ARE YOU DIGITIZED?

From the desk of Kortny Williamson...

Much like the rest of Generation Y, I rely on technology to stay connected to the outside world. It is my heart, my soul and quite frankly, my lifeline.

I spend more time on my computer than I do sleeping
I keep up with the global news – thanks to podcasts downloaded to my iPod
I can’t even fathom having to send a letter through ‘snail mail’
Facebook is my social network – my profile is probably more popular than I am in human form
I’m an avid newspaper reader…online

At what point did I unknowingly become digital?

There was a recent article on MSNBC (which I found online I might add) that encouraged parents to buy their college grad specific gadgets to aid in the search for a job. A mountable camera. A blackberry (or iPhone). A GPS device. iPods (Duke University pre-loaded iPod nanos and distributed them free a few years ago). These devices top the list of must-haves, but I started wondering how this technology would affect the employer/employee relationship. I got my answer courtesy of Johnson & Johnson, Cisco, IBM, and National Defense University.

Games in the workplace?

National Defense University (NDU) recently hosted a benchmarking event, in conjunction with CorpU, focusing entirely on technology in the workplace. Little did I know the technology included video games, simulations, and web technology all for employee training purposes.

Now I am not a video gamer by any means and I didn’t play with Nintendo until I was in college (it was at least 20 years old by then). Imagine my surprise when National Defense moved from discussion about the Army’s virtual community similar to that of Facebook, to realistic 3-D simulations.

My surprise was surpassed by how intrigued I found myself. I don’t get excited over new gaming technology, but when NDU gave us a tour of their crisis management lab, I found myself watching intently as two NDU individuals played around in NDU’s Second Life. Their avatars were flying – literally – from one building to another and I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the screen. Talk about employee engagement, and I’m not even an NDU employee! This is just one form of technology used for training in the overall workplace. Given the considerable amount of Millenials entering the workforce, it would seem technology is the obvious choice for training. Not only do these generations know and recognize the platforms, but technology brings something to the table a textbook can’t: virtual business conditions that mimic the real world. On top of that, the level of interactivity can entice even the most novice user to play repetitively. Millenials embed themselves into video games, forcing them to pay more attention to what they’re doing. In contrast, they may just read a textbook and transfer words to paper without ever really absorbing the content.

Inside IBM's Innov8

The use of Forterra by Government and Defense organizations

Take The Hilton Garden Inn, Canon U.S.A., and NASCAR for example. The Hilton Garden Inn introduced the first interactive game in the hospitality industry. Employees are placed in a virtual hotel interfacing with customers and fielding typical guest requests. Player’s responses are evaluated and rated based on Hilton’s Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking System. Canon U.S.A. uses video games to train new copier technicians; technicians must drag and drop parts into the right spot on a virtual copier. Even NASCAR is getting in on the action and a couple drivers perform virtual test-drives on “NASCAR ’08.”

Feeling the pressure of having to be prepared to engage the incoming workforce, Verizon Wireless created an online Verizon Wireless store. The store consists of avatars that mimic the appearance of store managers, customers, and reps within the stores. Managers are faced with decisions they would have to make when a customer comes in and asks questions. When participating in the game, managers were taking the right path, but then going back and taking the wrong path just to see what the reaction was.

Lou Tedrick Verizon Wireless

Now transforming to the virtual world

Phaedra Boindiris may have been just a grad student when she designed the blueprints for the Innov8 BPM Simulator, but she found herself working for IBM several months later putting it into production.

Through compelling cinematics and experiential learning, Innov8 is designed specific to the scenarios and challenges employees face in the work environment. Universities are already using the program, engineering schools in particular, to help boost retention as well as beef up the recruitment process.

Cisco has experienced the difficult task of hiring sales people and engineers. With a workforce spanning over 4 generations of learners – Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millenials – Cisco’s learning environment had to become more dynamic in order to keep up.

Taking their formal learning and making it on-demand, Cisco captured over 7,000 expert presentations on video and made the content downloadable to phones, iPods, and RSS feeds. The company also created simulation games that turn real-life situations into a trial and error experience. For example, the sales team uses a game where they can choose what they say to a client. If they make the wrong decision, online tutorials are provided to explain why it wasn’t the right choice. Some sales team members play the game until they get it 100% correct.

Welcome to the community

A CompanyCommand member explores the online community.

NDU’s LTC Nate Allen, Ph.d., co-founder of CompanyCommand.army.mil, and a couple of other commanders created CompanyCommand, a platform for commanders to come together and share knowledge through a community of practice. With more than 7,000 members on the community space, every commander, platoon, and family member across the globe is aware of ongoing events. Links direct users to training, war training and military topics, and quizzes are available with automatic feedback on a particular topic (a user interface similar to that of Amazon).

Most colleges have adopted a community platform similar to that of CompanyCommand – Blackboard for example – and the K-12 system in countries like Norway and Sweden are using a platform called Fronter. The idea of a community platform exists in the business world, though businesses are not as immersed as the school system is – yet. Cisco’s community of practice allows members of 74 total communities to talk to each other quickly, as well as contribute and leverage their expertise through blogs and shared resources.

So long 2D, hello 3D

Virtual worlds are becoming – dare I say it? – a reality in the business world. Cisco uses WebEx to enable person-to-person communication for those geographically dispersed, cutting their travel budget by 10%.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J), on the other hand, created a virtual onboarding portal. Not only do new hires access the necessary documents, but they are able to literally walk through the 3D University in avatar form. Typically, new hires are assigned a ‘buddy’ from somewhere else in the 3D university who helps them through the onboarding process and answers questions the new hire may have.

Relationships made stronger

I guess it was silly of me to think the employee/employer relationship would crumble once technological components were added into the mix. After listening to each compelling presentation, I realized the relationship is made stronger because an employee who is engaged by their training will come out feeling good about it and be more likely to apply the new skills on the job becoming more productive as a result. On the other hand, a non-engaged employee is less likely to pick up training skills in their entirety and will lack necessary knowledge needed to be more productive on the job.

I left the CorpU benchmarking site visit wanting to learn more about the simulation and gaming world through experience. While I am unlikely to go out and buy a Wii to add to my technology addiction and lack of sleep, I’m beginning to wonder whether it will be a requirement for new hires 10 years from now.

Kortny Williamson, CorpU Research Analyst

 

CorpU Members can download the presentations from the CorpU Member Summit on Learning Technologies by visiting the CorpU collaboratory. Not a member? Contact membership@corpu.com.