How Game-Based Learning is Revolutionizing Training
and Boosting Employee Engagement

Globally, companies spend nearly $400 billion on employee training. It’s critical that companies see the benefit from these costs. Unfortunately, traditional training methods are not quite keeping up with the needs of our modern workforce. According to one study, employees forget 70 percent of what they learn within 24 hours and 90% of what they learn within a week. For this reason, companies are constantly searching for new ways to train and retain employees. New training methods are emerging that are helping companies improve the effectiveness of their employee training programs.

What is Game-Based Learning?

Game-based learning is a teaching method that blends learning activities with the characteristics of a video game. Game-based learning offers an interactive environment that allows users to gain knowledge through simulations or challenges meant to teach through action, consequence, feedback and repetition. Engagement is rewarded through various methods including point systems, badges, collectibles and even real-world recognition.

One famous example of this is the language learning giant, Duolingo. What started as a university experiment has gained momentum and is now used by over 300 million people worldwide. The success of Duolingo and other popular game-based platforms is driving more companies to offer similar training programs to their employees. The game-based learning industry was valued at $5.8 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to $24 billion by the year 2024.

Why is Game-Based Learning Effective?

There are many reasons why game-based learning is effective:

Familiarity: In today’s world, most adults grew up playing some sort of video game. The transition from traditional training to a game-based model is not only easy, but it is also quickly embraced by most employees.

Action-Consequence-Feedback Mechanism: Game-based learning allows learners to try out various actions and see their consequences. It then provides immediate feedback that learners can use to improve their performance in real-time. The best part is that any mistakes made in game-based training have no impact on the real world. This gives users the freedom to try different approaches in a safe, risk-free environment.

Repetition: To solve the challenge of information retention, game-based learning offers plenty of repetition that allows for knowledge to stick.

Engagement: We’ve all heard gamers say the phrase “just one more level”. There is a reason why video games are hard to put down. Most would agree that past experiences with video games were both positive and enjoyable. Naturally, games are fun, captivating, and even a little addicting. Traditional learning, on the other hand, is less engaging and oftentimes passive.

Competition: Game-based learning allows for healthy competition amongst learners through the use of leaderboards and rankings. This motivates them to learn, replay and perform better.

Good for Various Learning Styles: Everyone learns differently. Some people are visual learners and others need hands-on experience to absorb information. Game-based learning blends all of these important elements.

How Companies Are Benefiting from Game-Based Training

Having well trained employees is critical. Studies suggest that online training courses have an average completion rate of 15%. Game-based learning improves this completion rate significantly. At the same time, it enhances understanding of concepts and leads to higher retention of information amongst learners.

Game-based training is also known to boost motivation of learners. A survey by TalentLMS revealed that when gamified elements were added to training, a whopping 83% of people felt motivated. The same number for a non-gamified training stood at only 28% - a 3x difference just due to the addition of game elements!

Another big benefit that game-based training brings to employers is employee engagement. Studies have shown that organizations that deploy game-based training programs saw a 48 percent increase in employee engagement. As a result, employees have higher productivity, lower absenteeism, and lower turnover. This helps companies retain good talent and improve their profitability.

Given the benefits, it is not surprising that many companies have taken to game-based learning already. Be it Deloitte with their Leadership Academy, or IBM with Innov8 or Xerox with Stepping Up to Management, companies across the globe are embracing game-based learning as one of the most effective ways to train employees and boost performance.