The gamification, the game as a strategy of learning and development, is sinking deep into the establishments, achieving one of the most pursued goals by the enterprises: that knowledge and skills get truly acquired and not diluted after stepping out of the classroom door.
Establishing education and training as a game, with simulations, role plays and videogames, has increased 18% within the certified enterprises as Top Employer in Spain and is the key in instruction and development processes. 55% of the companies already have specific technology for simulations and formative games, 15% more than last year. And gamification is not only applied to learning, but also, and this is a striking fact, it’s being used in an increasing manner to evaluate the efficiency and skills of the leaders, with a rise of 25% (from 43% to 68%).
This effective approach takes advantage of the natural tendency of people to enjoy learning, like we do during childhood, to learn by doing, experimenting and discovering, reaching challenges, sharing with others, because what we learn by ourselves is much more powerful than being passive subjects of what others teach us.
HEINEKEN is an example of success, with its development of leadership program HOW HEINEKEN, an interactive and continuous game, that’s part of the daily life of the participants, in which they share challenges, share community, by supporting each other and with the right amount of healthy competition so it’s a challenging game. In other words, learning by having fun.
LG has developed a training program on capacities based on videogames turning training into a dynamic experience, entertaining and bonding. The videogame, that’s a part of our lives outside of work, has come to stay in the most advanced and successful companies.
BSH Home Appliances use actors inside their trainings to elaborate role plays; the simulations allow students to practice and make mistakes without risk. The student can live the situation, correct his conduct and repeat it until it becomes a part of himself, because learning gets achieved through repetition and living successful experiences. “I’m not afraid of the one who practice 10.000 types of kicks, I’m afraid instead of the one who has practiced one kick 10.000 times” (Bruce Lee).
The challenge to change training into action has found in gamification a motivating methodology of great effectiveness, it facilitates the professional growing of people, because it’s at the time of acquiring new skills and changing old habits little useful, for new and more efficient and enriching skills, that traditional methods usually fail.
