Corporate training programs don’t have to be boring. In fact, they shouldn’t be. Workplace training is more effective when learners engage with the training materials.
For many companies, gamified training has become a popular addition to traditional training programs—thanks to its many benefits. By adopting game-like elements to your materials, you can motivate and engage learners, and ultimately increase knowledge retention.
There are plenty of low-cost gamification ideas for employee training. Some of the most effective training gamification methods are the most cost-effective.
In this article, we discuss what gamification is. Then we look at some top low-cost gamification ideas and examples for employers to incorporate into their training courses, both in online and physical locations.
What is gamification in employee training?
Gamification in corporate training means incorporating game elements into the employee training process. From virtual reality to team challenges, gamification elements are increasingly used to reinforce training and increase employee engagement.
Gamification brings more enjoyment to the learning process: completing tasks while introducing an element of friendly competition motivates employees and ensures that the skills taught are retained. In fact, challenge-based gamification can lead to performance gains of up to % 89.45 compared to traditional approaches.
To get the most out of gamification in corporate training, many companies use it during long-term training that requires a level of self-motivation. However, it also has a place in short-term training and can be just as effective when used correctly in these scenarios.
Gamification comes in many forms, each of which you can adopt in your training programs for better motivation and engagement.
8 Gamification ideas for corporate training
There are plenty of employee training delivery methods out there, but not all of them are fun. Here are our top recommendations for getting employees engaged with gamification..
1. Keep track of engagement with learning streaks
Streaks are gamification features that reward learners for maintaining a continuous habit over an extended period. As learners complete tasks consistently, they build streaks, often unlocking rewards to help reinforce positive habits. Applying this to training, you can set daily or weekly goals for learners to complete a self-study curriculum.
Then, reward the highest streaks with badges, real-world incentives, pause days, or more unlockable content. One example is the language learning app Duolingo, which repeatedly congratulates learners and gives them badges for daily streaks.
Streaks have a proven success rate, used across platforms and experiences to encourage users to continue logging on each day. They have the same effect with corporate training programs, allowing employees to move at their own pace but keep progressing in a fun way. We all love the dopamine hit that comes with ticking off a task—the same applies to training modules.
2. Implement levels for learners to progress through the training
As learners complete stages of the training process, it’s helpful to mark their progress by incorporating “levels” along their learning path. For example, a trainee might reach a new level after completing a certain number of online classes, or for scoring correct answers in a quiz.
A level also helps break up the course content into manageable chunks. Games funnel attention to one task at a time, increasing focus and reducing the cognitive load on the brain.
3. Motivate learners with leaderboards
To get the most out of a gamified training program, some companies opt to introduce some healthy competition to incentivize learners during their corporate training programs.
Leaderboards are a popular option, giving instant feedback in the form of peer rivalry. These lists rank employees based on their performance and visually display your top learners based on your chosen benchmarks. To adopt a leaderboard in training, define success metrics like completion progress, quiz scores, levels, or streaks. Then share your board with your learners so they can view it. For example, many health and fitness apps—like Strava—place cyclists and runners on a leaderboard with the fastest time on a route.
Leaderboards are especially popular for sales training, as successful sales skills depend on keeping numbers high. Friendly competition relies on a friendly company culture and vice versa—so consider how it might work in your organization. It might even be an opportunity for some team-building!
4. Incentivize your team with a training milestone reward system
As with levels, progress markers are important, and incentivizing your employees can help with enhancing engagement and ensuring employees complete the full course. The rewards might be virtual—for example, badges or medals—or they might be office perks—like a voucher or gift card. A popular option is training certificates as confirmation of employee skill development.
It’s important to make sure that rewards reflect earned accomplishments rather than routine milestones that typically receive awards, like years of service.
5. Mix in class contests to encourage friendly competition
Regular contests are a classic example of gamification that helps learners retain their knowledge while applying effort to perform their best. Introducing tailored contests based on past learnings in the form of tournaments can create a dynamic, enjoyable, and immersive learning environment.
This gamification is applicable to different training methods. For example, you can divide learners into groups of two. Each learner gives their response to a role-played scenario, and the winners progress in the contest, until you find first place. Consider adding extra points to their leaderboard or another gamification reward, such as a badge.
6. Use interactive quizzes to assess knowledge
A popular example of gamification training, quizzes are a useful, economical source of training fun. Interactive quizzes include visual rewards, multiplayer participation, and badges.
Examples like Kahoot combine basic point-scoring with incentives. You might add a timer or leaderboard for some healthy competition. Perhaps you want to test learners on specific product knowledge, or enhance learning by doing regular learning recaps.
7. Create training resources in line with familiar games
Gamified training comes in all shapes and sizes. Depending on the content of different training programs, you might want to create training resources that build on the classics: think word searches, crosswords, and gameshow roleplay. Creating engaging training activities for employees is often simpler than it seems.
From sales techniques to health and safety rules, everything can be made more fun with gamified training. For example, SlideChef gives you free game templates while Crossword Labs lets you make quick and easy crossword puzzles.
8. Encourage interactivity with realistic scenarios
Scenario-based games are a popular gamification technique for corporate training. It consists in placing learners in simulated scenarios based on real-life experiences and then allowing them to choose from different responses. The learners are given a scenario and, using the knowledge they’ve developed during training, instructed to find a solution.
For example, let’s say you’re conducting a training course for cybersecurity. You might wish to propose a scenario where your learner receives an email from an unknown source. You give them three choices: open the email to download the attachment, report to IT security, or ignore the email.
The player then chooses, gets feedback, and is taken to the next step of the scenario with another question. The game mechanics are a great way to fortify learning retention, and a fun activity to get the team engaged.
Need support? Work with a training professional to gamify employee training
Whether you are onboarding new staff or having existing staff complete mandatory compliance training, incorporating elements of fun into the learning journey can improve participants’ reactions and learning. Comprehensive Learning Solutions can help you build a training program that engages, entertains, and educates your target audiences without costing a lot of money.
Ready to start gamifying your corporate training? Get in touch today.
Gamification in employee training FAQs
What is an example of gamification in training?
Examples of gamification in corporate training include interactive quizzes, ongoing class competitions, a peer-led leaderboard, and a reward system.
How can I gamify training sessions?
You can gamify training sessions by first looking for common games that everyone is likely to be familiar with, such as crossword puzzles or Kahoot style interactive quizzes. Then, you customize the content to contain your course’s main curriculum. The benefit of using simple, familiar games lets learners to focus on the course material rather than learning how to play the game itself.
Besides implementing actual games, you can also track streaks on leaderboards that you regularly share with your learners and encourage competition.