Solving murder mysteries help them become better managers

Marianne de Nazareth   |   Bangalore

15-April-2011

Vol 2 | Issue 15

A ‘whodunit murder mystery’ game to train corporate executives? Yes, MD Riti holds ‘Murder Mystery’ workshops in Bangalore. “These are unique workshops that I hold to train executives of corporate houses in behavioural skills. Corporate houses have found them extremely useful and I am overwhelmed with requests to conduct them,” says the 47-year- old woman who was a journalist for several years.

Riti moved into this arena as she obviously has a more creative mind. In 2004, when she came up with the basic design of the workshop, she invited a group of friends over to her house to test it on them. “It was a great success and all my friends loved the programme and went away asking when I would hold another! That is when I decided to take the programme on commercially,” she says. “I then designed a set of murder mystery activities and showcased them to corporate houses as a team building exercise.”

On the job: Riti’s (seen in picture) Mystery Games help identify the talents in employees and is becoming popular among Corporate houses

Different types of mysteries work differently. In an indoor or closed doors dress up type of mystery, all participants are characters in an exciting plot, in which one or more could be murderers, others could be victims, and everyone else is a suspect or a detective! An outdoor mystery re-creates the experience of jumping into a mystery video game or a TV serial. “Participants examine crime scenes, track down real suspects played by our actors and build up cases to prove whodunit,” says Riti.

The mystery workshops are all customized to suit client needs. “Plots are chosen to suit the program. Structures are varied to suit training design requirements. Our workshops are delivered after detailed need analysis with the client, understanding of the objectives to be met, the dynamics of the participant group, their seniority and work experience etc.”

So how was the idea born? “I have always been fond of mysteries: read all the children’s mysteries I came across as a child, watched movies and TV serials as an adult, and did a lot of investigative and crime writing as a journalist. The thought suddenly struck me that it would be fun to simulate mystery experiences as fun exercises for adults. And that was how it all began. Now we have a large faculty of trainers of varying seniority and skill areas empanelled with us,” she says.

These games are helping the corporate houses assess the skills of their employees. “This is where leaders are checked out; are the participants listening to one another, or are they only focussed on their own point of view? How assertive or aggressive are they? What are their capacities to negotiate with others to reach the right conclusion? This is where corporate houses can assess their employees; check the different skills that emerge and use them effectively in the work place,” says Riti.

Her Corporate clients have given her nice testimonies. "My team enjoyed your team-building program, and the purpose behind this was well achieved. Thanks to you and your team," said Ravinder Pal Singh PMP, Project Manager - IT, Cisco Globalisation Center - East. “I must confess that I was unsure before the event about just how effectively a murder mystery workshop could engage a group of 100 high energy managers for 3 hours, and deliver strong outcomes on client focus, customer centricity and integrity. I am glad t0 report that you were absolutely successful, and more than fulfilled your deliverables,” said Gautam Awasthi, GM - Marketing at Agilent Technologies.