Research Report

Simulations Boost Trainee’s Confidence, Knowledge

Urban Development Simulations. Photo by Dalbera

Urban Development Simulations. Photo by Dalbera

Whether it is training pilots to handle dangerous flying conditions or people scooping out ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, businesses have used simulation games to train and test employees’ abilities.

Although there is widespread use of the technology, what makes for a successful simulation and exactly how effective these games are has remained largely anecdotal.

Business professor Traci Sitzmann sought to shift this conversation from the theoretical to the more practical by examining a series of studies that tested the effects of simulations on employee training.

Key Findings

  • Simulation games increased a person’s belief they could perform the task they were trained for by 20%.
  • Those trained with simulations scored 11% higher on factual knowledge, 14% higher in remembering processes and 9% higher in retaining the training than those who received training without simulations.
  • Research found that learning was maximized when the simulation forces the trainee to be active in making decisions and testing their training.

Sitzmann found that not only were these games effective, but that how the game was designed and incorporated into the training affected their usefulness.

“[L]earning from simulation games was maximized when trainees actively rather than passively learned work-related competencies during game play, trainees could choose to play as many times as desired, and simulation games were embedded in an instructional program rather than serving as stand-alone instruction,” she wrote in the conclusion.

The ultimate goal for simulation game design teams is to exploit the motivational capacity of simulation games to enhance employees’ work-related skills.

The analysis examined the outcomes of 55 different studies that explored the impact of simulation games on professional training. The full study was published in the Summer 2011 edition of Personnel Psychology.