Why Consider Gamification for Corporate Training?

by Kristen White Blogger Corporate training sessions can be dull and mundane especially if your training instructor proves to be particularly boring. Such training sessions often end up having the opposite effect to what they were intended to do. Instead of igniting employees’ fire towards their jobs by equipping them with new skills or refreshing already existing ones, such sessions end up further convincing employees of the draining situation that is their work. Thankfully, gamification in training and development exists to make the whole experience a more enjoyable one.



Gamification - The Definition

The term gamification is derived from the use of games in an otherwise ‘serious’ setting. Games have been known to enhance concentration and understanding. When used in corporate training, the purpose is to engage the trainees in an experiential learning process to help them retain what they learn better. Since gamification is an interactive process and a rather hands-on approach to training, when used in a corporate training set up it enhances the skill development and creates a better understanding of the task at hand. This combined with e-learning allows employees to improve their skill sets in a motivating yet self-paced environment.

The success of gamification in training is primarily a psychological factor. Whenever we take part in events we enjoy, the brain releases feel-good hormones known as dopamine. What these hormones do is they provide us with a sense of satisfaction about ourselves and the events we are currently partaking. When learning through gamification, we are presented with small challenges that you have to overcome to move to the next level. Whenever we successfully do it, feel-good hormones are released into the brain. These hormones have also been known to aid in improving concentration, keeping us motivated and aiding us in retaining and remembering these enjoyable experiences.

What Are The Benefits?

The biggest benefit of using this method of training is to keep your audience’s attention for the duration of the training. What it in turn does is allows you to have a more productive training session. From an employee perspective, gamification allows them to engage in actual world scenarios and apply their new found skills in solving the challenges these scenarios present. This experiential form of learning aids in motivating the employees to complete the challenges and reap the rewards of it. Trainees can also remember what they did, and the new skills learned better than if they just sat through a lecture.

The overall advantage is the improved productivity that is realized from this training method. If employees can remember what they learn and gain some practical experience of using their new found knowledge, then they can easily replicate the use of these skills in the workplace. The resultant effect is a more productive and super-efficient workplace.

Gamification in training and development appeals to our most basic human desire to explore, learn, and improve while adding to our achievements. While traditional methods of training may have their success stories, gamification may prove to be even better at imparting knowledge to both older and younger generations alike.

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Created on Dec 16th 2017 05:01. Viewed 409 times.

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