Ninety percent of C-suite executives say their company accounts for employees’ needs when they bring new technology into the fold, but only slightly over half of workers agree. At the same time, it is obvious that introducing a range of different tools into the workplace is critical for streamlining workflows, increasing productivity, and standing out from the competition. That’s why many businesses, from Google to Walmart to Domino’s, have begun incorporating gamification into their training and learning initiatives. Through this gamified approach, you can onboard employees with new technologies through engaging exercises. And this approach is clearly paying off. According to a TalentLMS survey, 83% of individuals who received gamified training said they felt more motivated.
7 Benefits of using a gamified approach
Greater motivation is just one of the many advantages your business and employees will enjoy when you apply a gamified approach to training workers on how to leverage new tools and technologies. Here are several others:
1. You can improve security
Employees are responsible for 40% of IT security breaches. In large part, we can surmise, this happens because they aren’t using technology properly. While many employee technology training programs cover cybersecurity and associated risk, attendees often don’t pay attention or understand why this matters and how important it is.
When you gamify your approach, you can emphasize cybersecurity risks and what employees need to do to protect themselves and the larger company. Participants are more likely to absorb the material when the content is engaging and fun. That way, it motivates them to take stock of threats and be wary of what they’re doing online.
2. You will engage multiple generations of workers
Gamification approaches apply across the working generations — from Gen Z to Baby Boomers. Because businesses need to account for multiple ages and demographics, they must try out more innovative, approachable, easy-to-use, and effective tactics.
Gaming models will challenge the employees — but in a way that motivates them, rather than discourages them from learning. Even those who don’t consider themselves digitally savvy will be better equipped to engage with the material and remember it later on.
3. Strengthen teamwork
Many gamified technology training approaches involve teamwork and interactions with colleagues to advance to new levels and/or earn points. This will require employees to work together to come up with solutions and learn new concepts. At the same time, this will strengthen team bonds and encourage colleagues to get to know one another at deeper levels.
This idea is pervasive across remote, in-person, and hybrid work models. Regardless of the environment, team members collaborate and solve problems together.
4. Incentivize productivity
When training is creative and engaging, employees will hardly realize that they are actually working. The best and most productive type of work is the kind that doesn’t feel like work at all. And when employees are tasked with using the new tools and technologies that you’re introducing to them in real life — as in, on the job — they will naturally be more efficient when applying them to their daily workflows.
5. Account for multiple learning styles
Too often, training seminars are geared toward one specific learning style or approach. Unfortunately, people learn in many different ways, so this isn’t the best fit for all of your employees. While the idea that people solely adhere to one specific learning style, such as auditory or visual, has been widely debunked, the fact remains that people still absorb content in diverse ways.
Gamified training techniques can consider the many different learning styles , appealing to a wide range of educational needs, thereby reaching all your employees, not just the ones who learn best according to the traditional presentation approach.
6. Personalize the process
Many gamification techniques allow learners to work at their own pace. For example, once they complete a certain “level,” they can advance to the next one. This gives them autonomy, and they will feel like you geared the lessons toward them and their unique needs.
That’s not to say you should do gamified training in isolation. As we have underscored, teamwork is also part of the process, and it’s really the best of both worlds — personalized and collaborative.
7. Encourage creativity
Creativity is central to any gamification approach. An innovative training method will also spark creativity in your employees, encouraging them to think outside the box. It will prompt them to consider different ways they might apply these new tools and how they will augment, rather than detract, from their workflows.
This is the ultimate goal — you want your employees to be excited about the technologies you’re introducing. It will better equip them to use them successfully in their work.
How would gamified training work?
Gamifying training can take several different forms. It could involve competition, in which you award prizes to employees for being particularly efficient or demonstrating a high level of mastery. Prizes might include extra paid time off, a free lunch, a gift certificate, or company swag.
Interactive training sessions can also be a form of gamification. Perhaps participants will accrue points for correct responses to questions, encouraging them to pay attention and engage with their learning. Or, they might complete different levels in a group or individual setting.
Take into account what you know about your team members and their unique needs. This will allow you to devise a customized gamified approach to enhancing your training sessions — bringing them leagues beyond the traditional, boring, rote seminars and making learning far more exciting for everyone. In turn, employees are more likely to understand and remember how to use the critical technologies you’re introducing into your company.
