into the emotions of the stakeholders, it’s possible to motivate them to perform at an optimal level. This kind of training can lead to more pride in one’s work, confidence in doing the job well, and trusting in one’s own ability.
Article featured in www.TrainingMag.com
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