Gamified Training: An Infallible Way For Employee Engagement Gamification not only makes the learning journey more fun but also increases retention of newly earned skills.

We all grew up playing games and love to enjoy the nostalgia. Therefore, when the call is to play a game, we immediately roll up our sleeves. Gamified training in business is all about creating an environment where people learn through friendly competitions. They can be given ambitious goals and objectives and need to find their way in a game. The rewards that come with their performance in these games are a big motivation.

With the increased sophistication in smartphone technology and higher internet penetration, people stay connected and play games more than ever before. Therefore, gamification is a natural fit into the worlds of many employees. It can make them more engaged and productive in a fun, easy, and accessible way.

How Technology Simplifies Gamification

Gamification is all about finding the sweet spot between a business goal and the spirit of a team game. It breaks down complex projects into simple tasks that the human brain can learn and imbibe over time, without as much stress or fatigue. With the help of technology, we can take a game to every relevant employee in the company, at a nominal cost. They can also transparently see the performance of everyone, be it a competitor or their teammate. Instant rewards are also a big plus.

As employees learn new skills, behaviors, and ways of solving problems, they further understand the power of these games. At the same time, a consistent positive feedback mechanism keeps the employees motivated. It also taps into the brain's ancestral status and power reward system. In other words, people are regularly re-motivated at each new level of reward.

Social Aspect of Gamification

Games have a social aspect too. People like to move up in life and narrate their social status. This aspect makes the game more valuable as it motivates others to work harder to achieve a higher status, where they see others. To achieve this, they collaborate with like-minded people, understand the areas where they need to improve and invest their time and energy to do so. Isn't it exactly what any corporate wants to achieve through its training programs?

Gamified learning can be applied to almost every business function, be it sales and marketing, product designing, business strategy, inventory management, security or something else. At a time when businesses are finding it challenging to crack the code of engaging a multi-generation and multi-demographics workforce, traditional approaches to onboarding and training can be ineffective. Using the principles of gamification not only makes the learning journey more fun, but also increases the retention of these newly earned skills.

Whether business leaders are looking for new employees to speed up or helping them add a new skill, such as a second language, gamification can fast track the journey and keep employees engaged. Perhaps, this is the reason gamification is increasingly becoming a mainstream approach for corporate training and development programs. Moreover, in the days to come, technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality will take the experience of gamified training programs to a completely different level. The game has just begun.