Gamification
Improving the effectiveness of corporate training is a known challenge in the learning and development circles. Making employees see the benefits of training and getting them motivated to participate and perform well in a training is no cakewalk.
While it is true that many employees today understand the value of professional development opportunities provided by their employers, driving employee interest in training has also become easier because of the technological advancements in the learning and development industry.
It is thanks to these technological advancements that modern training software can support strategies like gamification, that have been proven to improve employee engagement with training.
So what is gamification? Does it really work?
Read on as we answer these questions in this article:
Gamification
As the name suggests, it is the process of adding game-like elements to the training experience. Some examples of gamification elements include point systems, levels, accomplishment badges, and leaderboards.
Gamification isn’t a brand new concept in training circles. However, it has gained some serious popularity in the recent past. According to a survey conducted by TalentLMS, 61% of corporate employees receive gamification in training.
It becomes obvious that when so many businesses are employing gamification in their training programs, it must offer some distinctive advantages. Let’s learn what these are:
Benefits Of Gamification For Employee Training:
Instant Feedback Loop
Gamification can help employees/learners receive instant feedback. For instance, there is a quiz that one needs to clear to earn a certain accomplishment badge. When a learner/employee fails to do so, they receive instant feedback that they need to revise the concepts or practice the tasks taught to them to improve their level of skill.
Similarly, when an employee does earn a reward or badge for accomplishing a task, the instance enforces that they are progressing on the right path.
Healthy Competition
Gamification elements like leaderboards and points promote healthy competition among the learners/employees. This competition can act as an incentive for employees to be motivated to engage with the training and excel in the assessments.
Such gamification elements also allow organisations to track learner performance more effectively. With a leaderboard in front of you, you can easily determine which employees need individual attention.
A leaderboard can also be used to identify top performers that can potentially help their peers with difficult concepts and lessons.
Improved Engagement And Retention
Games have been known to affect the way our brain works and influence the release of various hormones that control our mood like dopamine, serotonin, and cortisol. Gamification elements in training replicate these effects to a large extent.
This way, gamification elements can literally make our brain crave the results we drive after a good performance in training. For instance, whenever we are rewarded, whether it is by making a high score in SuperMario or by topping the leaderboards in a training program, our brain releases dopamine. Dopamine is also known as the “feel good hormone” so it is easy to imagine the effects it has on the brain.
With time, our brain starts associating training achievements with dopamine and will be more motivated to perform well in a training scenario.
Similarly, studies show that activation of the Hippocampus region is important for knowledge recall. During clinical tests, games have been known to create ideal conditions for the activation of the Hippocampus region, ultimately improving the brain’s ability to retain and recall information. Hence, it only makes sense to expect similar results when game-like elements are added to training modules.
Conclusion
The benefits of gamification are too significant to ignore. Moreover, these benefits have been scientifically tested and the results have been very promising.
Are you ready to jump of the gamified learning bandwagon?
