The Role of Gamification in Training and Development
As kids, we all enjoyed playing games. Whether it was Pac-Man or Super Mario, a part of us enjoyed following clues, tackling challenges, and just having fun.
Now, many of us still enjoy games as adults, but it seems like the fun stops once we step into the workplace. But who says it has to?
At workplace, most of us have to use corporate learning systems. We skim through lengthy PowerPoint decks, trying to guess enough correct answers to pass so we can return to our "real work." Unfortunately, anything we learn is often forgotten by the time we receive our certificate of completion. However, studies suggest that the integration of gamification in workplace learning can change this experience to a certain degree.
Exploring the Impact of Gamification in Training
Gamification in training refers to the incorporation of game design elements and principles in non-game contexts, specifically to promote learning, motivate action, engage people, and enhance their learning experiences. By integrating features such as scorecards, leaderboards, badges, and interactive challenges, gamification transforms mundane training materials into dynamic and stimulating experiences. A new study conducted at the professional services firm KPMG, reveals that when done right, gamified training can significantly boost employee performance. By thoughtfully integrating elements like progression through challenges and levels, instant feedback, points, and competition into lessons over time, gamified training proves to be a powerful tool for professional development.
From an educational perspective, gamification in corporate training often includes progressively challenging levels, promoting optimal learning and skill acquisition. Additionally, interactive elements encourage learners to experiment, explore, and discover solutions, fostering deeper understanding and retention of knowledge.
Psychologically, gamification taps into intrinsic motivation as learners naturally enjoy challenges, rewards, and recognition, which makes learning more engaging and fun. Immediate feedback and a sense of accomplishment from earning points or badges keep learners motivated and eager to progress.
That said, if you're considering adding gamification elements to your L&D program, it's crucial to understand that gamification isn't a cure-all for programs that aren't meeting their goals. According to a paper titled “Gamification of Adult Learning: Gamifying Employee Training and Development”, one of the biggest mistakes is assuming that gamification can make up for poor learning materials. Gamification is an instructional design process that enhances the learning experience, but it cannot substitute for the quality of the content itself.
Best Practices for Gamification in Training and Development
Define Clear Objectives: Establish clear learning goals and outcomes before integrating gamification elements. Ensure that the gamified activities align with these objectives to drive meaningful engagement and skill development.
Know Your Audience: Understand the preferences, motivations, and learning styles of your audience. Tailor gamification strategies to meet their needs and create a more personalized and effective learning experience.
Incorporate Game Elements Thoughtfully: Use game mechanics such as points, badges, leaderboards, levels, and instant feedback to enhance motivation and engagement. Ensure these elements are relevant to the learning objectives and not just added for the sake of gamification.
Create a Narrative: Develop a compelling storyline or theme that ties the gamified elements together. A well-crafted narrative can increase immersion and make the learning experience more enjoyable and memorable.
Balance Challenge and Skill: Design challenges that are appropriately difficult for the learners’ skill levels. Too easy, and they might get bored; too hard, and they might become frustrated. Aim for a balance that keeps learners engaged and motivated to improve.
Provide Immediate Feedback: Offer instant feedback on performance to help learners understand their progress and areas for improvement. Timely feedback can reinforce learning and encourage continued effort.
Encourage Collaboration and Competition: Incorporate both collaborative and competitive elements to cater to different motivational drivers. Group challenges can foster teamwork, while leaderboards and competitions can stimulate a healthy competitive spirit.
Monitor and Analyze Performance: Use analytics to track learner progress and the effectiveness of gamification elements. Regularly review this data to make informed adjustments and improvements to the training program.
Align with Organizational Goals: Ensure that the gamified training aligns with the broader goals of the organization. This alignment helps demonstrate the value of the training to stakeholders and integrates it more seamlessly into the overall development strategy.
By following these best practices, organizations can effectively leverage gamification to enhance training and development, resulting in more engaged learners and improved performance outcomes.
NIIT’s Approach to Gamification in Corporate Training
While gamification in corporate training is becoming increasingly popular, learning designers often fail to identify the core principles that make games a great success. They make learning as easy as possible which is exactly the opposite in serious games where learning is hard and drama is used to enhance and reinforce learning. At NIIT, we have captured all the magic of game-based learning into a simple formula, E=MC5, where E stands for education or engagement.
Mission – Games begin with dramatic openings to immerse players in a mission, deeply engaging them. Levels and rewards motivate players to develop skills essential for completing the mission.
Context – High-end games create complex, detailed environments to enable learning by doing. The rich context allows players to develop and practice skills through realistic interactions and responses.
Challenge – Games present a series of carefully designed challenges that players overcome to acquire new skills. These challenges progressively increase in difficulty to maintain engagement without causing frustration.
Choices – Game challenges force players to make decisions to overcome obstacles and complete their mission, thereby building decision-making skills. A good game offers diverse choices, including plausible bad ones, allowing players to learn from their mistakes.
Consequences – In games, mistakes lead to dramatic consequences, enhancing both entertainment and learning. Explicit outcomes help players understand why a choice failed, while emotional impact ensures lessons are memorable.
Competition – Many games feature overt competition, such as one-on-one matches or high-score lists, motivating players to build new skills. This competitive element, along with explicit achievements like points and badges, drives players to improve and learn through trial and error in a dense, well-structured environment.
Success Story of Gamification Training
Challenge: NIIT’s customer, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies, wanted to transform their existing ethics and compliance training for senior leaders. The existing training did not provide a premium training experience, befitting their busy schedules and roles. Moreover, the company was spending exponentially to facilitate one-on-one ethics and compliance training sessions with lawyers for these executives.
Solution: NIIT’s GameWorks Studio team designed a real-time 3D training intervention on ethics and compliance and is based on a learn-by-doing approach. The game design was based on three key principles:
- Maximize learning by doing, minimize teaching by telling.
- Include competition to increase engagement.
- Create concrete examples of abstractions.
Results: The gamified training received positive feedback for its engaging design and narrative, resulting in higher retention and completion rates. It provided a more holistic, integrated, and business-relevant view of Ethics and Compliance to business leaders and reduced the time spent on training while increasing the impact.
Leverage Gamification in Training & Development with NIIT
At NIIT, we provide a full suite of immersive learning solutions that not only transform learning but also deliver measurable business impact.
Our mission-based training scenarios are designed to develop employee expertise in key skills through hands-on practice in hyper-real immersive environments and challenging, game-like situations, combined with expert coaching and feedback. Based on the principles of natural learning, this approach delivers true behavioral change and organizational readiness. The three pillars of our immersive learning approach deliver meaningful learning experiences at an affordable cost without tedious and complex technology integrations through proven instructional design, powerful technology partnerships, and a customized digital reality roadmap.To explore how NIIT’s gamified learning solutions can transform your corporate training with fun and interactive elements, contact us directly at businessimpact@niit.com.