ELEARNING GAMIFICATION IN WORKPLACE: BENEFITS AND EXAMPLES

In recent years, the concept of "gamification" has become more popular as a vital component of content strategy. But what exactly is gamification and what value can it provide to online learning? 

We'll cover everything, including the advantages of gamification, examples of gamified learning, and the best practices of its implementation into corporate learning.

What is Gamification in eLearning?

Gamification is a simple approach with significant potential. Gamification employs game mechanics to both engage learners and promote learning through various eLearning platforms. Additional components of gamification in education include:

Gamification in online learning can be quite successful. According to research from the University of Colorado, learners who used gamification of learning performed better on tests of their skills and abilities. Utilizing gamification at work also increased retention.

In the future, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) may also become a regular part of gamification in business. These two types of gamification put the user in an entirely different place (VR) or augment their surroundings (AR) to offer just-in-time training simulations and problem-solving situations. These formats let you place users in high-stakes situations for training purposes, without worrying about their safety. Related article: Why Edutainment is an Absolute Game-changer in Learning? 

How to Use Gamification in eLearning. Best Practices

Creating a full-fledged video game is not generally the goal when it comes to gamified eLearning. It involves blending features that make games entertaining, inspiring, or informative into the learning experiences you create. The best practice for using gamification in eLearning is to include elements like:

1. Stories

To engage your users and take them on a journey, develop an engaging plot. Make a narrative that incorporates users into the action as they go through each chapter of the topic. This is a fantastic method for developing immersive content that keeps viewers interested throughout. 

2. Visual design

Aesthetically attractive designs and eye-catching graphics may increase the attraction of your eLearning and engage your audience. For a learning experience that is visually appealing, combine bright colors and visuals. Related article: The 10 Best Prototyping Tools for Designers.

3. Competition spirit

Who doesn't like some competitive spirit? To maintain high levels of motivation, allow learners to compete against other members of their team, anonymous players, or even against themselves. Think about incorporating leaderboards so students may compare their performance to others'. This works particularly well for sales representatives and high-achieving personnel who desire to keep improving.

4. Challenges

Reward your students with shorter, more frequent assignments and gradually increase the level of difficulty as the session goes on. With the knowledge they have gained along the way, they will be primed and prepared for more difficult, rewarding tasks, in addition to assisting them in getting into the flow of things.

5. Feedback

Giving learners direct feedback when they finish a task or quiz is a great method to keep them involved and motivated since it enables them to see their development as they progress through the game's stages.

Gamification eLearning Examples

Achievement badges

These badges may seem like a small accomplishment, but they provide employees recognition and respect. In addition to allowing students to feel proud of their successes, having something concrete to display may encourage them to keep improving their abilities. It represents the accomplishment of a certain skill set.

Digital badges have been produced by companies including Acclaim, Microsoft, IBM, and AGSM for users to post to social media networks like LinkedIn. Having a badge indicates that a person is an authority in their area and is seen as a reliable expert.

The language learning mobile application Duolingo has also made the challenging task of learning a new language more entertaining by giving students "Wildfire" badges. By utilizing the app three days in a row, learners may receive their first Wildfire badge. After the completion of a seven-day streak and a 14-day streak, they will receive their second and third Wildfire badges. 

Win virtual currency

Virtual currency may add some value to your training. A virtual currency offers the same exchange of time for value that motivates us to work hard in the real world in exchange for a salary. This motivates your teams to commit time to complete classes so they may collect enough points or stars to win over their coworkers, or to make good use of their virtual money to purchase a predetermined prize through your eLearning platform. Related article: AI in eLearning. The Importance of Chatbots.

At PioGroup Software, we also have our own virtual currency - Piomons. Employees can get them with the help of volunteering, some initiatives, or their own achievements. Then they can get different stuff like backpacks, cups, notebooks, etc for a certain amount of Piomons. It really motivates team members to have an active social position. 

Use of an avatar

Employees can immerse themselves into a game using an avatar. When the entire company needs to go through new training at various levels, this kind of game might be quite beneficial. Employees in customer service and call centers may gain from this strategy a comprehensive understanding of the business, its products, and its philosophy. Avatars may also be used in recruitment videos. 

Learning to code with puzzles

Demand for coding expertise is rising across numerous industries. However, learning to code might appear as frightening as learning a new language to ambitious students without any prior experience. The Grasshopper JavaScript tutorial website is intended to solve this issue.

Users of Grasshopper are expected to do a small puzzle game at the end of a course that tests the knowledge they just got. For example, after learning how to code a few basic colors, students would be challenged to put their new skills to use by sketching the French flag's red, white, and blue stripes.

However, users may easily fill in the blanks of an incomplete string by selecting the right response from a list of replies rather than having to type out the proper code from scratch. This practice helps in breaking down JavaScript into manageable building components. A challenging new skill like JavaScript may be learned in a fun and approachable way by solving puzzles. 

A story-led life-saving game

This multi-award-winning program is a great illustration of gamified eLearning. It stands out because it combines gaming elements with interesting stories and compelling characters.

This first-person game places the player in a dangerous situation where their choices might truly mean life or death. Each choice must be made within a certain amount of time, which is a standard game element but also increases the reality of the situation.

It supports multiple devices and takes advantage of its unique features. There are several gamification approaches employed; as the user advances through the scenario, levels are unlocked and each decision point turns into points to win.

Points and rewards

By assigning any quantity of points that may be provided to the user along with the badge, you can go one step further and give badges more value. These points can be used to start a rewards system or leaderboards that highlight accomplishments and foster friendly competition.

Create rewards that may be earned whenever students achieve a specific level to motivate them to earn badges and points ( gift cards, clothes, one day off, etc.). These types of rewards will increase user engagement by providing learners the chance to win real things.

When upper-level management was hesitant to begin leadership training, Deloitte gamified their program and provided badges and certificates to encourage them. Training completion and engagement went up by more than 50%. Related article: What is the Price of not Providing Employee Training?

Test your learner’s sequencing knowledge

Reordering or sequencing games that evaluate learners' conceptual comprehension of a process flow are another forms of eLearning gamification. This is crucial for manufacturing, cashier training, basic safety training, and other industries. To guarantee that your learners are prepared to respond quickly and effectively to what they encounter throughout their work hours, reinforce each stage of the learning process using a timed game.

Gamification makes learning and knowledge retention faster and more enjoyable for people of all ages. Check out how your mobile applications employ gamification elements the next time you're on it for a more engaging and valuable experience.

Team leaderboard

The users with the most points on the platform are shown in leaderboards. You may assign badges to various leaderboard places and promote internal competitions by designing badges with various scores or points connected with them.

With the use of leaderboards, students may fight for the top place in each training module. This is ideal for positions or teams that are naturally competitive, such as those in sales, recruiting, or even in the medical sector where teams strive to be the best of the best for either bragging rights or a prize.

Leaderboards were successfully incorporated by luxury retail company Dunhill as part of their eLearning gamification strategy. With a clear examination of participation, completion rates, and everything in between, it makes it simple to categorize employees into structured groups.

Benefits of Gamification in eLearning

It should be obvious at this point that gamification of learning programs at work has a number of advantages. But to review them, here are the top benefits of eLearning gamification:

Gamification makes learning more fun

You may eliminate any anxiety that is associated with learning a new skill by presenting your eLearning course as an entertaining activity rather than as an additional task on someone's to-do list. Gamification can assist in reducing any pressure to deliver error-free results and instead encourage learners to give it their best effort, even when the stakes for passing or failing the course could be considerable.

Gamified learning increases motivation to learn

A course may be presented as an opportunity to have fun at work through gamification in addition to making learning more approachable. As we've already discussed, leaderboards or scoreboards may increase a feeling of friendly competition among coworkers, enticing staff members to do well on the course only for amusement's sake. Learning may change from something individuals must do to something they want to do when it feels less like work and more like entertainment.

Gamification improves your eLearning content’s user experience

Finally, when implemented properly, gamification may improve the user experience of your eLearning materials. Instead of having students simply absorb the information, provide them with opportunities to engage with the course content, which will increase their likelihood of doing so and help them create meaningful learnings.

Encourages active and continuous learning

By giving students a variety of opportunities to engage with the material, gamification encourages them to participate actively in their education. Learners may evaluate their understanding as they go and receive immediate feedback, as compared to passively taking in the material.

Gamification's competitive component can motivate users to improve on their performance or advance to new levels, which encourages continual learning. Users are also more inclined to return to a module if they believe they can score higher, which increases the likelihood that they will remember the material after constant exposure. Related article: The 13 most important advantages of corporate eLearning. 

Improves productivity

Employee engagement may be increased by adding gamified components to your eLearning, which will allow them to complete more information faster. For example, students can complete three 10-minute tests instead of watching a 30-minute training video. According to research, 89% of participants would be happier at work and more productive if their work provided more fun.

Allows companies to collect performance data

Gamified assessments may be used by L&D teams to learn more about how well people are doing and to identify ideas or subjects they may require more training on. This can assist in identifying areas where current modules could require modification and provide information for future eLearning materials.

How to Use Gamification in eLearning and Corporate Training

Gamification is also useful for learning and growth. For ideas for your own program, consider the following examples of gamification in corporate training:

Earning badges for professional skills training

As previously mentioned, gamified assessments help alleviate the stress associated with learning a new skill. When creating an online course to teach your employees new professional skills, think about using badges to reward your learners for reaching their goals. This not only provides workers a fun method to represent their successes but also gives them something to be proud of once they finish a course.

Employee onboarding missions

Significant amounts of corporate information are frequently included in employee onboarding programs, making it difficult for new workers to process it all at once. Consider making them several onboarding "missions" to accomplish rather than many online courses for them to finish.

For instance, new members could start their first mission within their first week by completing online training on business regulations. After a month, their second task may be to finish a course on getting to know the organization's important players. You may provide badges as rewards for completing each objective, making the goal to obtain every badge available in the onboarding program.

Simulations for compliance training

Even something as formal as required compliance training may be made more engaging with gamification. Consider putting learners through simulations where they must make decisions based on the company's code of ethics to enhance engagement with the material. A scoreboard that shows how many questions they've answered correctly might serve as a further incentive to complete the course.

Conclusion

The majority of our activities are now gamified thanks to technology. We continuously receive recognition and benefits for everything we do, from dining out and shopping to exercising and ride-sharing. Because we already know what works, there is no need to create the wheel, which is advantageous for those working in the learning and development industry. Related article: How to Find App Developer for Your Business Requirements.

By gamifying the learning process with badges, points, prizes, competitions, and leaderboards, you can keep your students interested and satisfied while also keeping them in friendly competition.

The most effective learning occurs when you are not even aware that you are doing it. You'll see an increase in retention when your learners are happy with their use of your platform and return frequently.