Client Reviews
Don't just take our word for it, read what some of our clients have to say about their experiential learning with playsthatwork.
Sr. Consultant, Leadership and Staff Development at St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto
“Our managers wanted to build solid communication skills that would allow them to successfully manoeuvre their way through difficult conversations with employees. To meet their needs, we knew that this learning event had to be powerful and sustaining; sitting around discussing case studies for an hour or two was not an option. This is where playsthatwork came in!
“Working with our desired learning outcomes, playsthatwork built an interactive play that allowed managers to have one-on-one conversations with ‘employees’ (character actors) about the very work related challenges that hampered a positive working environment. The actors, creations of playsthatwork research, were so convincing that managers felt that the session actually provided them with real-life experiences, boosting their confidence to transfer the skills immediately back on the job.
“The learning process was aptly guided by a gifted playsthatwork facilitator who posed both timely and highly insightful questions, which created moments of self-reflection in the participants. Throughout this interactive session, participants were made to feel relaxed and comfortable as demonstrated by their ease of sharing questions, doubts and new ideas – even daring to take risks by trying new methods.
“The positive responses to these learning events have caused us to look into other opportunities to partner with playsthatwork for the purpose of building our staff's skills through interactive learning.”
The Directors College and Brown Governance Inc.
“Peter Gardiner-Harding and his team at playsthatwork have made a tremendous difference to our success. We have known, for some time, that behaviour in the boardroom makes at least as much of a difference to effective governance as structural and technical elements. Peter and his team demonstrate good and bad boardroom behaviour and help our participants try different techniques. We cannot thank them enough!”
Master Certified Coach, Vice President and Program Director, Adler School of Professional Coaching Inc.
“I have had exceptionally positive experiences in working with playsthatwork both in my capacity as President of Dorothy Greenaway & Associates Inc., and in my capacity as Program Director with the Adler School of Professional Coaching Inc. Their creativity, imagination and sense of what's possible for learning, grounded in a solid understanding of learning, leadership and human effectiveness make their dramatic solutions truly transformational.
“Specifically, I have retained playsthatwork professional actors to create simulated characters, which are so real to life, that in a learning environment, they are able to step into the simulation with no distraction and draw from those watching their full attention. The character development is impeccably researched, the character depiction is always fully believable and playsthatwork's feedback to the participants is always well linked to the learning goals and targeted to what the participants need to hear to support and enhance their development.
“I have retained playsthatwork across my career and found them to be adaptable across a number of different sectors. At Rogers, through their diverse and creative interventions, we were able to provide excellent learning about the sales and coaching process as well as a much deeper personal development experience that enhanced the self-awareness of the participants, all of whom were sales professionals and leaders.
“At CIBC Wood Gundy, participants especially like the character simulations because these are where the learning comes together. Participants are able to apply what they learned in our extensive coaching skills training program for leaders, with "real" coachees. The impact of the learning on the participants is always more memorable with experiential approaches to instruction. The experience of working with the two characters, Jason and Frank, creates insights that could never be accomplished through traditional role play approaches.”
President
Advisor Pathways Inc., Toronto
“Advisor Pathways has worked with playsthatwork since our inception in 2001. We provide consulting and coaching expertise to highly successful investment advisors on practice management issues and our partnership with playsthatwork has been a valuable part of our success. For our clients, working with playsthatwork is a dynamic and unique experience, which allows them to apply newly acquired skills in “real-life” scenarios and enhances their learning. The sessions are challenging, rewarding, valuable, and practical and are always well received. For Advisor Pathways, working with playsthatwork allows us to provide creative and highly effective workshops to our clients. playsthatwork assists us in the development of the content, facilitation of the session, and provides feedback to our clients. They are extremely professional in all phases of the project.”