Trainers and participants exhibit a lot of resistance to the use of training activities such as games, simulations, roleplays, projects, and interactive storytelling. You can go a long way toward reducing such resistance by making sure that your training games meet certain criteria. Based on the research on factors that increase the acceptance of change, I recommend that you build a case for the use of training activities. The acronym CASE stands for compatibility, adaptability, simplicity, and effectiveness.
Here are details of these four criteria.
Compatibility
You can reduce the resistance to change by making sure that the new approach is compatible with values of the group, the cultural values of the users, and the way things are done in the organization. With a training activity you have to question its compatibility along three factors and make suitable modification.
Is the training game compatible with the values of your group? For example, if trainers in your organization value being in control and if your activity puts participants in charge, revise the activity to return the power to the trainer. Begin the activity with a briefing by the trainer. Have the trainer select and read the question cards instead of participants at different tables selecting and reading their own cards. Empower the trainer to impose suitable time limits and to judge the accuracy of the answers given by different teams.
Is the training activity compatible with the cultural values of it users? For example, if trainers are from a culture that treats learning as a serious activity and if the game is flippant and produces too much laughter, adjust the structure and the language of the game. Stop calling the activity a game and refer to it as a "modified Delphi technique". Make the activity simulate the seriousness of the real world. Encourage participants to reflect on their strategies and reward thoughtful responses that meet stringent standards. Replace artificial scoring systems with expert critiques.
Is the training activity compatible with the way things are done in the organization? For example, if the organization traditionally uses lectures as the primary mode of communication, do not attempt to suddenly replace them with participants sharing their experiences and creating their own content. Instead, use interactive lecture techniques where most of the primary content is delivered by the trainer and the participants use game elements to process, analyze, and apply this content.
Remember, this is just a beginning. You may feel righteously indignant that the organization is using inefficient and antiquated methods. Personally, you may prefer freedom, laughter, and active participation. However, this is not about you, but about reducing resistance and getting your activity accepted. Once you have introduced the basic procedure in its most non-threatening form, you can gradually work toward reaching your other goals, one step at a time.
Adaptability
You can reduce the resistance to change by making sure that the new approach is adaptable to the local requirements. By flexibly adjusting your activity to suit the training content, the participants, and available resources, you can increase the chances of your training activities being used on a long-term basis.
Can you adapt the activity to suit the training outcome? You can do this by using framegames that are designed to permit the easy removal of the old content and the insertion of new. In recommending a framegame to others, emphasize that it can rapidly accommodate any content. In addition, check the flow of the game and its scoring system. Make necessary adjustments to reward the mastery of job-relevant performance outcomes. If the job requires cooperation, do not use a competitive strategy.
Can you adapt the training activity to suit different numbers and types of participants? Your activity is rigid if it requires a specific number of players at the same initial level of performance. Make your activity more adaptable for play by any number from 1 to 200+. Make this modification without altering the basic structure of the activity or changing the expected outcomes. Also, adjust the activity so it can be played by people at different levels. Organize participants into heterogeneous teams to encourage experts to teach beginners.
Can you adapt the training activity to suit the available time, equipment, facilities, and materials? If your activity requires 7 hours to play, a computer for each player, and a large ballroom equipped with an LCD projector, the chances of it being accepted are rather slim. Analyze your activity and modify it for play within different periods of time, in a variety of physical settings, using equipment and materials that are easily available.
Simple
The KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) is an important guideline for achieving positive change. You can reduce resistance to change by reducing the complexity of the new approach. By making your training activities easy to understand, easy to communicate, and easy to use, you can increase the chances of your game being welcomed by trainers.
Is your training activity easy to understand? Most popular actvities have few simple steps and rules. Effective training designers keep refining their prototype version not by adding more rules but by removing all superfluous rules and ending up with a lean version. Take a look at your activity and critically examine each step, each rule, and each material. Keep whittling down your activity until you reduce it to its simplest form.
Is your training activity easy to explain? After you have reduced your activity to its simplest form, practice explaining the rules to a 7-year old. Then describe the key elements of the game in fewer than 50 words. Draw a simple diagram that captures the flow of the activity. Use popular games as metaphors for your activity. Use all of these devices to prepare a 99-second explanation of your activity to potential users.
Is your training activity easy to use? If your activity is easy to understand and to explain, it is probably also easy to use also. Review your activity from the points of view of typical trainers. Modify the activity so trainers don't have to spend a significant amount of time to set it up. Adjust the mechanics of the activity to achieve smooth flow without constant supervision and intervention by the trainer. Conduct another review of the activity, this time from the point of view of typical players.
Effective
People welcome a change if it effectively achieves important goals. You can increase the chances of acceptance of your training activity by making sure that it clearly and effectively helps everyone achieve relevant goals in a tangible fashion.
Does your training activity effectively achieve goals related to business strategies? Can everyone see the direct relationship between the activity and improved job performance? If not, remove external elements from the activity to highlight its application to the workplace. Follow up the activity with targeted debriefing discussions that require the participants to plan how to apply their new skills and knowledge back on the job.
Does your training activity produce tangible results? Carefully examine the outcomes of the activity. Improvements in participants' skills, knowledge, and attitude are good, but a concrete action plan or specific set of strategies that can be implemented immediately are better. Modify your activity to add specific take-home products.
Is your training activity more effective than other alternatives? If trainers can achieve the same goals through other techniques such as lecture presentations or online lessons, you have a potential problem. Demonstrate that the use of the activities add value to the process and reduce the cost. You cannot convince people that your activity provides unmeasurable advantages. Take the time to identify these advantages and to measure and demonstrate their value.
In a word...
We can capture the most critical element of the CASE criteria in a single word: flexibility. To reduce resistance, remember that it not enough to play within the rules of your game, but to play with its rules.