Guest Post: Training Development Consultant Sangeetha
Read as Sangeetha Shankar talks about her experience working with Kingmakers’ Director of Innovation and Engagement, Jessica Strauss, to support training development.
As our most important client-facing role, facilitators set the tone for participant engagement, teach games clearly and effectively, facilitate best-fit energy for participants, provide technical support, and make decisions behind the scenes to ensure streamlined experiences. Facilitation is such a unique skill set thus the training process for our Game Guides is nuanced, detailed, and critical as Kingmakers continues to grow.
Sangeetha’s ability to reflect on the training experience, document the process, and apply it to the way we’ll train future facilitators is absolutely invaluable.
Yes! I completed the first phase of a wonderful consulting gig as a Training Developer with Kingmakers. So excited and grateful. 🙂
Kingmakers is a woman-owned diverse organization that offers team-building through the facilitation of online board games.
Last November, I saw an intriguing job post for a Virtual Facilitator for team building through online board games & thought “How interesting?”
As an alternate educator, the power of play through non-competitive games for kids & adults is not new to me. But play in a corporate space?
So I applied, chatted with the ever smiling Malika Jacobs, CEO & Founder & soon my curiosity turned into an enriching experience in team building & facilitation through play.
During my training as a Virtual Facilitator, I witnessed the intricacies of playing board games in an online space for a remote corporate team. It’s multidimensional & unpredictable. The facilitator is challenged to be dynamic, in the “here and now” while solely focusing on team bonding.
With its tech savvy Ash Gerlach, this small but mighty team has put its heart & soul to deliver a seamless online board game experience. The end result? Teams can let their guards down, have fun through play & bond.
The training for the facilitators is thorough, with a focus on facilitation, irrespective of the tech challenges a session might bring in.
Post-training, we felt my skills would be a better fit for behind the scenes, “Training Developer.”
Thus started my consulting gig where, I worked with the very talented, empathetic Jessica Strauss, Director of Innovation and Experience, to solidify the existing training program.
Timestamps, best practices & observations were documented, rummaged & discussed for hours from the “human” experience angle.
Working with Jessica, I can attest that Kingmakers is incredibly passionate about team facilitation. Every game is to enliven the human component of a team – empowering them to chat, express, collaborate & goof up while playing the carefully curated online board games.
As corporate employees, we often forget that we are humans first. What are our likes, dislikes, our quirkiness, our challenges? Can we play & let go, thus reviving the child within us and others? These explorations come alive during a Kingmakers’ team bonding session.
So what are you waiting for?
If you are looking to bring the “zing” in your teams, contact the bubbly Adilson Graca , Director of Sales and Client Success. He will guide you (with a riddle or two!) on how the Kingmakers’ team bonding sessions can enhance your organization – in team building or recruiting, in onboarding or having good old fun in a holiday party.
It’s PLAY TIME!
Happy Team Bonding!