How Businesses Are Using Gamification For Employee Training
Over the last decade, corporations have been more than willing to spend significant amounts of money on employee development. At one point, the investments in workplace training reached more than $370 billion per year. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that training was effective, nor that it kept the employees engaged and provided them with meaningful knowledge. A study by Harvard Business Review revealed that more than 75% of managers are dissatisfied with training and development programs in their companies. This just goes to show that traditional training methods should be tweaked and improved if companies are aiming to deliver a better learning experience and higher employee engagement, which can lead to productivity and success. One effective way to do so is by integrating gaming into employee training and development.
Training Gamification Creates Happy and Satisfied Workers
Many companies, including some of the major global corporations, discovered that the solution lies in the gamification of employee development. Gaming mechanics in the workplace environment not only improves learning and adoption of new skills but also makes employees more motivated and increases job satisfaction. Studies have shown that using games for the training process helps release neurotransmitters such as endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin which enhance feelings of happiness and positivity. This ensures that employees are proactive, engaged, and excited to learn during the training sessions.
How Gamification Benefits Employee Development
Besides keeping workers invested in their own development, gamification provides numerous other benefits. Using strategies such as point systems, badges, or leaderboards give employees more individual control over their personal growth. These features also encourage knowledge sharing and promote community engagement. Also, gamification has a universal appeal that applies across all ages, genders, or education groups, ensuring that no one feels left behind in the training process. What was once boring or routine training becomes a fun and exciting experience, even when it comes to usually dull compliance, safety, or legal procedures. As learning occurs through various experiences and events, knowledge retention is much higher, and newly acquired skills tend to "stick" longer. Ultimately, all this leads to better efficiency and productivity during everyday tasks. Gamified training is also a great way to get new employees onboard and up to speed with what's expected of them.
Successful Implementations of Gamification in Corporate Training
Proof that gamification works not only in theory but also in real life comes from some of the world's leading companies. Many of them have already successfully implemented this training strategy. In 2015, the pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca, started a new training program called "Go to Jupiter" that heavily leans on gamification strategies. The program is used to train the new sales staff. Through a series of quizzes and mini-games, employees learn about the new products while earning their spots on leaderboards and engaging in team competitions. The results were quite impressive. Learner engagement on the platform was at 97%, while 95% of trainees successfully completed the program.
Meanwhile, Deloitte used gamification to improve their leadership academy and help their senior execs develop soft skills. Gamification elements were supposed to motivate senior staff members who are usually reluctant to join the development process. During the training, participants are free to explore various training areas and establish their own individual goals. At the same time, they receive badges for their accomplishments which put them on the leaderboards in 10 different training categories. Gamifying the training cut the time needed to complete the program by 50%, and Deloitte saw a 47% increase in the number of users returning to the platform each week.
Gamification is the Way Forward
In the modern workplace, the traditional approaches to employee development fail to produce satisfactory results. This is especially the case with younger people who are just entering the workforce. It's a fact that training can be often boring and grueling. However, gaming is the exact opposite. Applying the gaming concepts to training can change employees' attitudes toward these tedious tasks, ease the learning process, and motivate them to perform better. The real-life gamification implementations have proven that it's sustainable and that it works. It cuts training costs, saves time, and allows companies to easily manage change. Efficient and engaging training is the easiest way for the business to grow from within and remain competitive.