Recently Google tested its hiring algorithms and found that seven out of their eight most important employee qualities involve soft skills. These include: being a good coach; communicating and listening well; possessing insights into others; having empathy toward and being supportive of colleagues; being a good critical thinker; problem solving; and being able to make connections across complex ideas. These skills are as teachable as any other skill. MIT Sloan researchers have the data to prove that not only can soft skills be taught, but that by doing so companies can recognize substantial ROI. The problem is that most companies don't know how to teach soft skills effectively. The answer is serious games. 

By using serious games, companies can engage learners on a much deeper level, simulate real-world situations, encourage peer collaboration, provide instant feedback, and measure results. During this session we will showcase four simulation games designed to improve leadership, sales, and customer service skills, as well as alter IT security behaviors. 

In this session, you will learn:

• The importance of soft skills in any corporate environment
• Why games are the best tool to use to train soft skills
• How powerful branching path games are for training leadership, sales, customer service, and cyber security
• How to build an engaging scenario or branching path game to train soft skills
• How to use data and analytics to measure the success of your branching path game, or how to understand where you may need to make changes in your game to change soft skills behavior

Target audience:

Designers, developers, managers, senior leaders (directors, VP, CLO, executive, etc.)