ReelTime Creative Learning Experiences

Think about the last diversity and inclusion program or sexual harassment prevention training you attended. How did you feel after it was over? How relatable was the content? Did you experience encouragement and empowerment? Or did you leave with more shame and confusion than you may have brought in?

For over 15 years, ReelTime Creative Learning Experiences (“ReelTime”) has been applying its extensive expertise in adult learning styles—and a big dose of creativity—to make compliance, ethics, and HR training more effective, impactful, and even enjoyable.

Chris Osborn and Michael Kahn, ReelTime’s founders, share a passion for helping individuals and organizations flourish, and a deep love for movies as a means of stirring up an emotional response in their audiences. Their programs leverage the power of original film vignettes as a tool for addressing complex human behavioral dynamics. As a result, organizations of all sizes have a chance to actually improve their corporate culture and foster greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (“DEIB”).

“Our experiential programs encourage people to have a visceral reaction to the material, which leads to a more permanent and sustainable change,” says Osborn.

ReelTime CLE creates personalized programs for its clients to mitigate compliance risks and foster a healthier corporate culture. The company’s person-centered facilitation styles create an atmosphere where participants have fun while learning. As a result, its programs are perfect for “tough crowds” and daunting topics in a variety of industries and contexts.

“From the beginning of any program, we view everyone in the room as an active participant in the leaning process,” according to Kahn.

Osborn and Kahn help participants identify and interrupt their own biases, using original movies they wrote and produced. The interactive approach generates meaningful conversations among participants, and raises awareness on crucial issues such as implicit bias and workplace harassment.

“Interactive, hands-on programs are the way to go if a company wants to ensure better regulatory compliance, improve their DEIB initiatives, or manage any other kind of change in employee behavior,” said Kahn.

In one instance, ReelTime collaborated with a client to create a transformative DEI program called “The Race of Our Lives: Leveraging our Diverse Resources to Build a Better Organization.” The company worked closely with its client to design an interactive learning exercise designed to give participants an experience of different levels of privilege or advantages. The competitive activity was delivered for the company’s 300+ employees spread across 8 cities in 4 states. The highly participatory exercise was not only fun, but it catalyzed a meaningful dialogue between top leadership and line employees and staff about fostering greater equity throughout the organization.

Our experiential programs encourage people to have a visceral reaction to the material, which leads to a permanent and sustainable change

To help people express their concerns, questions, and frustrations during a program, ReelTime promotes an environment where all viewpoints are valued and encouraged for discussion. Its commitment to facilitating interaction—rather than lecturing—promotes self-reflection, asking individuals to consider if they may have unknowingly contributed to an unhealthy work culture.

ReelTime avoids preaching, talking down, or shaming individuals struggling with sensitive topics and normalizes the challenges of discussing DEIB issues in the workplace. “We put our audience’s minds at ease with our own willingness to be vulnerable and relatable,” said Kahn. “And we’ve also used anonymous polling to highlight the pervasiveness of certain behaviors and to cultivate greater empathy among participants for what their peers have experienced.”

A program called “That’ll Never Happen Here!” focuses on preventing sexual misconduct by raising awareness and empowering so-called “bystanders.” Instead of focusing solely on preventing actionable sexual harassment, the workshop promotes a cultural shift that empowers employees to speak up against inappropriate behavior. According to Osborn, “The goal of the program is to turn that statement- ‘That’ll Never Happen Here’- from one of naivete or denial, into a declaration of the kind of culture you want to provide.”

ReelTime CLE has presented around the world for government entities including the U.S. Army, and a wide range of industries, such as construction, biotech, pharmaceutical sales, and HR professionals.