The Ken Blanchard Companies® Partners with Immersive Learning Leader Talespin on New Trust VR Simulation

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ken Blanchard Companies®, a global leader in management training, consulting, and coaching, announced its partnership with Talespin, a spatial computing company focused on workforce knowledge transfer and skills insights, to create a series of learning modules on building and restoring trust.

Trust is at the heart of every relationship and is especially critical in the workplace. In fact, the primary factor affecting employee turnover is whether a trusting relationship was developed between the manager and the employee. And research shows that the pandemic is weakening the already fragile bonds of trust between leaders and their people.¹

Blanchard's Building Trust teaches leaders and their team members how to cultivate trust in the workplace and how to repair trust when it's been broken. Learners now have realistic conversations with a virtual team member through an online simulation.

Leveraging the proven efficacy of virtual reality as one of the most impactful learning modalities, the VR simulations in Building Trust let learners encounter common workplace scenarios and have life-like conversations with a virtual human in an immersive environment. The modules, which were created using the Talespin platform, will help individuals apply behaviors that create trust in the workplace and show how to repair trust when it's been broken. Talespin's use of XR helps individuals learn faster, validate their skills, and find upward mobility in the workforce.

"Immersive experiences allowing for safe practice of skills is critical in our virtual working world. Consuming content passively—such as viewing a video or even less-interactive modalities like an eLearning course—only conveys the knowledge. Skill acquisition and habit building will occur only when individuals apply the knowledge. These scenarios allow for that person to practice, learn from the outcome in the module, and increase their likelihood of having more trustworthy conversations with people at work," said Britney Cole, vice president of solutions architecture and innovation strategy.

Blanchard's Recognizing Trust and Restoring Trust modules, which are part of Building Trust, can be deployed both via desktop streaming and VR/XR head-mounted displays. Organizations can use the modules within their existing leadership development programs and learning journeys, as part of a Building Trust workshop or online module, or as part of the Talespin off-the-shelf library. Customers and their learners can track skill development in the new learning modules using the Talespin platform.

"In rapidly changing work environments, skills like creating and maintaining trust with others are vital," said Stephen Fromkin, chief content officer and co-founder of Talespin. "We're excited to be partnered with The Ken Blanchard Companies®, bringing their world-class leadership content and frameworks to life in XR using our platform."

"Immersive and virtual reality simulations are a powerful way to reinforce Blanchard's content. We are excited to integrate Talespin's cutting-edge platform into our offerings and know they will help learners master the foundational skills of inspired leadership," said Scott Blanchard, president of The Ken Blanchard Companies.

About The Ken Blanchard Companies
The Ken Blanchard Companies is a global leader in management training, consulting, and coaching. For more than 40 years, Blanchard® has been helping organizations develop inspired leaders at all levels and create cultures of connection that unleash talent and deliver extraordinary results. Blanchard's SLII® powers inspired leaders and is the leadership model of choice for more than 10,000 organizations worldwide. Blanchard also offers a suite of other award-winning leadership development solutions through flexible delivery modalities to meet the specific needs of its clients. Learn more at www.kenblanchard.com.

About Talespin
Talespin is building the spatial computing platform to power talent development and skills mobility for the future of work. Founded in 2015, the company leverages its proprietary XR technology platform to deliver XR-based learning and training applications, mixed-reality field tools to support employee job performance, and a new skills-based approach to work and productivity. With offices in Los Angeles and Utrecht, The Netherlands, Talespin is building a future of work where the distance between learning and execution is collapsed, enabling people to explore unique career paths that meet the needs of businesses and individuals. Talespin's investors include Cornerstone, Farmers Insurance Exchange, and HTC. Learn more at talespin.com.

[1] https://hbr.org/2021/02/wfh-is-corroding-our-trust-in-each-other

SOURCE The Ken Blanchard Companies