For those who don’t know him, Fermin Diez is a well-known figure in the HR industry. With over 35 years of professional experience behind him, this well-known HR specialist, business leader, public speaker, educator, and three-time co-author has devoted his career to developing people and advancing his discipline.
For the past decade, Diez has partnered with MEGA Learning business simulations to support his Business Strategy programs at academic institutions and corporate settings, bringing his instructional materials to life.
We got the chance to talk to him about his insights about the Human Capital Challenge (or Human Resource Simulation), one of our simulation games, and his overall experience as a Mega Learning partner.
Q: Hello, Fermin! Please introduce yourself
My name is Fermin Diez. I’m a professor of human resources at the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University.
I also run my own practice, conducting various HR training programs for executives.
As a seasoned professional, Fermin Diez has successfully assumed several roles throughout his decades of experience. He's worn multiple hats over his illustrious career as a business and HR leader, university professor, thought leader, board director, and advisor.
Diez has also authored books, been a prolific speaker on many global stages, and was recently named the top HR influencer in Asia.
Q: What is your relationship with MEGA Learning business simulations?
It’s been an excellent relationship, characterised by consistent comfort and support from MEGA Learning. The proof is in the pudding; I’ve been associated with them for over ten years. We started running the Human Capital Challenge in my courses on Capital Strategy at SMU around a dozen years ago.
I’ve also communicated many times with MEGA Learning regarding how the course is run and how it links to my book, Human Capital and Global Business Strategy.
Our relationships with our partners closely mirror Diez's experience with the Mega Learning team.
These are strong, mutually beneficial partnerships built on trust, communication, and professionalism.
The secret to this long-lasting collaboration lies in our commitment to listening to our client's values and tailoring our offerings to meet their needs.
Q: How would you describe your role as a partner of MEGA Learning?
Multi-faceted - in a range of roles and capacities.
Third parties may occasionally use MEGA Learning business simulations in their programmes. I'll be invited to assist since I can run them and know how to make their lessons more tangible to participants.
Other times, the universities where I work will purchase the HR training programs I request for my lessons to make the educational process more engaging and exciting.
Whether for academic or corporate settings, Mega Learning partners or facilitators enjoy our simulations' engaging, relevant, and, most importantly, effective learning experiences. These experiences help develop a myriad of skills and boost teamwork.
Q: What are the added values of business simulations in your courses?
The overarching benefit of MEGA Learning business simulations is that it allows for enough complexity to cater to broader audiences within a single framework. We use HCC in three separate settings.
The first is aimed at a university audience, ranging from undergraduate classes to master's programs. The value of simulations is that they add life to the classrooms.
In the classroom, students may explore different topics related to strategy, such as HR support strategy and how people strategy supports business strategies. However, without practical application, whatever's taught in class may only be memorised and not properly ingrained.
Consequently, master’s level students, in particular, will revert to their natural default of filling vacancies if they don’t go through the game. They might miss the deeper purpose of enhancing productivity or the value of the business. And so, by complementing the theoretical lessons with the practical application, the concepts truly come alive.
The second way is through an HR executive, where different areas of the HR world - including HR training, recruiting, and compensation - come together. They take on various roles during the game and focus on improving how they interrelate with one another to generate better business outcomes. HR departments are typically separated from one another, limiting the interaction they need to support the business, so that's a valuable lesson.
We also teach non-HR audiences. For example, the simulation highlights the importance of managing the business and people's side of things for mid-level managers to ensure business growth.
So, you could say that while it may be targeted at HR audiences, we can also broadly apply the same principles everywhere. Managers can benefit from these games to better understand their role in leading the people under them.
Q: Why do you prefer Mega Learning’s business simulations?
Competitor simulations I’ve tried are more simplistic than Mega Learning’s and aren’t as crisp as the lessons on HCC. On the one hand, this makes them easier to use, but on the other hand, it makes the lessons harder to stick.
Also, other simulations tend to focus more on the HR side of the equation. They look at the commonly explored questions, “How do I improve engagement, retention, etc?” but neglect the bigger challenge of improving business outcomes through people decisions.
So, I like HCC on two counts. One, it’s obvious that success won't be possible if the people component is missing from business strategy. Two, it shows a realistic portrayal of HR in achieving business goals.
What Diez says is absolutely correct. As a leading simulation provider, our games offer learning experiences that provide a deeper understanding of business processes. This may be unlike competitor simulations, who only focus on one aspect or provide cursory overviews of basic concepts.
Q: What would be your tips be for future partners and professors?
To do what I do and make the first run a trial run. During the first round, people aren’t 100% clear on what they’re doing, which leads to wrong decisions they later regret. This can taint how the game turns out.
Great advice from Diez- a test round will help players adjust to the game's flow and rules.
By testing the waters this way, users will feel more confident playing and making decisions, and the game will run more smoothly once the kinks have been ironed out.
Q: What is the feedback you receive from participants?
From an HR point of view, we hope to receive comments such as “I never quite understand the role of HR this well”.
As I’ve stressed, traditional learning often stops at engagement and retention and fails to go all the way through to business outcomes.
Much of our feedback relating to Mega Learning’s Human Capital Challenges is consistent with what Fermin Diez's participants tell him. Many of our users, including those in senior positions, expressed how experiential learning via simulations helped them to clearly recognise the value HR has in driving business strategy and organisational success in general.
Q: Is there anything you’d like to add?
Over the years, it’s been a pleasure working with Mega Learning. Benoit, Laurent, and the others have always supported me through every situation.
There’s one example that sticks out in my memory. I was running a programme in Georgia, Tbilisi, and couldn’t start it. So I panicked and sent a WhatsApp message to Benoit and Laurent. Despite the time difference, they responded within five minutes and got it to run immediately without the participants noticing anything wrong.
It’s not just that the game is good, but the high levels of comfort and support I get are nothing short of outstanding.
While our games are outstanding, what sets us apart are our exceptional, comprehensive services designed to maximise our users' experiences and learning potential. From detailed onboarding processes and easy-to-use interfaces to ongoing assistance, we'll help you navigate the sometimes complex world of simulation.
Do you still have questions regarding what a business simulation is? Or would you be interested in getting to know us and explore our existing products? Get in touch and let’s have a call!
Interested to explore this further? You can also sign up for our newsletter for weekly news, client success stories, and updates!
