An essential element of successful games is the feedback loop and the delivery of rewards to the user following progress and success. Video games use the ideas of points, energy and levels to show the players how they are doing. A good elearning system – or LMS – will give such feedback to both the learner and the course administrator during progress through the course.
This games based approach tells the leaner where he or she needs to improve, while HR managers can see where individuals or groups may need additional support. It’s so much more than just making learning fun – this is about gaining real, useful data on achievement.
As an HR leader looking at implementation of gamification as part of your online training plan, you may want to note the following 3 quick-win tips for success:
- Research examples of games based learning in other organizations, but also games in other arenas that you have found or know to be engaging and addictive – what elements can be brought to your online training?
- Zone in on where it’s needed most. If you know that certain aspects of your training requirements are more boring than others, why not prioritize making them more fun with a games based approach?
- Analyze the data. Don’t just rely on user feedback on whether gamification makes your training delivery more enjoyable – strive to learn from user progress through it and make it better all the time. Where are learners getting stuck or abandoning a course? What types of design seem to keep users engaged for longer during a typical session?
The tips above should hopefully give HR / L&D leaders some food for thought.
At Webanywhere, we’ve helped numerous corporate, government, not-for-profit and public sector clients with elearning for employee onboarding, compliance training, talent management and more. We’ve transformed training for millions of end-users, making it easy and fun.
Please contact us if you’d like to discuss how we can help your organization.