If you want to stand out from your competitors and create a positive learning environment, you need an L&D programme that sets the stage for an exciting and long career with your business. So how do you make it a win-win situation for both you as an employer and your employees? By using gamification in training.
The aspiration of making learning content more engaging is something we are faced with time and time again by our clients.
When we ask employees, “what are the top two things that motivates you?” They often reply with “recognition and rewards.” It stands to reason that what motivates employees must be a part of your learning strategy so that you have an engaged and motivated audience for training.
This is where gamification for learning fits in.
Gamification in training is the process of adding game elements to learning or training sessions to make them more interactive and engaging for your employees. Many types of games include game mechanics such as points, challenges, Leaderboards, rules, and incentives that make game-play enjoyable; and your gamification strategy should be no different.
Why use gamification?
So now that you know what gamification in training is, why is it better than other training methods?
Makes learning fun
Training can sometimes be viewed negatively by employees when the delivery is the same time and time again, and the information seems repetitive. With gamification, employees are having fun while learning. This keeps everyone more engaged and more likely to recall what they have learned on the job.
Creates an interactive environment
Instead of sitting in a classroom or reading reams of materials, gamification in training is more interactive. Your staff are given real-life scenarios and situations and asked how to respond. This forces a deeper knowledge of the materials and a more realistic approach to learning. Plus, this can be done on an individual level or as a team.
Changes habits
Bad habits can be changed through repeated retrieval and space repetition by spacing out the same learning session over time. For example, one learning session may be broken into four sections with one week off in between each session. It has been proven that this format creates more knowledge retention and more time for self-reflection. The end result is more information learned and less behavioural mistakes made.
Makes learning easier
Complex topics can be broken down into sub training sessions. Just like in a video game you may play; you complete one level of the game before advancing to the next. Once you have completed all sections of the game, you win.
Similarly with training, by breaking down learning into bite-sized chunks, it makes learning more digestible, and your employees are more likely to retain what they have learnt. It is both rewarding to receive these points and a motivation factor if your peer is ahead of you in the process.
Provides a personalised learning experience
Personalised learning, for example using a learners real name or creating tailored content around specific skills or job roles, creates an environment that they are more likely to engage with and enjoy learning in.
What are the best gamification elements to enhance the impact of your training?
The beauty of gamification is the versatility and variety of different gamification elements you can use to enhance your training; there’s no one rule fits all. As previously mentioned, recognition and rewards are the top two things that motivate employees, so it is important to include them in your learning strategy but here’s a few more to consider:
A narrative or story
Just like video games you can map out a narrative that crafts a real and relatable experience for your learners.
Personalised challenges
Tailoring job specific challenges within your employees training will make learning more interesting and relevant to each user.
Levels and scores
Adding levels to your gamification strategy helps provide various proficiencies and skills that must be achieved in order for your employees to pass a course. These elements help learners get a sense of achievement each time they pass a level or see how well they did. The competitive nature that both scores and levels bring, can often spur teams on to do better.
Badges – highlighting noteworthy achievements and rewarding your staff incentivises your learners to keep engaging with their training and motivates them on their learning journey.
Leaderboards – Leaderboards give learners a clear view of their individual progress, whilst showing them how well they have performed when compared with their fellow colleagues. We have found learners thrive with a bit of healthy competition, as they not only want to better their own performance but be the best in their team.
Gamification in action
Here at 3t Transform we have a content development team made up of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), whose skills and expertise can give you the technical support or creative direction you require. Once your goals and learning objectives are clear, our team can help you map out the best elements to use and help you implement gamification into your L&D programme.
We’ve worked with some fantastic clients including McDonalds and Tui to name a few. Here are some real-life examples of companies adding gamification in training to their programs.
The benefits of gamification speak for themselves. If you want to make learning more fun, build an exciting team environment, and make employees more engaged then you should definitely consider gamification and microlearning. Overall, team members will retain more of what’s being taught making the entire company more competitive and profitable, and training for you as a business easier.