Gamification Enters New Era In E-Learning World

Employee learning and development are deemed critical for the growth of any modern-day organisation. Across the globe, enterprises are exploring different pathways using digital learning modules that deploy training in an impactful manner. Certainly, today’s new-age employees do not wish to be trained the traditional way. Watching those lengthy training videos or listening to elaborate training gyaan doesn’t capture the pulse of modern learners anymore. To them, learning must be engaging, absorbing and effective for their role. According to a research report, training and development opportunities influence the decision of 70 per cent of employees, whether to stay with an organisation or not. This is where gamification comes into the picture.

A New Era For Gamification

A strong-growing trend in eLearning, gamification primarily refers to the application of game-based elements and techniques to an eLearning program, to make it smarter and goal-oriented. Simply put, it is a distinct learning process, wherein the employees partake in specially curated games to understand the diverse needs, functions and offerings of the company. As they effectively engage with the course content, they are able to draw out learnings quickly, in a more interactive and playful manner. Moreover, gamification boosts the level of learning retention and even triggers the learners’ motivation to learn.  As per a recent study, 80 per cent of the learners feel that eLearning gamification is highly productive, whereas 67 per cent of them feel motivated to learn through a gamified programme.

Incentivisation: A Strong Perk

Who doesn’t like undertaking challenges or completing tasks in exchange for rewards? Well, we all do. Gamification incentivises workers in myriad different ways. Employees are duly rewarded for all their achievements, which could mean completing a particular level, task, multiple-choice questions, etc. Participants feel challenged and thrilled to complete the assigned activities in time or are perhaps motivated to perform better than their colleagues. The eagerness to participate is certainly high in gamification scenarios. Thus, both, recognition and competition, work as two key driving forces here. With the learners’ focus in place, their chances to absorb the information presented also increase. 

The Design

The primary aim of gamification is to enhance the overall teaching process. However, in order to derive maximum value through gamified eLearning, the design of the course content plays a key role. Below mentioned are a few key principles which must be followed while designing the content for gamification:

1. Define and know your target audience– Define your set of learners and understand their specific goals, aptitudes, behavioural patterns, etc in order to create relevant targeted content.
2. Follow a result-oriented approach – Do not plainly build content for entertainment purposes. Clearly outline what you want to achieve through the gamified eLearning platform, and accordingly design content that would help you achieve your training goals. 
3. Focus on behaviours that drive performance– Certain employee behaviours are necessary to trigger high-performance levels. Focus on these particular behaviours and include these in the course design.
4. Use engaging learning techniques– The key idea of gamification is to foster the highest level of employee engagement. Therefore, employthose techniques which could hold the learner'sattention span. 

Needless to say, gamification has emerged as a strong tool for companies to effectively train and retain their workforce.  Especially with the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, the role of Gamification in corporate eLearning has rapidly evolved. Maintaining the engagement levels of a decentralised workforce has been a key challenge for HR professionals worldwide. However, with gamification, these training worries can be set aside. Looking ahead, it would be right to say that gamification would transform the face of employee engagement in times to come.

Gamified eLearning is training done effectively, engagingly meeting set outcomes. 

Prasoon Nigam

Guest Author The author is CTO & Co-founder, Stratbeans