Business Simulations to Change Employee Behavior?!?

Business Simulations to Change Organizational Behavior?

When most people think of a business simulation, they think Net Income, Profits, Net Margins, EBITDA, and other quantitative topics. But in reality, Business Simulations are sensational tools to encourage open behavioral change within a simulation. How does a Business Simulation do this? Let's take a look:1. People learn why- The first thing people ask when change is required is, "Why?" It's a very natural question. A business simulation helps demonstrate to people the answer to why.2. People can experience the whole picture- When people see the whole picture, they have a better understanding how they fit in to the change. Once they understand where they fit in, they're more willing to change.3. Fun, challenging, and applicable- Put people into training that is fun, challenging, and applicable to their jobs, they quickly experience experience why the training is so important to the organization. Once they understand the applicability and importance of the corporate training, they are far more willing to change in order to do their jobs better.These are just a few examples of how a business simulation can create rapid and positive behavioral change within your organization. This is why some of the top fortune 500 companies globally use business simulations for leadership development.Another question is, “Why type of behavior can be changed?” The answer here is, “Almost any.” But, let’s look at some examples:- Reduce organizational Silos and increase collaboration- Rats! Those dreaded silos. Organizational silos slow down productivity, create competition, and are rarely in the best interest of the company. Using a business simulation to reduce siloed thinking has a huge benefit to the company as a whole.- Organizational wide decision making- A business simulation helps individuals better understand the machine they work in. More often than not, people know their job, their division, and their responsibilities. Having employees run your business gives them a “whole picture’ view of how they fit into the entire company.- Better understanding for the ‘why’ behind decisions- When employees live a day as your CEO, they better understand the ‘why’ behind business decisions. This creates a more nimble organization.- Better Leadership- Giving the employees a day as a leader helps them better understand leadership’s importance, methods, and effects on an organization. This creates an employee base of leaders.This is just an overview. The summary is that just because the word ‘business’ is next to ‘simulation’ does not automatically mean its all finance. A good business simulation has just as much, if not more, behavioral components to it.