Is Gamification...Overrated?

Welcome back to another edition of Training the Frontline, your favorite source for all things frontline training.

Today, we're asking a slightly controversial question:

Is gamification really that great?

Our in-house learning expert, Sasha Howard , isn't so sure.

In this newsletter, she's questioning whether gamified learning actually creates value, or if it might just be a gimmick without lasting impact. Scroll down to discover her conclusion.

Also in today's edition: we're sharing some other ways to get your learners hooked on training with binge learning , plus a case study showing how those learning strategies were able to drive a 98% worker satisfaction score.

Thanks for reading,

The eduMe Team

Frontline news ??

• 83% of frontline workers feel overwhelmed by too much workplace knowledge (Talker Research )
• Walmart-owned Sam's Club increases pay for 100k frontline workers (IBT )
• Amazon warehouse workers are getting free Prime and a pay raise (The Verge )

Gamification: is it really that great?

You probably come across gamification in some form every day.?

Think about it: have you ever collected stamps at a coffee shop? Accumulated airline points? Completed a survey to be entered into a prize draw? ?

While the term gained popularity in the early 2000s , the concept of gamification has been around since the start of the 20th century, when, for example, Boy Scouts could earn badges and ranks based on the activities they undertook.

More recently, gamification has been picked up by employers to help incentivize employees. Uber uses driver gamification to increase retention. Dominos uses it to drive recruitment. Construction giant Norconsult uses it to streamline its processes.?

With more and more content out there on the benefits of gamification - take gamification expert Yu-kai Chou’s list of 90+ gamification ROI statistics , for example - it’s a no-brainer to have gamification features on your checklist before making a new software investment. …or, is it??

What benefit does gamification provide from a learning science perspective? Will it really make an impact on your workforce?

As Chou himself asks in his book, Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges and Leaderboards:

"Does it actually create value and return measurable results, or is it just a new gimmicky fad without lasting impact?"

Let's find out.

Advantages of gamification in learning

First things first, why is gamification beneficial when it comes to training a workforce?

Well, playing games increases the levels of dopamine - the chemical that makes us feel good - in our brains. The more dopamine we experience, the more likely we are to return to the activity that triggered the dopamine release - particularly useful for an initiative that requires regular, sustained interaction like training.?

By encouraging the learner to interact with the content, retention rates and completion rates increase - the benefits of which include improved workforce performance, engaged and happier employees, and a safer working environment.

Disadvantages of gamification in learning

The benefits of gamification are appealing, but that doesn’t mean every business should rush to implement it wherever possible. Bad gamification - when the design of the initiative is ill-thought-out or poorly executed - can destroy the learning experience just as much as good gamification can aid it.?

For example, if you lean too heavily on gamification, it becomes more about the game or points scoring than the learning. With any game, there’s a risk of getting bored - and gaining a negative association with the content as a result.?

Scott Nicholson, Associate Professor at Syracuse University School of Information Studies and Director at Because Play Matters, also notes that gamification must be carefully implemented. In his paper A Recipe for Meaningful Gamification he warns against the over-usage of rewards:

"Reward systems do work as long as the rewards keep coming. When the rewards stop, however, the behavior will likely stop also unless the subject has found some other reason to continue the behavior."

So, why does gamification make such an impact either way? The answer lies in the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation...

• Want to find out more about the good and bad sides of gamification? Click here to continue reading Sasha's take

Extra reading ??

Case Study: How Pet Supermarket achieved 98% workforce satisfaction with social media-style learning

In this case study , discover how US-based retail chain, Pet Supermarket, saw record levels of training engagement by taking inspiration from their learners' social media feeds.

What is Binge Learning? Optimizing your learning strategy for the Netflix generation

What are some other ways to get your learners hooked on content, without having to rely solely on gamification? Check out this article to find out more about binge learning, and how you can put it into practice.

Join the conversation ???

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