Designing Digitally
02/10/2016
Gamification has become a widely used means of training and education over the years, including corporate learning. However, simply incorporating games in corporate learning does not suffice. Following these best practices will help you create valuable gamified learning
Effective gamification is not possible without defining the end goal. For this, conducting a total needs analysis can prove helpful. What is it that you want your employees to learn? Will the games be used for teaching a new skill or to upgrade an existing one? In addition, understand the interests of your target audience.
Starting small is crucial so you can measure and track the progress of the gamification. You cannot just integrate it in all processes and expect results. You have to test it first on a selected group before going wide.
The most popular games are the ones which feature progressive levels. As gamers complete each level, they feel a sense of achievement and pride, are therefore motivated to keep going. Each level should be more difficult than the last in order to capture the interest of the players.
Yes, the levels have to be difficult and the game has to be challenging for learners to stay interested, but the gameplay should be simple and uncomplicated. You don’t want your team spending hours and hours figuring out what to do next and then just giving up. This will end up causing more harm than good.
The purpose of gamification in corporate learning is to make the experience more fun and less tedious, which means there should be a focus on learning. The game should be enjoyable and be visually and mentally stimulating.
As mentioned, the gameplay, visuals, and actual content of the game should be engaging and focused on the end goal, so that the players keep coming back for more.
And to make sure your employees don’t get bored of playing the same game over and over, add some variety. Perhaps you can introduce a different game for each new lesson. Or, you can introduce bonus rewards in the game which helps them reach the final level and complete the game.
Don’t forget to add a leaderboard so the players know who is leading and what they need to do to reach the top. However, these work well if you’re comparing people only a few points ahead of them and a few points below them.
Rewards within the game are helpful but you should also offer extrinsic rewards which give the players added incentive to apply what they have learned in the game to their work routine. For more information on how we can help with your gamification needs contact us today!
We bring a personal and effective approach to every project we work on.
