Gamification isn't only for children. That was my response to a peer the other day when I mentioned strategies that might motivate the staff at our company. She heard the word gamification and wrote it off, saying that "making a point system" or creating "silly badges" will be a drain on resources and won't do much to drive engagement. And to some extent, she's right. Gamification is more than slapping points and badges onto a course. But even the most carefully designed gamification strategy can be a non-starter in a corporate setting. The challenges are many: time, attention span, cost, leadership buy-in, etc. But is it truly impossible to gamify corporate training?
Sousa-Vieira et al. (2022) performed research proving that blending gamification with social learning significantly boosted engagement and performance. In a workplace setting, collaboration happens regularly, and gamifying collaborative challenges and scenario-based simulations with clear progress tracking puts a fun spin on the authentic tasks that employees face daily. These strategies don’t just make learning more interactive; they also provide data-driven insights that help designers1 identify who’s thriving and who might need extra support. For adult learners, the real value isn’t in topping a leaderboard—it’s in building confidence and mastery through relevant, hands-on experiences.
Ultimately, gamification should enhance the learning, not distract from it. Adults bring a wealth of prior knowledge and expect training that respects their time, intelligence, and need for practical application. When designed with intention, gamified experiences can transform mandatory training into meaningful growth—making learners not just more engaged, but more empowered.
Gamification is certainly not just for children. When you were in Korea did you come across any of the membership training MT at schools or companies? These were essentially work retreats for one night and two days to improve morale and cooperation between employees. You eat, drink, and play games together to win prizes. The games are usually silly but can get really competitive. A typical example is the game 참참참 Cham, Cham, Cham, in which somebody says a chant and pretends to slap you to the left or right. If you go in the correct direction of their slap, then you lose. Ex. You need to look to the left if they slap you to the right. The loser usally gets hit with something soft and they can have big tournaments doing this. Here's an example from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztitFNETkLk
ReplyDeleteI always enjoyed how crazy games got during MT. People who are usually very calm and reserved would let out their frustrations with a boss or coworker by beating them wickedly in these games. While this is an extreme example, I think it's important to be able to have some ways to compete with games in the office to encourage collaboration and sharing of ideas in the workplace.
I never participated in 참참참, mainly because the public school I worked at didn't really include me in the company retreats. Totally fine with me since that often meant I'd have several days off while the retreat was in session! But to your point, the games played had enough of a payoff to spur participation. While not technically educational, the value assigned to the game itself (and the reward of beating your boss at something) was enough to get people involved!
DeleteYou make a strong case for gamification, Adam! I wonder if there is a way you can utilize gamification without actually calling it "gamification?" In my sport psychology work, I’ve seen how labeling techniques too explicitly can make people dismiss them, even when they’re effective.
ReplyDeleteWhen the focus stays on growth, collaboration, and practical relevance, people engage more naturally. It’s not about the term; it’s about how the experience is framed and how well it aligns with what learners actually value.
As someone trying to break into corporate L&D right now, I really appreciate hearing your experiences in the field, so thank you for sharing! I wonder if presenting your peers with some of the research would help encourage them to give it a try. In my workplace, I always find that evidence-backed practice, with concrete data as evidence, can help push changes through. There is so much great research on gamification to help make the case for how it could be used in the workplace!
ReplyDeleteI’ve been thinking about this and I think the term is what puts people off. But then the ideas just link … gamification … leaderboard … dashboard … datafication. The datafication of training, where learners have access to their own data related to progress, items complete, success rates, whatever. It’s the data, packaged and made visible to the learners, that can be valuable. And the acknowledgement of what they’ve done (which connects to badges, optional challenges, and such, whatever name you want to use). Doesn’t work for everyone, but it works for some people — and it works in different ways for those people. Some people want to keep climbing and learning, happy to follow a path. Some want to keep up with others. Some want to be acknowledged. Etc.
ReplyDelete