Take these two simple words, work and play. Which appeals to you the most? My guess is that most of you chose ‘play’ due to its connotations of fun, exploration, and doing things your own way.
5 Reasons Why Gamification remains a HOT Trend for 2016
Gamification provides the means of infusing an element of play into workplace training, systems, and environments by using game mechanics to inspire and motivate employees toward high performance. It’s not a new concept, but it is beginning to gather some major momentum.
Here are 5 reasons why PulseLearning believes that gamification in eLearning is still red hot for 2016 and beyond.
- Gear up for Generation-Y
Generation-Y, people born in the 1980s and up to the mid-1990s, is now firmly established in the workforce. Gen-Y grew up with computers, gaming, and social media and expects these tools to be available in the workplace. This is only going to become more prominent with generations to come so it is critical that organizations start setting up for tech-savvy new starters. Incorporating gamification into training, systems, and processes will help utilize the skills and talents of new generation employees. - Combat information overload
In 2016, we are in the midst of the information age, or perhaps that should be, info-overload. From the moment you wake, you are bombarded with information and media from all angles in a variety of formats. This translates into the workplace because most roles involve the assimilation of large amounts of information on a daily basis. Incorporating gamification in eLearning products can raise engagement to ensure key learning messages are noticed and prioritized as important and committed to memory. - Relieve stress and encourage camaraderie
Today’s economy means there are greater financial pressures for most organizations, which is reflected in growing employee expectations and demands. Appropriate use of gamification in the workplace can relieve stress and encourage healthy competition and camaraderie among peers. One way of doing this is to establish challenges in eLearning and then carry them over into day-to-day operations. For example, eLearning training on customer service excellence could be delivered and then aligned with team goals around sales conversions and reducing customer complaints. Results and successes could be tracked using a leader board and appropriate rewards offered. - Allow for autonomy
Employers these days look for autonomy as a key employability skill, meaning that employees need to be able to self-manage themselves and their own work, and use initiative. Successfully gamified training experiences place learners in control, encouraging exploration and fact-finding, which appeals to autonomous employees. Gamification is all about creating learner-centric solutions that impart knowledge through discovery. - Increase training ROI
Because gamification makes learning a more enjoyable experience, your learners will actually want to participate. The increased engagement gamification offers allows skills, and knowledge information is assimilated and retained more quickly and easily, meaning employees can put it into practice immediately on the job. A faster transition and application of knowledge on the job can greatly increase your training Return On Investment.
