Gamification in Training: Best Practices

Some trainings are boring and unappealing to learners. This is why organizations make significant investments into training programs that are interesting and educational for their employees. Of the several techniques applied by the companies to enhance the learner experience, gamification seems to especially effective. Gamification is a process of making use of gaming designs and settings in corporate training. While its implementation may differ from company to company, there are certain best practices of gamification in training that remain unchanged.

Here are the top five best practices to consider, if you plan to utilize gamification in your future training.

#1: Build on what employees know

Gen X and Y members of the workforce have grown up with technology. They possess significant expertise in the use of video games. It’s natural that they would like to see game elements in a training module. Simple game elements can be chosen, so that it is not overwhelming for any learner. Encourage employees to take one level at a time. Once they have completed one level, acknowledge their success and motivate them to move on. Learners who see progress will embrace gamified learning.

#2: Bring in incentives for learning

Motivation works wonders in the workforce. If you reward a learner for completing or mastering the first skill, you can rest assured that he or she will be motivated to move on to the next one skill. Gamification in training brings the methods of incentives and acknowledgment into play. It’s one thing to learn new skills and another to be acknowledged for learning it. Gamification is a great method to build competition, while employees still have the opportunity to work towards their individual goals. Leaderboards encourage healthy competition, along with learning.

#3: Use the leaderboard to track progress of learners

Humans like winning. This human trait is utilized in gamified learning. Leaderboards track individual progress and compare it with the other learners. Competition pushes each learner to top the board. Focus on the experience of the learner. The game should not be too easy, nor should it be too difficult. You need to avoid having your employees associate negatively with the gamified learning. By building varying skills levels, your employees will have fun learning and continue to progress.

#4: Let everyone know who’s the expert

Gamification is a great way to identify the individual strengths of your employees. Management teams can identify who has expert knowledge in which subject and reward them for it. This helps in identifying subject matter experts. Recognizing and developing employees is a means for increasing employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention.

#5: Break up complex processes in bite-sizes

If you are teaching a complex process, there are chances of overwhelming your employees. Gamification can help in simplifying the process to a great extent. You can break up the process and content into small chunks. Take it slow. Let the learner absorb the content level wise. They will not be intimidated if they are able to learn and digest information in small bites.

As you can see, there is much more to gamification than videogames. At Designing Digitally, Inc., we create immersive gamified learning that let your employees have fun while learning relevant skills.