A BRIEF HISTORY OF SKILLGYM.
The origin of SkillGym dates back 20 years, when we started our early experiments on how to apply digital technology to our expertise in adult learning methodologies. We were dreaming of creating new tools to improve behaviors through practice. Our first Behavioral Simulation was born in 2004.
In 2007, seeing the amazing results that practice through simulation were bringing to our early clients in the field of communication skills, we decided to dismiss any other type of learning technology and focus on the development of a digital gym for communication. The concept for SkillGym was born.
In 2011, SkillGym became a division of Swiss-based LIFELIKE with a lab to turn dreams into reality. In the interim, we have been recognized with several international awards and a growing number of scientific papers on our unique approach are being published in prestigious international journals.
We have kept the spirit of our origins. A small company of people treating each other like family, living the principle of work-life balance and motivated by a big dream and a compelling mission: helping people change the world, one conversation at a time.
CONNECTING THE DOTS.
When we decided to pursue our dream of creating SkillGym, we knew it would not be easy. Training people to become better leaders is a daunting mission. Our first choice was to focus on conversations and support the development of the ability to share ideas, choices and decisions with others.
The next step was to focus all our energy on enabling practical training opportunities. These was – and still is – no shortage of resources telling how to do so. However, very few quality resources have been available to turn all of this knowledge into real actions, performance and results.
Practicing makes all the difference. So, we decided to work on what really makes people change at their core. We started to study this methodology years ago and we are very proud to see that today the most advanced neurological studies confirm the relationship between generating experiences and the modifications that occur in our brain at the deepest levels.
Ultimately, we dedicated a great deal of time and resources, including help from some of the best leadership experts around the world, to develop a meaningful curriculum, defining exactly which type of conversations, values and styles we would embrace for our journey.
GETTING THERE, FINALLY.
The result today is an amazing mix that allows us to pursue an actionable dream of delivering something that can truly make a difference. Something where leaders of today and leaders of tomorrow can practically experience those situations that really matter ─ without wasting time and fully focusing on the 20% conversations that produce 80% of the results. Today we are pleased to be delivering more than just a product.
Every day, we have the privilege of witnessing that leaders consider SkillGym a safe place to develop for their future. We can’t thank all of them quite enough for this.
That’s why we strive to make it a little better each day. It has been and continues to be an enormous challenge – one we are thrilled to have undertaken and continue on with.
OUR MOST RECENT AWARDS
SKILLGYM IN NUMBERS.
Our team of fewer than 20 people handles the entire solution: methodology design, competency mapping, storytelling, video casting, shooting, algorithms and, of course, customer support.
SkillGym is used in over twenty countries on four continents, and so far has helped so far over 300,000 people (leaders, sales, job seekers, healthcare professionals) from hundreds of organizations to measure, develop and maintain their conversational skills.
Every day, thousands of people schedule a virtual conversation with one of our Authentic Characters.
We have been around for twenty years and we are here to stay. Every day, we pour our passion into our work to deliver an increasingly better SkillGym experience.
- We believe in the power of conversation, of course
- We believe in stretching our comfort zone. As humans, we are inherently lazy, but when we work out, we can reach the highest achievements;
- We believe in measuring the critical factors of performance and continually benchmarking to have a clear understanding of where to aim;
- We believe in the power of Self-Awareness, the one single factor that makes all the difference with everything else;
- We believe in the human instinct to discover what others think about us;
- We believe in consistency, discipline, reliability and accountability;
- We believe in the power of habits, especially good habits;
- We believe that technology is nothing if it does not solve real problems;
- We believe that no one tool is useful to everybody, so choose wisely;
- We believe in trust, privacy, hard work, and real people;
- We believe in the power of storytelling and the power of imagination;
- We believe in practice over knowledge;
- We believe that it is truly possible to change the world, step by step, by including others via empowering conversations.
WE CARE ABOUT YOUR DATA.
We live in a crazy world with data breaches and fraud everywhere. It’s so easy to provide personal data – and, apparently, just as easy to misuse it.
We believe that TRUST is at the foundation of any relationship, and not only in business. This is why we treat our clients’ data with utmost care. We do not share our client data with anybody for any reason, and we keep and store the minimum amount of Personal Data necessary.
When possible, we use only first and last names along with emails to enable our trainees to access SkillGym. We are fully transparent about the usage of such data and each registered user can easily access, update or cancel their data from SkillGym.
We adhere in full to the GDPR specifications, which include the most stringent regulations in the world regarding the handling of personal data.
WE ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE FOR A CONVERSATION.
If you have a general question about us and what we do, or if you think you can make a difference and you would like to submit your application, write us at info (at) lifelike.ch. We would love to hear from you and start a conversation.
If you are a customer and want to report an issue or provide a suggestion, please contact us via our fast-lane support system here.
If you are a training professional and would like to explore ways to use SkillGym in your business, please let us know. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss with you options for local partners.
You can also follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube. Don’t miss our blog, where we publish our ideas of how training should help humans to become their best version.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND US.
The headquarter of Skillgym is in Switzerland, at Lifelike SA premises, in CHIASSO – Corso San Gottardo 16 (6830).
THANK YOU FOR VISITING SKILLGYM.
