The lack of investment in business training can stagnate or even harm a company, even in an increasingly competitive scenario of technological innovation. But employers have invested fortunes to train their employees, and the results are often ineffective. The staff returned, within a few days, to the SFA scheme, ‘It’s always been like this’. However, technology itself is revolutionizing the corporate education industry, and an innovative strategy called gamification has generated engaged customers and employees, fueling amazing results and even helping to reduce costs in many industries.
We’re used to boring training that at the end of the day wastes valuable employee time and doesn’t improve company performance because it’s poorly executed. The traditional classroom format, with a teacher, blackboard and brochure, turns students into mere assistants, which is not very productive. Today, content is a hotly contested commodity and capturing the attention of the audience has been an increasing challenge, especially for the new generations, who have been bombarded with so much volatile information on the Internet.
In this context, these exercises are clearly outdated. And one of the most innovative and effective solutions lies in a strategy that makes the employee the protagonist, bringing design and an interesting playful world closer to the corporate environment: games, which encourage healthy competition, create a comfortable environment and, above all, , all, improve content retention and improve the performance of each.
Working with grades and rewards, for example, makes the employee strive to exceed your expectations and produce more. Through an app or game platform, you will earn points and prizes with each new mission. Instead of a brochure and 30-question quiz, you can learn about a new process through a “game” that tells the company’s history and values. This game can contain quizzes, group tasks, and even make use of technologies like augmented reality and the metaverse.
As if being a more effective way to retain knowledge wasn’t enough, motivation reduces costs for companies in a number of ways. Let’s see some of them:
- Feedback: The development and performance of the participants is measured in real time, according to the actions carried out by the employee, both through points, skill level and other actions carried out by the employee, all in a playful way. This is relevant data for managers and human resources, who can monitor the uptake of knowledge or the level of participation.
- Mental health: Platforms that promote the health of employees, for example, making people healthier both physically and psychologically, avoiding absences, sick leave and spending on health plans. Missions with ESG objectives promote a sustainable agenda, reduce waste and also do good for the environment, giving a positive image to the company. Google makes a case for gamification in this regard. The tech giant created a game based on employee travel expenses. The reason is that every penny saved is returned in stipends or credits to donate to charity. That is, each employee becomes a resource manager.
- Organic marketing: the games attract employees and customers to advertise the brand and these results can be announced on social networks. Finally, incentives through point programs, such as dotz, stix, and even gas stations and airlines, build loyalty that translates into revenue for the company. More than half of Brazilians are part of a loyalty program, and the waste of this strategy is left behind.
- Employee satisfaction: With happier and more motivated teams to achieve the following objectives, productivity increases and even the retention of new talent. It is always good to remember that the new generations dedicate less time to their jobs. This trend even has a name, “The Great Quit” or “Big Quit” in English, which is when employees voluntarily quit their jobs. And looking for new professionals in the market, going through a selection process and then training new employees is always very expensive.
- Facilitate the onboarding process of new employees: Through gamification, instructions on company culture, routines and dynamics will make more sense. And there are already specialized startups in this sector in Brazil, which can drive this revolution in your company. These are called edtechs. They work with the development and application of technology in learning, making use of the best technological developments in teaching processes. It is clear that gamification strategies motivate employees and at the same time create a fun environment in which they can achieve more results and savings for the company. There is investment in corporate training, and edtech companies are getting more and more companies to innovate and prosper.
