The word ‘training’ brings with it an image of large classrooms, stern lecturers and quiet, attentive listeners. Things are different these days. Training at various companies no longer involves the usual lecture-demonstrations, hours of workshops and thick sheafs of notes.
In a bold and innovative move, many companies have turned to online games and outdoor activities to test the resilience and competence of their potential employees.
Training institutes are beckoned to help them recruit new employees and to inspire and motivate their new workforce.
We spoke to a couple of employers in different companies on this burgeoning new phenomenon.
Pranav Sabherwal, Assistant Manager TA and EB, Wipro BPO, explains, “We encourage outdoor activities like paragliding, rock climbing and scuba diving. These activities are team-based and improve the bonding between team members. We generally hold them annually, or sometimes once every 6 months. We also organize indoor activities, which are aimed at fostering team spirit and improving communication between team members. These activities help evaluate the competence and potential of our employees.”
Not everyone is convinced. A senior business analyst at Cognizant Technology Solutions, says, “Personally, I believe that these activities can be a waste of time. I would prefer a day off instead, but as a team we have quarterly team outings to improve the bonding between the team. During these outings, we have several team building games and seminars. We also have frequent adventure sports and football. These activities help the team as a whole and improve relationships between co-workers.”
Certain companies have allotted specific times during which their employees can relax and play games at work. Alok Kejriwal, Founder and Owner of www.games2win.com [1], explains why this is done. “We believe gaming is an essential part of any company. We place more emphasis on indoor gaming. We do have outdoor gaming, too, at certain times, but we concentrate more on indoor gaming. Besides this we have Counter Strike on all our systems. Our office consists of four floors that are connected by a LAN system. We have people gaming on all floors from 7 pm every day. These activities are mainly to de-stress our employees and they also help us evaluate their work.”
Alok relates some interesting facts about these sessions. “These gaming hours improve the bonding between employees. All boundaries are demolished and there is no difference between employee and employer. An interesting trend we've noticed is that women are more active and involved with this game. Finally, we believe gaming is essential for the growth of our company!”
Links:
[1] http://www.games2win.com