Mobile games have turned even the most reluctant of us into low key gamers, and HR is slowly expanding to incorporate such a method to teach.
By building interactive media, employees can now be engaged on an even deeper level while simultaneously learning what they need to stay up to date with corporate policy.
This upcoming game-based learning is fantastic in that it stimulates the brain in a way that textbook study could only ever dream of achieving.
As we see this influx of learning games hit the market, be sure to look for certain key features to make sure it does what it claims.
Read up on the game’s story. While a customer service platform may be fun, it will hardly serve the sales department in their need to practice closing deals.
Also, bear in mind that games can have more than one story. There should certainly be an overarching plot, but within that, there should be numerous situations. The more variety, the better as this will expose the team to even more areas of learning, helping them expand their knowledge base. This is ultimately the “why” behind the reason for playing the game and, as such, should be engaging.
Next is the game itself. This is comprised of the core rules.
If a player does x, y will happen. It also features the goal. It gives the entire system a purpose. It could be a simple definition and keyword matching game, or it could be as advanced as a logistics simulator, putting the player in charge of managing a transportation fleet without any undue consequences to the company. Take this as the rubric by which you want to score the employees. The results will be measurable, and because of this, you'll want to make sure the rules suit your needs.
Finally, play completes the triad.
This feature is the interactive portion. It gives life to an otherwise boring and unintelligible string of code. It presents the player with interactions and consequences. Being visual, it can also make or break how employees react. Due to this, you will want to make sure you invest in something that is not too cartoonish. Also, be sure to test drive a game before buying it. You will need to verify there are no bugs derailing an otherwise promising teaching tool.
Technology is ushering in a plethora of inventive new ways of advancing the business landscape.
Teaching through games harnesses the current game obsession ushered in by mobile media. Through this already familiar medium, you can now train employees in ways that are much more engaging than meetings and are also less expensive. If you take it far enough, you could one day have employees fighting to hit the top of a corporate leaderboard.
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