Gamification in Employee Training: Making Learning Effective

In a world where the corporate ecosystem is continually evolving, the integration of innovative learning methodologies is becoming crucial, especially in the sphere of human resource management (HRM). 

In the era of digital transformation, employee training has evolved significantly. One of the most innovative approaches to enhance engagement and motivation is gamification. By incorporating game design elements into training programs, companies can create a more interactive and enjoyable learning experience.

This article delves into the benefits, best practices, and real-world applications of gamification in employee training, backed by recent studies and expert insights. We take a close look at the role, benefits, and practical applications of gamification in employee training and understand how it makes professionals well-equipped to meet the dynamic challenges of the modern HR landscape.

What is gamification?

Gamification is not just about adding points and badges; it’s about creating an environment where employees feel engaged, motivated, and challenged.

Gamification is the strategic integration of game mechanics and dynamics in non-game contexts. It serves to boost engagement, strengthen information retention, and elevate user experience, ultimately fostering a progressive learning environment.

In the context of corporate training, gamification is a multidimensional tool designed to revitalize and enrich the learning experience. It involves applying game-design elements such as progress bars, points, badges, and leaderboards, to learning scenarios, transforming them into interactive and engaging experiences. These elements make learning enjoyable and also serve to fuel motivation and enhance the effectiveness of the learning process. 

Why gamification in employee training is important?

A study by Harvard Business School titled ‘Learning or Playing? The Effect of Gamified Training on Performance’ scrutinizes the influence of gamified training on performance outcomes, revealing a notably positive correlation between gamified training platforms and performance. The findings of this study suggest that the merits of gamified training are considerably amplified when there is heightened employee engagement and active participation from leaders within the organization.

Another research endeavor undertaken at the multinational professional services network KPMG echoed similar findings. This study showed that the implementation of a gamified training tool called KPMG Globerunner helped augment awareness and comprehension of the firm’s products and services among employees. It also enabled them to discern business opportunities more effectively. 

The app, integral to onboarding sessions and voluntarily accessible to both new and current employees, painted KPMG as an innovative workplace, with 89% of the participants crediting the app for imbuing a positive impression of the firm. Another 83% of users found using the KPMG Globerunner app enjoyable. 

These key findings from KPMG underscore how gamified learning tools can light up even the driest topics, enhancing employee confidence and awareness. They highlight the universal appeal and efficacy of well-aligned motivational tools across various staff gradings. 

These two examples highlight the transformative impact of gamification. They show how it can turn learning scenarios into dynamic experiences, reinforcing the importance of alignment between motivation, design, and leadership in realizing the full potential of corporate training.

How do you gamify your training?

• Leaderboards: They promote friendly competition by showing employees how they compare to others, motivating them to put more effort into tasks. You can create a weekly leaderboard displaying the top performers in different training modules, with rewards for those who top the list.
• Badges: Typically issued when an employee accomplishes a task, badges boost confidence and serve as extrinsic motivation. For example, you can award a ‘Problem Solver’ badge to employees who complete challenging tasks or scenarios in the training.
• Points: Employees can be set up to earn points for completing activities or contributing, offering measurable displays of accomplishments. Allocate points for every training activity completed and let employees redeem points for rewards like premier parking or a bonus.
• Progress Bars: Visually display the portion of the course completed, boosting training completion rates. To make it engaging, you can Include animated progress bars in each module to visually depict the learner’s journey and the remaining path.
• Goal-oriented Challenges: Test the knowledge of employees and re-engage them by introducing challenges once they feel they’ve covered all there is to learn. Initiate timed quizzes at the end of each section to challenge employees to apply what they’ve learned.
• Rapid Feedback: Instant feedback provides an immediate response to the trainee’s actions, enhancing learning through immediate reinforcement or correction. To inculcate this, implement instant response mechanisms after each answer in a quiz, informing them whether they are right or wrong and providing corrective feedback if needed.
• Collaboration Tasks: This allows employees to work cooperatively, each bringing unique skills and ideas to solve problems or perform tasks. You can form groups for team-based projects or problem-solving activities, allowing them to learn from each other’s perspectives and experiences.

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Best practices for implementing gamification

Successfully integrating gamification in employee training into corporate training requires careful planning and execution. Here are some best practices to follow:

1. Identify learning objectives and understand your audience

Before implementing gamification, it is crucial to define clear learning objectives. Understanding what you want employees to learn ensures that the gamified elements align with these goals. Use a SMART goals framework to create goals based on five criteria areas – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, enabling employees to achieve personal goals and OKRs based on clearly defined objectives.

2. Insert gamification into existing training programs

Instead of creating new training programs from scratch, integrate gamification elements into existing courses. This involves adding quizzes, interactive leaderboards, or point-based systems to the current content to increase engagement. For instance, Deloitte’s leadership training program transformed its approach by introducing badges, leaderboards, and status symbols, leading to remarkable results, including a 50% faster completion time for the training curriculum.

3. Develop multiple, role-based learning challenges

Create role-specific gamified challenges to ensure relevance and engagement in employee training. Different roles might require different skill sets, and gamification must reflect this diversity. Incorporating multiple levels or paths in the training allows learners to progress at their own pace and choose paths relevant to their roles and interests. This approach caters to varying levels of expertise, making training inclusive for all proficiency levels.

Considerations in Gamification

When implementing gamification, careful considerations are essential to ensure the effectiveness and integrity of the learning experience. 

Here’s what you need to keep in mind:

• Strategic Planning: It is crucial to avoid incentivizing wrong behaviors or encouraging excessive competition. The emphasis should be on learning, not just on earning points or badges. This ensures that the competitiveness induced by gamification serves the learning process rather than detracting from the essence and purpose of the training program.
• Focus on Learning Objectives: If gamification overshadows learning objectives, there’s a potential that employees could view the gamified elements as distractions or as attempts to control their learning experience. This can hinder the achievement of intended learning outcomes. A well-balanced integration of gamification with a clear emphasis on learning goals is essential to ensure that the training remains focused, meaningful, and effective.

Top HR trends to focus

Benefits of gamification in employee training

Gamification has been shown to significantly enhance employee engagement and knowledge retention. According to a study by Buell, Cai, and Sandino, gamified training can increase employee performance by up to 40% and improve knowledge retention by 40%.

Enhanced employee engagement

Gamification leverages the competitive nature of employees to increase participation and retention. By introducing points, badges, and leaderboards, companies can create a sense of achievement and progress, which is particularly effective in compliance training modules. For instance, a compliance training module could use leaderboards to track employee performance, making the learning process more interactive and memorable.

Improved knowledge retention

Gamified eLearning enables employees to retain more of what they learn. The interactive elements in gamification help reinforce newly learned knowledge, ensuring maximum learning retention. For example, Domino’s Pizza’s gamified training program, Pizza Hero, allowed employees to practice their pizza-making skills in a low-pressure, engaging environment, leading to better-prepared employees and higher-quality customer service.

Here are some other benefits of incorporating gamification into training programs:

• Interactive Learning: Gamification instills an interactive learning environment where employees actively participate and engage with the content, making the learning process more enjoyable and effective.
• Motivation Boost: Competitive elements in gamification such as leaderboards and points serve to boost employee motivation and encourage continuous participation and learning.
• Target Achievement: Setting clear and attainable learning objectives within gamified elements helps employees focus on achieving their learning goals, leading to improved employee performance and productivity. 
• Problem Solving: Gamification challenges employees by presenting scenarios that require creative problem-solving skills, fostering innovation and critical thinking.
• Collaborative Learning: Team-based gamified tasks encourage collaboration and collective problem-solving, enhancing the sharing of knowledge and ideas and promoting a creative learning environment.
• Performance Analytics: Gamified platforms provide detailed analytics on employee performance and engagement, offering insights that can be used to refine training programs and address areas of improvement.
• Customization: The data generated from gamified learning allows for customization of training content to meet individual learning needs and preferences, enhancing the overall effectiveness of training programs.

Embracing Innovation

The seamless integration of gamification within employee training modules is vital to fostering a more dynamic, interactive, and efficient learning environment. It serves to enrich learning experiences, bolster employee engagement, and enhance information retention, thereby elevating organizational performance and productivity. 

As we journey through the transformative arenas of Human Resource Management, the adoption and implementation of such innovative learning methodologies are paramount for HR professionals aspiring to stay abreast of industry advancements. It emphasizes the ever-evolving nature of the landscape, necessitating continuous learning and adaptation to new and effective training strategies.

Real-world applications: Case studies

Gamification in corporate training has been successfully implemented across various industries. Here are some detailed case studies that highlight its effectiveness:

Domino’s pizza hero

Domino’s Pizza took an innovative approach to employee training with their gamified app, Pizza Hero. This app simulates the pizza-making process, allowing new employees to practice their skills in a low-pressure, engaging environment. The outcomes were significant, including reduced onboarding time, improved team performance, and better-prepared employees. The app also offered real job opportunities to top performers, with over 300,000 downloads and nearly 800 employees getting hired based on their performance in the game.

SAP’s gamified onboarding

SAP, a global leader in enterprise software, introduced gamification to their employee onboarding process with remarkable results. The gamified system reduced training time by 50% and decreased turnover rates among new hires by 25%. This case study underscores the importance of tracking success metrics like time efficiency and staff retention when implementing gamification in corporate training.

Scenario-based drive-thru gamified training

A US-based fast-food chain used Harbinger’s scenario-based gamification solution to train their staff. The game provided real-life experiences at a drive-thru counter and focused on the following learning objectives: demonstrating the sequence of the drive-thru service, recalling guidelines for a WOW service, and illustrating how to use the H.E.A.T steps to resolve customer complaints. The gamified training was fun, simple, engaging, and motivating, helping the workforce execute the brand standards at a higher level.

Key takeaways on gamification in employee training

Enhanced Employee Engagement: Gamification increases employee participation and retention by leveraging competitive elements like points, badges, and leaderboards.

Improved Knowledge Retention: Interactive elements in gamification help reinforce newly learned knowledge, ensuring maximum learning retention.

Inclusive Training: Role-specific gamified challenges cater to varying levels of expertise, making training inclusive for all proficiency levels.

Conclusion

Gamification has revolutionized the way companies approach employee training. By enhancing engagement, improving knowledge retention, and fostering a culture of continuous learning, gamification is a strategic tool for any organization looking to improve its training programs.

To successfully integrate gamification into your corporate training program, follow these best practices: define clear learning objectives, integrate gamification elements into existing courses, and develop multiple, role-based learning challenges. By doing so, you can create an engaging and effective training environment that motivates employees to achieve their best.

If you are planning to start your career in HR management, a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in business administration or a similar field is essential. If your degree is in a different field, enrolling in a Master’s program in HR can help you meet the eligibility requirements and acquire the necessary knowledge. 

If you are working full-time and aspire to venture into HR management, consider opting for a 1-year Executive MBA in HR management from Eaton Business School.

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