With so many people working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HR and L&D professionals have turned to e-learning to put their employment training online as fast as possible. Gamelearn wanted to understand more and launched a survey in which more than 1,500 professionals and employees from the United States and Europe participated.
Our survey results reveal that most companies’ online training is limited to traditional formats. Most professionals said they have used text documents (71 percent) and videos (62 percent) in their online training as well as tests (48 percent) and presentations (47 percent). These kinds of formats lack the type of interaction employees want to receive.
Employees’ most popular choices for online learning were virtual reality (48 percent), augmented reality (46 percent), and videogames (45 percent). These formats rely on state-of-the-art technology to generate high levels of engagement, which is a stark contrast to the formats professionals provide at present. The formats professionals have been using are not in-line with employee expectations nor are they most conducive to learning. In fact, they’re the opposite.
This disconnect between what employees want and what they are receiving can lead to a lack of engagement and motivation, which negatively affects performance and the business’s bottom line. Employee training that is disengaging is just as bad as having no training at all no matter how useful the information. If the format used to transmit that information is dull and impractical, there’s no use in teaching it because employees won’t pay attention.
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) may sound a bit futuristic to some, but the future is already here. These technologies have been used to train employees from a variety of industries for some years. There are many potential benefits to using VR or AR in corporate training because they allow employees to learn through practical experience and get personalized feedback, which increases engagement and knowledge retention. However, the cost of acquiring and implementing VR and AR technology is quite high. Moreover, they are difficult to scale, given you need to buy hardware for each employee. Is there a better solution that’s more scalable and fits within budget requirements? Yes—and the answer is videogames. This happens to be in-line with what employees want.
Why did employees claim to want video games for corporate training? Because they want to be engaged when learning skills. What they’re really asking for is a new methodology. This is where game-based learning comes into play.
Game-based learning provides quality content applicable to the job and in a fun format. It uses elements of gamification such as rankings and competition to keep employees engaged. Additionally, game-based employs experiential learning techniques and simulations, which enable employees to learn by doing while remaining in a safe environment.
In essence, the video games employees want are the way to put the theory of game-based learning into practice. Think of the video game as the final product—and a surefire way to meet the organization’s needs and employees’ expectations.
While you can get similar results with VR and AR, they simply aren’t practical at the moment. Video games are the best of both worlds. They provide the same benefits of VR and AR—engagement, practicality, and retention—but at a fraction of the cost. They’re scalable, budget friendly, and measurable.
Experts claim that game-based learning is the most effective learning methodology of the 21st century—and video games are the way to get there. So, what are you waiting for? Take your employment training to the next level and give your employees what they want. The results speak for themselves.