The power of gamification in continuing education

What is gamification in the context of adult education?

gamification describes strategies that bring elements that are frequently used in and associated with games into a non-playful environment.

But gamification isn't just about turning the workplace into a game. Rather, it is about motivating employees, increasing employee productivity and improving business results. Gamification techniques adapt game mechanisms and motivational methods in such a way that the work environment becomes more competitive and promotes employee behavior, which is necessary to achieve important corporate goals.

Gamification can therefore be used to train, motivate and engage employees, optimize work processes and attract (young) specialists.

It usually uses four various levers to show your potential:

1. Motivation

Employees are motivated when they have the opportunity to receive rewards and recognition.

2. A sense of control

Gamified tasks give employees the feeling of power, which appeals to their intrinsic motivations.

3. Instructions for action

Employees are asked to complete tasks. Gamification features within an app or platform can help them know where they are and where they're going.

4. A sense of competition

People are naturally competitive. You like to set goals and measure yourself against yourself or others.

Why gamification is important in adult education

Younger generations in particular are used to receiving incentives for everything they do: they get positive feedback from their smartwatch when they walk or stand for a certain time, they collect reward points at their favorite coffee shop, or they earn miles every time they buy a plane ticket. However, when it comes to learning relevant skills and acquiring knowledge at work, they often receive no feedback about their performance. Employees are generally expected to enjoy learning just to gain theoretical knowledge.

This outdated way of transmitting information is simply no longer in line with the spirit of the times.

Gamification is the primary way to engage employees and can be used in various aspects of their work, such as communicating important information, teaching valuable skills, and increasing team performance.

8 benefits of gamification

Used correctly, gamification can significantly increase employee productivity and engagement.

Gamification can be a powerful tool to promote a more positive work environment. Depending on which gamification methods are introduced into the environment, the effects on participants and employees may differ:

1. Increased motivation

Using goals, successes, and reward systems promotes motivation, increases satisfaction, and increases performance.

2. Improved productivity

This is the result of a more relaxed and collaborative environment and greater motivation.

3. Strengthens communication

Communication between different teams and departments is frequently improving and becoming more fluid.

4. Encourages employee engagement

Gamification features increase the sense of belonging to the team and identification with corporate goals.

5. Introduce innovative dynamism

Game-based learning to develop skills contributes to the growth of both the company and the employee and ultimately leads to potential organizational innovation.

6. Develop specific skills

Gamifying training programs help employees learn effectively.

7. Transparency of individual performance

Leaderboards, scores, levels, and badges help show achievements and improvements, particularly in areas where performance is difficult to measure, such as learning and skill building.

8. conveys the corporate image

Today, most employers are trying to position themselves as innovative, future-oriented and inclusive. Gamification helps to convey this image both internally and externally.

3 risks of gamification in adult education

Gamification methods are very subtle yet powerful tools. Therefore, the risks of implementing some tactics are relatively low.

The following points describe the most common assumptions or mistakes made when implementing gamification features in the workplace:

1. Heavy duty

As with many other things in life, more isn't always better. An excess of motivation to play can lead to fatigue and stress among employees.

2. Bad execution

Poor execution of gamification techniques poses another risk. Game elements should be carefully implemented in a work environment to achieve business goals.

3. Holy Grail syndrome

As with many other methods, gamification is not the holy grail to an innovative organizational culture. When implementing gamification principles, one should not overestimate the impact on employee satisfaction. Changing corporate culture for the better is a complex undertaking, in which gamification can be one of many steps towards implementing positive change.

3 use cases for gamification in adult education

1. Onboarding
As a new employee, onboarding day is usually associated with mixed feelings. On the one hand, you're excited because you want to take on a new challenge at a new job and possibly even in a new company. On the other hand, disillusionment when the first few hours or even days are spent watching boring videos, reading manuals, and processing mountains of paperwork.

2. Improving training results
A company creates a win-win situation in which employees get involved and are much more likely to remember the knowledge they impart. By using interactive and playful methods, companies can make learning more fun, which ultimately leads to a better-trained workforce.

3. Make routine training more interesting

Most employees are afraid of taking part in regulatory or safety training. Even though the knowledge provided is highly relevant. When you make the process more fun, employees internalize the information and forget it less easily.

The 3 most important gamification features that promote learning

This wouldn't be a comprehensive blog post about gamification features without mentioning our own tips and tricks. Here are our top 3 favorites for learning-enhancing gamification features that our learners absolutely love.

1. Learning points

Learners can earn points based on their learning activities on edyoucated. The points help our learners get a feel for their performance and are the basis for comparing their progress with that of their colleagues.

2. Leaderboards and team versus team competitions

We are always amazed at the response from our customers and how much they challenge other teams. This friendly competition ultimately drives them to learn new skills and constantly expand their knowledge.

3. Set learning goals

Our latest feature allows learners to set their own weekly learning goals, which helps them improve continuously.

Most of these methods don't even require an app or platform solution. For example, simply manually count the number of courses completed or hours spent on training and create a physical leaderboard in your office. You might be surprised to find that the psychological effect is the same.

Integration of gamification into existing learning materials and processes

Introducing gamification to increase employee engagement doesn't have to be a complex and complicated change in your learning structures.

A few Learning Management Systems (LMS) already offer some gamification features (e.g. avatars and process bars) that are easy to implement.

However, anyone seeking a more comprehensive and holistic integration of gamification principles to maximize learning efficiency and effectiveness may want to look at a few Learning Experience Platforms (LXP). An LXP takes a learner-focused approach to providing learning materials and is likely the best way to engage employees in continuing education.

If you want to learn more about LXPs and LMS If you want to find out, read the differences in our guide.

Start by continuing to increase learner engagement

Gamification has proven to be an effective way to motivate learners. By incorporating playful elements such as rewards and challenges into the learning process, learners can stay motivated and engage with the subject matter. However, gamification is just one tool in the toolbox when it comes to increasing learner engagement. There are many other strategies that can be used to maintain learner engagement, such as speaking personally or providing the right and relevant content. Of course, the effectiveness of such activities must be measured. The question is therefore what are good measures and which other strategies can be used.

Learn more in this guide with 6 tips to increase motivation to learn.