**********************************************************************
T&D Extra is an information service of Training & Development
magazine, published by the American Society for Training &
Development,
www.astd.org. **********************************************************************
WAY TO TRAIN
Employees at Bankers Trust in New York can play video games with
impunity--at least for training purposes. One reason the firm decided
to adapt its video-based training to such popular electronic games as
Doom and Quake was to appeal to young workers, the under-30 "Nintendo
generation." The firm also sees a natural fit between business needs
and games because business has a lot of content without engagement and
computer games have engagement with little content. Matching the two
makes sense.
In Bankers Trust's latest creation, Straight Shooter, employees wend
through a 3D world of offices, airports, and conference centers in
cities such as New York and Hong Kong. Along the way, they must court
clients and come up with creative solutions to problems. The prospects
become clients only when employees provide the right information.
Program developer Marc Prensky says that video games work well in
industries in which there's substantial regulation, such as financial
services, health care, and pharmaceuticals. Bankers Trust's Corporate
Gameware unit is currently working on games for compliance training,
IT training, and technology certification.
For more information, contact Marc Prensky at 212.250.7510 or
marc.prensky@BankesTrust.com JUST REWARDS
Here's what some companies do to recognize workers.
* Employees of Kentucky Fried Chicken who show extra pluck in customer
service are presented with the Floppy Chicken Award--a bona fide
rubber chicken. They also get a note of thanks and a $100 gift
certificate, so they don't squawk.
* Clarion Hotel of Virginia Beach stages its own version of The Price
Is Right. Employees guess the cost of shampoo, pens, and other
disposable guest room items. Winners get cash and other prizes--and
learn not to waste company resources.
* First Chicago Bank gives Felix and Oscar awards to the employees
with the neatest and messiest workstations.
* And the winner_ Stone Container Corporation of Chicago celebrated
record profits by giving every employee (24,000 in all) a TV one year
and a VCR the next.
SMALL-BUSINESS PROFILE
Dun & Bradstreet has used its recent small-business survey to create a
profile of U.S. businesses. According to D&B, the typical American
small business
* has three employees (median)
* generates between $150,000 and $200,000 in annual revenue (median)
* is owned by a white male (53.4 percent)
* operates at 1.3 locations
* owner works 50.4 hours per week
* is privately owned (not a franchise).
The geographic center of small businesses in the U.S. is near Kansas
City, in Carroll County, Missouri, indicating that small businesses
are fairly evenly distributed across the United States.
For more information on the D&B survey, go to
www.dnb.com/newsview/0217news4.htm. **********************************************************************
T&D EXTRA point of contact is Donna Abernathy, technology and products
editor,
dabernathy@astd.org. Remember to bookmark our Webpage -
http://www.astd.org/virtual_community/td_magazine. **********************************************************************