How Gamification Can Improve Corporate Learning

It’s clear that corporations have acknowledged the effectiveness of gamification in learning programs. Its edge over other methods can be attributed to several factors:Improved Learning Retention

Gamification has the ability to boost knowledge retention by marrying fun and real-world scenarios. This makes it a popular method of choice in compliance training and ensuring the transfer of knowledge among employees. InSync Training previously illustrated an example of how gamification can provide better insight on knowledge transfer among employees. In the example, instead of simply measuring success judging from the number of employees who attended a safety and compliance training session, trainers set up a fire safety scenario game that required learners to identify and manage hazards in the workplace. The results of the games provide ideas on how effective the knowledge transfer was, like how many succeeded in finding hazards and risks. This allows trainers to evaluate how well learners were able to understand the lessons at hand and tweak future training sessions accordingly.

These learning activities can be further improved with the help of computers. Thanks to technological advancements, the Internet has become an important aspect of modern learning, especially in schools. Maryville University claims that embracing technology is already integral in one's educational career, since computers now function as basic learning tools. Learning materials are available online for both students and adult learners in corporate settings. As more people are taking lessons and gaining degrees online, current professionals are also empowered to hone their skills through online means, hence the availability of online training programs. Participating in online degrees provide employees with further opportunities to be more familiar not only with the subject of their training materials, but with technology in general. Since training courses have gone digital, the gamification approach naturally also transitioned online. Trainers have more measures to gauge an employee's learning curve, such as level progression and badges (more on that later). 

In creating compliance courses with gamification, decide first whether to use a scenario-based approach such as the example given earlier, or a game-based approach wherein the entire program is translated into a game. You can consult with InSync Training to determine which approach is best for your corporation. 

Boosted Employee Engagement

A common challenge corporations face today is their employees’ lack of engagement. Only 15% of employees worldwide are actively engaged in their jobs, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace. The rest are not emotionally invested in providing the time and energy to add value to their work. A lack of engagement can lead to a decrease in productivity and poor performance.

Gamification formats can boost worker engagement in tasks that are otherwise tedious and menial. For example, companies like Comcast, Hasbro, and LiveOps have adopted the Nitro platform, which allows employers to launch contests and team challenges for their sales teams. Elements like leaderboards, badges, and progress bars are there to help employees stay motivated and focused on short-term achievements. In this case, gamification is used as a continual training process, where employees apply what they have learnt to their work.

Before you apply sales gamification, however, it’s important to define your company’s target goals. For instance, what should be the sales quota for each person? These targets should then be broken down into attainable objectives, which could come in the form of daily activities. You can consider investing in a sales gamification platform as well, since it can streamline these tasks for you.

Immediate Feedback

The results of gamification strategies provide instant feedback on a learner’s performance. Corporations can utilize the format to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of their workers. For example, an online gamified course can reward badges to a learner if he or she successfully completes a task. If the learner hasn’t received one at the end of a course, this notifies trainers of their weakness or an area for improvement. 

Other learning programs use level progression in their modules. Each module features a certain criteria that a person has to reach in order to unlock the next module. Completing a module means that the learner has successfully acquired the knowledge or skills needed.

For your company to get useful results from training sessions, the design of your courses has to be appropriate. In this case, it’s important to work closely with your training department on what approach to utilize. Your trainers themselves may also need to develop their skills for the benefit of your team. InSync Training provides train-the-trainer workshops that focus on how to become better experts in the modern training classroom.

InSync Training thanks Jayla Beaumont for her guest post and the insight it provides modern learners into the value of gamification in blended programs.