Learning is integral to the growth of every business. It facilitates creating and maintaining a good working environment, results in enhanced employee performance, and substantially improves overall organizational productivity.
Mohan Madgulkar had previously worked as a freelance workplace and learning consultant. In 2008, he read about Steps Drama Learning Development. What was unique about this London-based learning development company was, that they used interactive drama techniques to offer training services.
“I have always been a passionate actor and till that point had done several plays both amateur and professional. When I read about Steps Drama Learning Development, I was thrilled to see an opportunity to combine my experience as a facilitator and my passion for theatre. I was also taken aback by this very innovative and high-impact learning methodology. I hadn’t seen and heard anything like that in my career”, says Mohan Madgulkar.
Intending to offer something unique to the workplace learning scenario in India, he persuaded Steps Drama Learning Development to set up a branch in the Indian sub-continent. Robbie Swales, one of the founder directors of Steps UK was very excited about this whole idea. Setting up the company in India would have also meant that it would be the first company in India to use drama-based techniques for workplace learning. This was the right direction to follow, and thus the Indian business, the first-ever office Steps the UK ever set up outside of the UK, was established in 2010. Mohan Madgulkar, along with Robbie and other senior colleagues from the UK office, built the Indian operations from the ground up.
The start-up and the business ecosystem in India were not so developed. Thus the environment to set up the business has not always been easy, and it was even more difficult a decade ago than it is today. And to set up a company like Steps Drama Learning Development in India was a tricky task. First off, there was a difference between the cultures, and the general banking environment in India continued to pose challenges for small companies.
“I wouldn’t call it a catch 22, but taking the enterprise further was an adventure, to say the least!”, says Mr. Mohan Madgulkar.
The company aims to challenge its own and others’ thinking through its focus on behavioral change. Their services include:
• Custom designed interactive drama-based training
• Providing actors for role plays
• Training videos and digital learning
Drama is at the heart of everything Steps Drama Learning Development does. It has proved to be a powerful element in representing the behaviors, characters, and challenges that commonly hold organizations back.
Its different idea of merging drama with the regular consultancy services has made the company stand out from all the other ones in the race.
The client-specific research and customized program design is a unique characteristic of the company. Moreover maintaining a good balance of the learning and development and behavioral change expertise along with the expertise of using drama techniques is the core strength of the company.
The competition is increasing day by day, and companies need to devise strategies to keep themselves ahead in the game. However, Steps has a different ideology and a different take on the competition. Dealing with the competition means three things for Steps Drama Learning Development:
• Never compromise on the quality of workshops
• Partner with the client in the true sense of the word and deliver on the promise by being flexible and innovative
• High level of customization of the content
This approach has helped them keep their services at par.
“The idea of making a difference to the lives of people in organizations, by helping them to change behaviors”, says Mohan Madgulkar “is the driving force of the company”
With the success of the company in the UK and now in India, Steps Drama Learning Development is now working on quite a few strategies to take the enterprise further. These include growing their media and digital learning business. The other goal the company is working on is the expansion of its market. Steps India is now well on its way to increase its business in the UAE market.
Steps Drama Learning Development put its clients at the center of everything they do. Adopting a client-centric approach, the Steps team has designed their workshops and sessions that address various issues like career conversations, feedback skills, creating and maintaining an inclusive environment, dignity, and respect at the workplace. This has helped its clients to grow and become globally competitive.
“We walk the talk. For us, it is important for us to practice what we preach”, says Mohan Madgulkar on Steps’ approach to its clients.
What makes Steps Drama Learning Development Unique?
- The company works with you to create the right combination to achieve their desired outcomes while working within the necessary operational constraints of time, location and language.
- They work with clients around the world to ensure that everything possible is put in place to achieve success.
- Steps Drama Learning Development has a good understanding of what’s needed both from their work and their research.
