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Chief Learning Officer (CLO)

Definition

The Chief Learning Officer ( CLO ) is responsible for some or all of the following, their specific responsibilities will depend on their employer’s business domain and division of responsibilities: working with other executives to determine the learning requirements of their staff, deciding on the overall learning strategy and ensuring it aligns with corporate goals, overseeing the implementation of training programs, identifying skill gaps within the organisation, measuring the effectiveness of learning and development programmes, and deciding on the correct mix of peer teaching and mentoring and more traditional instructor led training.

Importance in Game Design

In the design of business games it is important to keep the CLO’s aims in mind. A CLO will expect clear outcomes from playing and reflecting on the game, and potentially will also want measurable outcomes from repeated play so that the effectiveness of the game can be judged over time.

Relevance to Evivve’s Ecosystem

All Evivve sessions are followed up with analyses of how players performed, and what that indicates for them as individuals, as well as for the team as a whole. This gives a CLO information on how the players performed shortly after the playthrough.
The formal process of playing Evivve has a reflection activity built in. Therefore players will gain learning outcomes before the end of the session, which can be shared immediately with the CLO if needed. Evivve does support spectators so the CLO can observe part or all of the game session without taking part.

Best Practices

Challenges and Considerations

History

Best Practices

Don’t assume that all CLOs are the same, or have the same responsibilities. If you’re promoting Evivve to a CLO begin by asking them for their aims, and then where they can make decisions.
While we’ve put a lot of effort and knowledge into the presentation of Evvive, the utility of the game is really apparent when people play it. Invite the CLO to a demonstration game so they can see how easily it works first hand.
Include any research findings, case studies, or expert opinions that could guide users in applying these concepts within their own game design projects, especially in educational or learning environments like Evivve.

Challenges and Considerations

The Chief Learning Officer’s roles will be dependent on their specific role within an organisation, and how their organisation operates. Be careful of making assumptions.
While Evivve has a fairly firmly proscribed progression during play, based on the AFERR mode, the learning outcomes to draw out, and the specific points to raise from the game play, and completely left up to the skilled facilitator running the session. Taking the lead from the CLO on what points to highlight will ensure the player’s organisation will get the best knowledge out of every session.
But in contrast to the last point, be aware that playing Evivve can uncover issues or tensions that the team were previously unaware of. As with all game-based learning, part of being a professional facilitator is spotting these new issues, and raising them with the customer in the most productive way possible.

History

The first CLO was Steve Kerr. He was a consultant with General Electric in 1989, when Jack Welch, the CEO, appointed him as the Chief Learning Officer to oversee staff development.