KNOLSKAPE: Experiential Learning for Talent Transformation

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I will learn. – Benjamin Franklin

Research indicates that every time any new information is presented to a learner, chances are that they will have forgotten 50 percent of the information within 24 hours. Forgetting is not a disability but an adaptive behavior where the brain is constantly clearing out information. The situation seems to have become worse in current times, given the digital media explosion, where millennials are processing large amounts of information at all times during the day. For instance, today, during a training session, the average learner will glance through his email notification, quickly scroll through social media feed, check the latest news update, and within few minutes his attention is lost. So does that mean no matter how much an organization invests in onboarding and training processes, it's all futile? What organizations need to understand is that with changing times, they must revamp their traditional engagement approaches. As millennials become a large part of the workforce—most of who grew up exposed to video games—a training initiative built on experiential technology and immersive learning is the ideal way forward. To substantiate that further, a survey conducted by the Aberdeen Group proves that organizations, which practiced gamification saw a 48 percent improvement in employee engagement, as opposed to the 28 percent improvement witnessed by a group that did not implement gamification.

For organizations looking to develop engaging, immersive, and experiential solutions for talent assessment and development, KNOLSKAPE is their much-awaited answer. With offices spread across Singapore, China, and India, today, KNOLSKAPE's advanced learning and assessment solutions that comprise business simulations, animated videos, case platforms, and gamified e-learning are not only transforming the modern workforce but also radically improving business performance. More than 300 customers across 25 countries put their trust on KNOLSKAPE's experiential solutions and 'learning by doing' methodology. Behind KNOLSKAPE's exceptional value proposition is Rajiv Jayaraman, CEO who founded the company while still at business school. Jayaram firmly believes in being a life-long learner, and it’s this conviction that has resulted in a winning portfolio of talent transformation products.

Unmatched Learner Experience

KNOLSKAPE solutions place learner experience at the core of the solution design, and one among their top-of-the-line engagement solutions is the gamified learning and assessments platform, AktivLearn. The solution packs content that is immersive and allows learners to acquire skills and competencies like never before. AktivLearn has over 25 game templates, complete with roadblocks and rewards that are guaranteed to keep a learner at the edge of their seats.

Another unique feature is a social-media like component where employees can chat, socialize, and learn together from one platform. The use cases of KNOLSKAPE's gamification platform is multifarious and can be used for training, onboarding, employee engagement, assessments, and mapping individual performance. Since it’s hosted on AWS, AktivLearn comes by default with an unmatched and scalable infrastructure. Whether a client wants to change the color scheme, add a logo, or improve the branding message; the customization options are endless. To track a learner's progress and understand their performance, the platform also comes with an analytics feature that highlights metrics related to competition leader boards, user data, and platform adoption. Through the platform, organizations can also manage syllabuses, create custom rubrics, and add or delete business simulations to create rich modules for learners. It supports SCORM and LTI modules and allows firms to preview student submissions and provide feedback in one frame. Lastly, the system is in line with industry standard security protocols like SSL.

When talking about engaging learning methods, business simulation is bound to make the cut . As the bridge to classroom learning and real-world situations, simulation is the preferred mode of learning for mission-critical job roles such as military, aviation, and healthcare as it teaches professionals how to deal with high-pressure situations and emergencies. KNOLSKAPE offers a range of business simulation solutions such as the iLead software, which helps leaders hone their leadership styles. Another offering is ChangeQuest where participants play the role of a change agent in a virtual organization. Similarly, Grand Prix/F1 simulation traverses through the journey of a team manager who has to take key decisions in hiring the right personnel, make key engineering decisions, and partner with sponsors. The simulation takes users through an exciting journey of racing and tests their project and portfolio management skills to get things done on time with the appropriate amount of resources. All of KNOLSKAPE's simulation software and solutions come with gamification elements and dynamic true-to-life elements.

KNOLSKAPE's simulation-based training came to the rescue for a leading life insurance company, Kotak catering to over 15 million customers across India. Branch managers within Kotak were required to strengthen their capabilities and break the mold with new leadership strategies. To address the challenge, KNOLSKAPE designed an 18-month competency-based learning cycle aimed to provide a deeper understanding of business context models. Simulation-based instructor-led classroom sessions were offered, which helped improve business acumen, achieve big-picture thinking, drive change management, and leadership.

The entire design was driven by data and analytics in the form of simulation feedback, reports, and leader boards to drive engagement, practice, knowledge retention, and, performance improvement. Ultimately, the client witnessed a 61 percent increase in objective based thinking and 44 Kotak offices reported greater than 100 percent productivity.

The Future of Learning

To predict employee performance at work in an engaging manner, KNOLSKAPE offers another stellar product, Kognitix, a next-generation game-based cognitive assessment suite. Cognitive ability is an important factor in job performance, but instead of gauging it through grinding tests, Kognitix is a fun tool that helps comprehend an employee's working memory, risk-taking attitude, attention span, and response inhibition. Kognitix games are designed to be highly engaging and enable peak candidate performance in a stress-free environment. Each game is short, about five minutes of game play, is super-lightweight and can be played across various devices—be it a laptop or tablet or mobile handset.

All of KNOLSKAPE's solutions can be delivered through a combination of one or more channels, keeping in mind the needs of modern learners as well as individual requirements of organizations. For example, under KNOLSKAPE’s strategy cascading model, the firm offers classroom-based, facilitator-led immersive sessions. On client request, KNOLSKAPE even provides self-paced learning experiences, which is learner-led and supports anytime-anywhere access to world-class content. The blended omni-channel learning is another feasible option that combines classroom, virtual, self- paced, and mobile learning on the basis of each organization's culture and environment.

"Instead of gauging cognitive ability through grinding tests, kognitix is a game-based cognitive assessment suite that helps comprehend an employee's working memory and response inhibition"

Apart from leading solutions, KNOLSKAPE invests substantially in research and development to stay ahead of emerging trends in business, HR, and talent development communities. The KNOLSKAPE Insights Center is an in-house initiative where the company leverages its decade-long experience in solving learner challenges. The focus areas being, formulating actionable insights that provide direction to talent, bringing together researcher and practitioner perspectives, and identification of key trends that can potentially affect strategic talent decisions.

As a result of their top-notch services and solutions, it comes as no surprise that KNOLSKAPE counts some of the industry bigwigs in its clientele. This includes Barclays, Ernst & Young, Samsung, Philips, and Pitney Bowes. In 2018, the company had 100 percent revenue growth and the same trend is expected to follow this year. Moving forward, as organizations place more importance on talent transformation solutions, KNOLSKAPE is all geared to push the boundaries on providing industry best experiences for learners and learning and development teams alike.