(CLP) Programs

Appleton Greene corporate training programs are all process-driven. They are used as vehicles to implement tangible business processes within clients’ organizations, together with training, support and facilitation during the use of these processes. Corporate training programs are therefore implemented over a sustainable period of time, that is to say, between 1 year (incorporating 12 monthly workshops), and 4 years (incorporating 48 monthly workshops). Your program information guide will specify how long each program takes to complete. Each monthly workshop takes 6 hours to implement and can be undertaken either on the client’s premises, an Appleton Greene serviced office, or online via the internet. This enables clients to implement each part of their business process, before moving onto the next stage of the program and enables employees to plan their study time around their current work commitments. The result is far greater program benefit, over a more sustainable period of time and a significantly improved return on investment.

Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. All (CLP) programs are implemented over a sustainable period of time, usually between 1-4 years, incorporating 12-48 monthly workshops and professional support is consistently provided during this time by qualified learning providers and where appropriate, by Accredited Consultants.

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Executive summary

Behavioral Science

What exactly is Behavioral Science, and do we need it in our business?

The field of Behavioral Science is a fascinating, influential, and fast-emerging specialty area. It has the potential to make a very large impact on organizations, sometimes in surprising ways, and with relatively minimal resources. It is the study of human behavior, which includes how your customers and employees make decisions, what they do and buy in real-life situations. In truth, the field started when researchers discovered that people often don’t do what they should do or act in the most rational way.

Behavioral Science was born from a desire to understand why and how this happens and what we can do to overcome those limitations. Today in business, we use this science to build a better mousetrap. For example, how can the design of an invoice influence the accounts receivable payment rates (attention and cognitive load)? Why are employees more willing to try a new process when they learn that their peers are using it (social proof)? Have you ever wondered why people are willing to pay so much for Apple products? That’s right, Apple used behavioral science to design their products and marketing to create repeat customers. These are just a few examples of the many principles of behavioral science and how they can have a big impact on your business.

And so yes, you need Behavioral Science in your business! In fact, understanding human behavior is your business. In most cases, your success depends on how well you interact, influence, and engage with your company’s stakeholders (i.e., customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, regulators, and your community). In addition, don’t most business activities involve some kind of behavior change? Whether you are designing products, selling new services, increasing productivity, motivating employees, or setting strategy, Behavioral Science can help improve results across the board. There are actually very few areas in business that couldn’t benefit from what Behavioral Science has to offer.

So why is Behavioral Science so important, and how is it having such a big impact? That’s simple: the field combines research on brain science, economics, psychology, and emotions and runs experiments to find out what works in the real world (not just in a lab or university setting)!

We’ve learned that even very small psychological pushes, or “nudges,” can have a huge impact on employee performance. For example, did you know that customers offered two products are more likely to pick a more expensive one, but only when a third, even more expensive product is also offered (choice architecture)? Similarly, would your web-design team be surprised to find out that repositioning the words and images on your website can increase sales? It becomes more and more obvious that Behavioral Science is a powerful tool that’s been missing from your toolbox.

Don’t get left behind! While Behavioral Science has been around for a while, it’s been used most in the public sector by government and non-profit groups. However, it is making fast inroads in the private sector. Large and small companies like Amazon, Google, Netflix, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, IBM, Pepsi, Nestle, Facebook, Snapchat, Bumble, Morningstar, NASDAQ, Headspace, Calm, and Lemonade are just a few of the companies leveraging behavioral insights to succeed. In a 2020 survey, 597 companies reported building Behavioral Science programs, and the majority of them had only started in the past 6 years1. There’s no doubt this field is taking off. If you decide to leverage Behavioral Science, you’ll be in good company and may get a jump on your competition.

In fact, understanding human behavior is becoming increasingly important for remaining relevant with your customers. Their appetite for products and services that are smart, designed well, easy to use, and make their lives better is growing. Like you, they are “wowed” by the new features they are exposed to every day on their favorite apps, websites, the services from the hospitals and entertainment venues they visit, and in the products they use. Because your customers are delighted by these changes, they are likely to have even stronger reactions when they experience frustrations with packaging, products that aren’t intuitive, confusing technical terminology, and websites that are difficult to navigate. Can you remain relevant when your competitors are leveraging Behavioral Science and you aren’t?

So, the million-dollar question is: How can you help your company leverage Behavioral Science to drive better results?

Enter the Behavioral Science Program. This program allows you to teach your employees to use Behavioral Science principles in their everyday work as product designers, marketers, and communication and human capital experts. Frankly, the list of areas your firm could benefit from with Behavioral Science is just too long.

What challenges are you facing? Do you need: a new breakthrough with product design, a better way to reach prospective clients and turn them into customers, a way to get your employees on board with a policy change they don’t like, a way to figure out what went wrong with the rollout of a new product and then a way to fix it, or maybe some other big, difficult problem you have been unable to solve and need help with? No worries. The Behavioral Science program will help you identify small changes that yield big results. The Behavioral Science program will help you break it down, diagnose gaps between current and future states, identify the most critical behaviors, and put plans in place with the best ROI to get the results you need.

The best part of introducing this program to your firm is that you don’t have to hire a group of behavioral scientists or engage a boutique consulting firm each time you need their help with an important project. While Behavioral Science is based on big, complex, academic c