Web Series & Corporate Learning: Bridging Fiction and Reality

In recent years, edutainment – education through entertainment – has taken on a new form in the corporate learning arena. With the rise of popular OTT platforms showcasing corporate dramas like Suits and Mad Men, the lines between fiction and real-world corporate challenges have blurred, offering viewers both drama and unintentional lessons on navigating the corporate world.

For Learning & Development (L&D) professionals, these shows provide compelling case studies illustrating real-life workplace dynamics. Recognizing this potential, Knowlens has taken inspiration from the OTT web series to develop authentic, contextual training solutions that combine entertainment and educational value.

The “Suits Effect” on Learning & Development

In training sessions, using scenes from popular films and TV shows has long brought complex scenarios to life. Scenes from shows like Suits and Mad Men, which depict everything from high-stakes negotiations to corporate intrigue, often bring valuable lessons in professional ethics, conflict resolution, and teamwork. Although dramatized, these shows resonate due to the recognizable settings and challenging situations that parallel real workplace environments.

In the corporate setting, scenes from Suits where ambitious lawyers navigate a high-pressure legal firm, can serve as learning moments for understanding the importance of teamwork, ethics, and client management. Similarly, Mad Men, set in an advertising agency, portrays concepts around innovation, competition, and the complexities of human behavior in a corporate setting. Both series, while fictional, bring forth valuable examples that can be analyzed and dissected to understand leadership, behavioral skills and even get a flavour of the work culture in the industry

Examples of Learnings from Corporate Shows

L&D professionals can draw from specific scenes to demonstrate key concepts:

1. Conflict Resolution in Suits

In a scene where two main characters ( who ) conflict in a critical case (describe the conflict in a sentence), viewers see an interplay of negotiation skills, empathy, and strategic thinking. For L&D, this scene can illustrate the importance of compromise, clear communication, and the role of emotional intelligence in high-stress situations.

2. Strategic Thinking in Mad Men

When Don Draper, the protagonist, devises a groundbreaking ad campaign, it showcases how creativity, risk-taking, and understanding of consumer psychology are essential to strategic thinking. L&D trainers can use such scenes to highlight the value of thinking outside the box and responding dynamically to market needs.

3. Teamwork and Leadership

Both shows frequently depict strong (and sometimes problematic) examples of leadership and teamwork. Trainers can use these to initiate discussions around what makes an effective leader, how to build team cohesion, and the dos and don’ts of professional conduct.

Takeaways from Corporate Shows for L&D

OTT corporate dramas serve not only as entertainment but as informal learning tools. Here’s what makes them valuable in a corporate training context:

• Depiction of Corporate Reality: While dramatized, many scenes closely resemble employees’ conflicts and dilemmas in real workplaces.
• Balancing Drama and Learning: These shows blend drama with relatable lessons, making them memorable and engaging.
• Role Models and Lessons: They offer examples of both good and bad practices, creating role models and cautionary tales.
• Engagement Through Storytelling: The narrative format maintains engagement, which is critical for effective learning.

What OTT Web Series Bring to the Table

Popular web series offer several elements that make them conducive to corporate learning:

• Realistic and Contextual Scenarios: Characters navigate conflicts and high-stakes decisions that mirror real workplace scenarios, providing relatable context for learners.
• Complex Interpersonal Dynamics: The multidimensional interactions between characters each with unique motivations, values, and roles allow learners to see the impact of various behaviors and approaches.
• Edutainment Ethos: These shows blend learning with entertainment, reinforcing lessons without feeling didactic. By engaging viewers emotionally, these series ensure higher retention and recall.

What L&D Can Take Away from OTT Shows

The evolving role of modern Learning & Development is to create relatable, impactful learning experiences. Traditional training methods have their merits, but visual storytelling in videos or dramatized scenes creates a deeper impact by immersing learners in complex situations.

Conceptual Learning: Fictional narratives effectively demonstrate a wide range of behaviors and attributes, allowing learners to watch, analyze, and discuss real-world applications.

Skill Development: Certain soft skills such as negotiation, leadership, and teamwork are better understood through examples. Scenes depicting these skills, even in fictional settings, make learning practical and memorable.

The Knowlens Solution: Pioneering Web Series formats in Corporate Training

With a deep understanding of the effectiveness of dramatized learning, Knowlens has pioneered a solution that adapts the OTT web series format for corporate training. We have designed and filmed real life scenarios with professional actors in authentic corporate settings, crafting relatable and educational content for the corporate audience. Here’s how Knowlens has transformed OTT inspiration into an innovative L&D tool:

• Authentic Scenarios: Knowlens develops deeply researched films, shooting scenes that reflect genuine workplace dynamics. The scenarios cover various corporate environments, from bustling offices to factory floors, creating a realistic backdrop for learning.
• Corporate Context: Each film is crafted to resemble the workplace, ensuring learners can immediately relate to the situations and apply their insights to their roles.
• Professional Production: High-quality video production maintains viewer engagement while delivering essential information professionally and visually compellingly.
• India Centric Content: Knowlens situations are deeply grounded in indian situations making the learning more contextual and the learner connect deeper.

The Impact of Knowlens’ Edutainment-Based Learning

The results of Knowlens’ innovative approach have been remarkable. Front-line employees often find traditional learning methods dry or detached and respond positively to the story-based format. Here’s what makes this approach so impactful:

• Resonance with Learners: Knowlens’ approach resonates deeply with audiences by incorporating realistic, story-driven learning scenarios, making learning enjoyable and memorable.
• High Retention Rates: Storytelling creates an emotional connection, which enhances retention. Learners find recalling lessons from a narrative-driven scenario easier than from traditional learning modules.
• Balanced Edutainment: Knowlens has found the ideal blend of entertainment and learning, ensuring the primary focus remains on skill-building and knowledge enhancement.

Conclusion

Incorporating the entertainment value of the OTT series into corporate training has opened doors to more effective and engaging learning. As L&D continues to evolve, methods that leverage storytelling, realism, and drama will become more prominent, allowing learners to internalize lessons directly applicable to their professional lives.

For organizations, investing in edutainment-based L&D solutions, like those offered by Knowlens, is a step toward fostering a learning culture that is both modern and practical. By blending fiction with reality, companies can deliver impactful learning experiences that empower employees to navigate the complexities of today’s corporate orbit.