If the idea of gaming at work conjures images of isolated employees hunkering over their laptops and secretly playing Minecraft in their cubicles—think again. Gamification training, or the use of game play elements in a learning experience, is one of the hottest trends in corporate training.
Why Gamification Belongs in eLearning
Here are some of the reasons why gamification is a great tool for online learning:
Cognitive relief. Brains love to multitask, but multitasking can hurt training efforts. Games direct attention to one task at a time, which increases focus and reduces the cognitive load on the brain.
Motivation. Because gamification rewards learners and challenges them to keep going, they are motivated to improve and/or beat the competition. According to Zippia, gamification can increase learner motivation and engagement by up to 48%.
Engaged learners. The key to engagement is variety and interaction. Gamification is a small slice of the eLearning pie along with storytelling, scenarios, audio, video, graphics, and social learning.
Learner autonomy. Gamification allows individuals to learn at their own pace and level as well as tapping into intrinsic motivators like competition, improvement, and completion.
Instant feedback. Games provide feedback as players demonstrate their mastery. If they do well, it’s on to the next level; if not, they get another chance to see what they missed.
Social learning. Friendly competition and collaboration allow learners to forge new connections. A 2020 article in Educational Psychology Review found that learners respond positively to mild social pressure when they are competing with members of a community.
Emotional connection. Gamification often uses storytelling to help learners apply what they’ve experienced in simulated situations, which creates an emotional connection (and, in turn, stronger neural connections).
Meaningful goals. Leveling up and completing games gives learners meaningful, tangible goals to work toward.
Core Gamification Principles for eLearning Designers
It sounds like a no-brainer: Getting learners excited about training and development by throwing in a game-based element. But just because you offer something other than PowerPoint doesn’t automatically mean gamification will be a success.
Just like any other training method, learners can lose motivation, and you could end up shelving your efforts. Want to avoid a total game-over scenario? Make sure these three common mistakes are out of your design.
Avoid the leaderboard blues
Imagine this: You launch a gamified training program with a company-wide leaderboard. At first, there’s a flurry of activity. But soon, the same names dominate the top, while others lose interest entirely. Why? Because long-term, organization-wide competitions can be demotivating for those who fall behind.
Short, focused competitions with rotating leaderboards are the way to go! This approach keeps everyone engaged by offering achievable goals and a chance to shine.
Keep it fresh! Short competitions with different focuses will cater to a wider range of learners and keep things exciting.
Don’t let learners quest in vain
Have you ever started a game with unclear objectives or confusing rewards? It’s not fun, is it? The same goes for gamified training. Without clear goals (like target scores or desired outcomes) and enticing rewards (badges, prizes, etc.), learners can quickly lose their motivation.
Don’t leave your learners wandering in a fog! Clearly define goals and rewards during the planning stage of your gamified training. This ensures everyone understands what they’re working towards and how they’ll be recognized for their achievements.
Align rewards with your goals! A badge for completing a module keeps them on track, while a bonus for a high score incentivizes mastery. Make sure the rewards are relevant and exciting!
Don’t prioritize fun at the expense of learning
We all love a good game, but gamification shouldn’t come at the expense of actual learning. If your learners feel like they’re playing a game with little connection to the training objectives, they’ll likely ditch it for something more conventional.
Gamification should enhance learning, not replace it. When designing your program, ensure the game mechanics and elements directly connect to the training goals.
Respect their time! A well-designed game should effectively teach while keeping them engaged. Don’t add unnecessary complexity or fluff that distracts from the learning objectives.
When Gamification Works—and When It Doesn’t
Gamification isn’t a magic bullet for every training challenge. While its potential to boost engagement and retention is undeniable, it’s crucial to understand where it truly shines and where it might fall flat.
When Gamification Works Best:
Gamification thrives when it’s thoughtfully integrated into learning objectives, aligning with specific goals and learner needs.
- Complex or Dry Subject Matter: Gamification can inject life into topics that are often perceived as boring or difficult. Think compliance training, technical procedures, or extensive product knowledge. By transforming these subjects into interactive challenges, learners are more likely to stay engaged and absorb the information.
- Skill Development and Application: When the goal is to develop specific skills or allow learners to practice applying knowledge in a safe environment, gamification excels. Simulations, scenario-based games, and interactive decision trees provide opportunities for learners to make choices and experience consequences, leading to deeper understanding and skill mastery.
- Onboarding and New Hire Training: Gamified onboarding can make the initial days for new employees exciting and informative. It helps them quickly grasp company culture, policies, and systems, fostering a sense of belonging and confidence from day one.
- Reinforcing Knowledge and Retention: Regular quizzes, challenges, and spaced repetition delivered through game mechanics can significantly improve knowledge retention over time. The competitive or exploratory nature of games encourages learners to revisit content and solidify their understanding.
- Large, Geographically Dispersed Audiences: For organizations with a global workforce or a high volume of learners, gamification provides a scalable and consistent training solution. As seen with Sony Music, it can overcome logistical challenges and deliver uniform learning experiences.
- Fostering Collaboration and Teamwork: Games designed with cooperative elements can promote communication and teamwork among learners. Challenges that require group solutions or shared progress can build stronger bonds and a sense of collective achievement.
When Gamification Might Not Be the Best Fit:
Not every learning scenario benefits from a gamified approach. Sometimes, traditional methods or different interactive strategies are more effective.
- Highly Sensitive or Emotional Topics (without careful design): While gamification can work for sensitive topics like D&I (as demonstrated by Omnicom), it requires incredibly thoughtful and empathetic design. A poorly conceived game for such subjects can trivialize the content or lead to unintended negative reactions.
- Content Requiring Deep Reflection or Uninterrupted Focus: Some learning objectives, such as complex strategic planning or highly nuanced ethical discussions, may require an environment conducive to deep, uninterrupted thought rather than rapid-fire game interactions.
- Learners Who Dislike or Are Averse to Games: While a growing number of people enjoy games, a segment of the audience may find gamified learning distracting, childish, or simply not their preferred mode of learning. Forcing gamification on such individuals can lead to disengagement.
- When Fun Overshadows Learning: As discussed, if the “game” elements become the primary focus and the learning objectives are secondary, the gamification effort will fail. The primary goal of gamification in eLearning is always to enhance learning, not to just be entertaining.
- Lack of Clear Learning Objectives: If the training itself lacks clear goals, adding gamification will only amplify the confusion. Gamification thrives on clear objectives and measurable progress.
- Limited Resources for Quality Design: Effective gamification requires expertise in instructional design, game mechanics, and often, sophisticated development. Without adequate budget, time, and skilled designers, gamified solutions can feel clunky, unrewarding, and ultimately, ineffective.
Real-World Gamification in Action
Here are a few examples of gamification training we created for our clients.
Sony Music: scaling training across borders
Sony Music, a global entertainment company, struggled to deliver consistent training across its geographically dispersed workforce. Employees stationed in various countries and working for different record labels (RCA, Columbia, Epic, etc.) made traditional live training workshops expensive and logistically challenging.
ELM Learning was tasked with creating a more cost-effective and scalable training solution to ensure consistent knowledge and skills development for Sony Music’s employees.
We transformed Sony Music’s existing live training sessions into an engaging, gamified online course. The course captured the interactive and conversational tone of the live sessions while offering the flexibility and convenience of self-paced eLearning. To enhance learner engagement, ELM incorporated several gamification elements throughout the course.
Sony Music’s gamified eLearning program was a huge hit among employees. They appreciated the flexibility to learn at their own pace and found the gamified elements a great motivation. The program brought significant benefits to the company, including cost savings of around $100,000 by eliminating the need for live workshops and travel expenses.
Additionally, the gamified eLearning program proved to be more effective in retaining knowledge compared to the previous live training format. The online format also allowed Sony Music to deliver consistent training to a wider audience more efficiently, making it highly scalable.
Omnicom: gamifying D&I with empathy
Omnicom Media Group (OMG) sought to create engaging diversity and inclusion (D&I) training for their millennial workforce. Traditional D&I training often struggles to capture attention, leading to a less impactful experience.
ELM Learning’s challenge was to develop a program that addressed these sensitive topics in a way that resonated with younger employees while keeping them engaged.
ELM Learning took a unique approach to interactive learning by incorporating gamification elements centered around robots. This approach offered several benefits, including a more engaging learning experience design that was transformed into a game where learners interact with robots representing diverse backgrounds.
The gamified elements focused on the robot’s “battery life” to combat bias through play. Correct answers and demonstrations of inclusive behavior kept the robots charged, while biased choices or incorrect responses drained their power. This playful approach provided a safe space to explore unconscious bias and its impact.
The OMG D&I training program, powered by gamification, proved to be a success. The robot theme, combined with the game mechanics, made the training fun and memorable for millennial employees.
More importantly, the program sparked positive conversations about diversity and inclusion within the company. ELM’s creative approach demonstrates how gamification can transform serious topics into engaging experiences that foster a more inclusive and positive work environment.
Car rental: making compliance tolerable
ELM was tasked with making a compliance course for a car rental company more “tolerable.”
We went with a road trip theme and issued each user a Compliance Passport, which they used to collect stamps after completing each micro course along the simulated road map.
The stamps worked liked badges, rewarding employees for completing a module, and the map showed users where they were going – and where they had been. The following image shows the course map for the compliance training, and the Compliance Passport.
Beer maker: dopamine and uncertainty in beverage basics
Our client wanted an engaging way to teach their employees about the history of malt beverages, how to set up kegs, and pour the perfect pint. We created an adventure theme where learners navigated through three different scenarios in “Joe’s Bar” using drag and drop functions. During each scenario, learners received instant feedback from the narrator and other staff in the bar for correct and incorrect answers. After learners completed each scenario, a virtual chalkboard appeared with a satisfying checkmark.
For the final test—serving a beer to a customer—we upped the dopamine release with an element of uncertainty. If the customer reacted with a smile, they were good to go! If the customer frowned and complained—it was back to the bar. Rewards presented with just the right level of uncertainty are very powerful. Read the full study here.
Is Gamification Right for Your Program?
Considering gamification for your next training program? Before diving in, use this self-assessment to determine if it aligns with your organization’s needs and culture:
1. Learner motivation and engagement
▢ Learners respond well to competition, challenges, and rewards and don’t find them distracting.
▢ The training content is engaging and simple.
2. Alignment with training goals
▢ The gamification elements support the learning objectives.
▢ The game directly relates to the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that learners must develop.
3. Workplace integration and productivity
▢ The gamified elements translate seamlessly to the workplace.
▢ Learners complete the game within a reasonable timeframe without sacrificing productivity.
4. Organizational culture and resources
▢ The company culture embraces innovation and playful learning.
▢ The resources (budget, time, and expertise) to develop and implement a well-designed gamified training program are available.
If you’ve decided gamification might be a good fit for your training program, ELM Learning can assist you every step of the way. From concept development to implementation, our team of experts can create engaging and effective gamified learning solutions for your organization.