8 Ways Gamification Can Boost a Learning and Development Program

Providing employees with a long and rewarding career is possible by offering them continuous learning opportunities through a valuable learning experience. While most employers focus on constant learning, they often forget to add elements that make corporate learning more engaging and valuable for learners.

Gamification is an effective strategy that allows employers to take their learning and development (L&D) programs to a new level. Over the years, this strategy has helped deliver exceptional learning experiences by improving learner engagement. This article will discuss some of the most effective ways to incorporate gamification in your L&D programs.

What Is Gamification?

Gamification is a strategy organizations use to introduce gaming elements like competitiveness to their L&D programs. The goal is to encourage learners to be more involved in learning.

Even though gaming elements are involved in this strategy, it is nothing like playing video games. This approach aims to reframe how people view L&D programs by putting the learner at the center of the overall process.

How to Effectively Gamify an L&D Program

For decades, organizations have used gamification to boost learner engagement. However, they have more opportunities to gamify their training programs thanks to digitization.

• Make Onboarding More Interesting

When you recruit a person into the organization, you want them to realize that this is a great place to work as soon as possible. You need to take all the necessary measures to make them feel engaged and encouraged from the very beginning. Gamification of the recruit training program is a great way to achieve that goal.

Try to make the training program more interesting for them by adding a point system to training quizzes. If the training tests are competitive, these new employees will be engrossed in the program from the first day. You can even introduce an interactive onboarding video with the help of VR technology to make it way more interesting.

• Introduce Avatar Login Features

If your learning platform uses a simple login feature, consider using personalized avatars for everyone who logs in. You can take inspiration from all the popular games, like Fortnite if you need clarification about the avatar part. This gamification may not impact the training material, but it can make the experience more interesting for the learners.

You can allow the learners to pick from an inventory of customizable avatars. Also, you can enable the team login function, allowing them to get all the news and updates regarding their teams in one place. This may boost camaraderie among teammates.

• Improve the Learning Platform

Unfortunately, some organizations realize they need to train their employees at the eleventh hour. If you launch a product in three days, you cannot expect the sales team to learn about it now and perform well. This is why you need to make your learning platform more organized.

Make it a norm for every team to visit the online learning platform and check if a training program is available. Add more features like deadlines or appointment reminders to the platform for more engagement. This way, they can attend all training programs meant for them.

• Provide Feedback Regularly

If you still follow the conventional format of offering feedback at the end of the training program, you should consider changing it. To incorporate gamification elements into the course, you must provide participants with feedback throughout the period. This will help the learners overcome individual shortcomings and ensure they are learning as they progress through the program.

Also, regular feedback sessions allow them to prepare for more complex topics later in the course. Learners who get feedback on simpler concepts incorporate the necessary changes. It allows them to build on that knowledge as they progress.

• Modify the Format of Complex Lessons

Instead of presenting the learners with an entire course of complex lessons, it is better to break that course down into small training modules. You can compare it to a video game, where you complete several stages to win. While the overall goal of the course remains the same, the smaller modules make it easier for the learners to digest the information.

To ensure the learners have retained the information from the course, you can introduce individual exercises based on the training material. You can even allow them to accumulate points once they pass the evaluation and move to the next level. Give out some rewards when a person accumulates a certain amount of points.

• Encourage Interactions on the Platform

Rewards and recognition during the appraisal process generally encourage employees to perform better. It can similarly impact learners when you reward them for their learning achievements. If an employee helps fellow learners understand certain lessons or adds more value to the course with some input, they should be rewarded.

While you can offer rare badges to the over-achievers, you may also consider gifting a few vouchers for their contribution. This will not only breed healthier competition among the team members but also encourage more involvement from the learners.

• Introduce Peer-focused Approach

You will be surprised to know how feedback from a peer makes more impact on a learner than getting it from the instructor. A peer-focused approach can be more effective in an L&D program at an organization. This form of gamification in training creates an even playing field for those giving and receiving feedback.

Since the feedback comes from another learner, it becomes easier for the recipient to work on the issue and improve themselves. As mentioned earlier, if you reward the efforts of the learners to help a peer, it will motivate others to be involved in more such positive activities.

• Communicate What the Training Program Is About

When you introduce a training program for the employees, you must ensure they know what to expect. Always communicate your training plan with the people who are going to attend the training. You can gamify the announcement, allowing the learners to unlock chests to learn more about the training from a scroll.

If you are already implementing the idea of breaking down the training program into several modules, implementing the announcement through gamified options will be easier. This creates anticipation among the learners and keeps them engaged throughout the course.

Conclusion

Corporate training does not have to be boring. With a proper gamification approach, you can make your learning and development programs more engaging for team members. If you look at the ideas suggested in this article, you may find that they are pretty easy to implement. Even if some require a certain investment level, the results will be overwhelmingly positive.