From the last couple of years, we have seen gamification gaining a lot more importance and acceptance, especially in the world of corporate training and learning. Companies have started to explore the benefits and advantages of gamification in corporate training and analysts predict that gamification is here to stay and would continue to widen its dominance in all the areas at the workplace.
So ever wondered why gamification of corporate training should be explored and what are the benefits it offers. I would like to share 5 reasons to use gamification in corporate training.
What is gamification of corporate training?
Before diving deep into the gamification of corporate learning, let us just quickly look at the two keywords used here i.e gamification and corporate training
Gamification in simple words is including the game elements and game mechanics to nongame contexts. Whereas corporate training is a means of improving the employees’ performance, morale and skills, by concentrating on their professional development. For example, the various corporate training requirements can be the following-
•Training the employees on soft skills and hard skills,
•Conducting employee onboarding or induction of the employees.
•The regular training of the sales team etc
Be it any organisation these corporate training requirements are fulfilled by using various learning strategies like classroom training, e-learning or even a blended learning approach etc. But when you include the game elements and game mechanics to the nongame context i.e corporate learning and training to make the learning process highly engaging and interactive, it becomes fit to be termed as gamification of corporate training.
Now, let’s explore 9 handpicked reasons to gamify your corporate learning requirements.
1.Increases learner engagement
There is no doubt that gamification in corporate training can increase employee engagement and enhance the learning experience. But what is learner engagement?
While there is no scientific definition, learner engagement reflects the quantity and quality of a learner’s participation in the courses. A learner engagement answers several questions like –
1. Are the learners glued to the course?
2. Is the course engaging and interactive?
3. What are the completion rates and are the learning objectives achieved?
How e-learning gamification can enhance learner engagement?
1.1.Using the right game mechanics and game elements
Right game elements and game mechanics are the heart and soul of gamified e-learning which can transform a dull learning experience into an engaging and interactive one. A word of caution here i.e to engage your audience, it’s very important that an organization chooses the right game elements and mechanics. I don’t recommend random dumping/including game mechanics to your gamified corporate training. Here is the list of some very popular game mechanics that are widely used
•Leaderboards
•Levels
•Challenge
•Countdowns
•Points
•Journey
•Relationship
•Loss Aversion
•Progression
•Badges
•Rewards
•Narrative
Before implementing the game mechanics, ensure that you understand the relevance of the chosen game mechanics. Ensure that the chosen game mechanics can perform the desired objective of motivating the learners to perform the desired action. Therefore it’s important to understand the learning objectives as well as the target learners to synchronize the motivational factors in achieving the learning objectives.
1.2.Reward your learners
Remember the moment……. when you received an award and you were jumping with joy. Ever wondered what triggers this feeling of ecstasy?
It’s the dopamine release in your brain making you do it. Scientific studies reveal that when human brains are exposed to a rewarding stimulus, the brain responds by increasing release of the neurotransmitter dopamine resulting in the triggering of real powerful human emotions like joy, satisfaction, achievement etc. Rewards are so powerful that it pulls back the human brain to perform the same or similar action to earn the rewards.
Gamification of corporate training can use rewards like points, badges etc to motivate the learner and enhance the learner engagement. To know more about rewards in e-learning gamification, you can read my blog here.
1.3.Create competition
An organisation can enhance the learner’s engagement with corporate training by inducing gamification elements that fuel competition. Elements like leaderboard that ranks the learners according to the points earned or badges received etc.foster healthy competitive spirit amongst the learners. The leaderboards that are visible to all the learners, motivates them to climb the leaderboard positions and reach the top.
2.Boosts employee productivity
According to the research,80% of learners said their productivity would increase if gamification or game-like elements were included in the learning process at the workplace.
What is employee productivity?
Employee productivity (sometimes referred to as workforce productivity) is an assessment of the efficiency of a worker or group of workers
How gamification can boost employee productivity?
Corporate training, as you are all aware is aimed to enhance the employee productivity by enabling them to upskill, reskill and polish their existing knowledge and skills to perform better in their roles or job streams. By gamifying the corporate e-learning, organizations are able to engage the learners, who are extrinsically motivated to complete the training which is otherwise not seen in existing training mechanism like classroom training etc. Over a period of time, constant extrinsic motivation leads to intrinsic motivation and a marked behavioral change in the work. This benefits the organisation in training the workforce more effectively and boosting employee productivity.
3.Increases learner retention
Unlike other learning strategies like classroom training or self-paced learning, gamifying corporate training can increase the retention and recall of learning topics.
What is the retention of learning?
Retention of learned information can be defined as having the information stored in long-term memory in such a way that it can be readily retrieved, for example, in response to standard prompts.
How gamification of training can increase learner retention?
Here are some scientific reports that explain the relation-
•Studies have found that when learning is gamified it’s more enjoyable for learners leading to increased engagement with content which means higher levels of knowledge retention.
•Scientific study tells us that games can activate the hippocampal area of the brain(the part of the brain that is responsible for recall for the learners
•Gamification of corporate training focuses on giving learners instant feedback and reward the correct actions of the learners. By giving the rewards for achieving the goals, milestones, and challenges, the learners begin to associate the learning with positive emotions, prompting them to try to repeat the process. Thus the learner is motivated to continue the learning process and revisit the gamified learning, leading to enhanced retention and recall of the learning topics.
•Gameplay reduces the stress-studies at Texas A&M International University study showed that gameplay reduces the stress of the employees. A stress-free environment can help the learner to enjoy the learning process aiding better retention and recall of the learning topics.
•E-learning gamification can be even combined with other learning strategies like microlearning that aids in improving knowledge retention and defeating the forgetting curve.
4.Shares instant feedback
Rather than reserving the feedback until the end of e-learning, gamification of corporate training shares immediate feedback with the learners.
What is feedback in learning?
Feedback is a process in which learners make sense of information about their performance and use it to enhance the quality of their work or learning strategies.
How gamifying corporate training ensures instant feedback?
E-learning gamification is designed to give instant feedback to the learners. For the learners, it’s an instant opportunity to relearn. It helps them to know what went wrong and what are the consequence of their actions and choices. It helps to take corrective actions immediately than waiting until the end which helps in creating instant rewiring of information in the brain
5.Allows to fail and learn
Gamification in e-learning provides a safe learning environment that allows the learner to learn from failures and mistakes. Hence it’s capable to transfer the fear of failure into a fun and engaging learning experience.
Take the situation- how gamifying of employee training for operation of hazardous machines can benefit the learners? When a batch of fresh hires need to be trained in the operation of heavy machinery in a hazardous zone, the organisation can wisely blend e-learning simulations or scenarios with gamification that simulates the real-life situations to train the learners effectively in a safe and gamified environment which allows the learner to fail and learn from the mistakes.
Here are the 5 handpicked reasons to use gamification in corporate training. Feel free to share your suggestions and recommendations using the comment box below.
