Gamification is changing the nature of learning. This applies to all types of learning, including team building and team training in the workplace. Gamification refers to using competition and strategy in order to practice team collaboration and engage employees. For companies, it’s an innovative way to combine play with workplace learning.
Games Increase Learning Engagement
The use of games to promote learning is becoming more and more prevalent in all industries. And it’s predicted to make up a key part of workplace culture in the coming years. Company leaders are striving to find new ways to engage employees. They’re consistently finding that inspiring and motivating employees through games is a great way to reach higher job performance. In fact, 70% of Forbes Global 2000 companies use gamification in the workplace. They do this to boost employee engagement, increase company revenue, and improve information retention.
Gamification is one way to cut down on information overload. It allows you to prioritize key bits of information to deliver to learners. This lets learners commit the most important concepts to memory instead of getting lost in a sea of information. For example, Strayboots’ scavenger hunts and trivia games allow you to create custom challenges to drill home facts about your company to your employees.
When you compare this form of information to an employee manual or a handbook, it’s easy to see why games are a more effective learning tool. The traditional forms are good for delivering a large amount of information, but they don’t cater to diminishing attention spans. Readers have to work harder to stay engaged with what they’re learning since books aren’t inherently interactive.
Millennials are Becoming More Established in the Workforce
Gamification continues to rise in popularity largely thanks to the growing millennial workforce. This demographic grew up with technology – computers, gaming, social media, and instant messaging. As a result, they expect these tools to be available and used efficiently in the workplace. Incorporating gamification into training and team building is a great way to show young employees that your workplace acknowledges these valuable tools. It also allows millennials to put their tech-savvy skills to use.
Strategy Games Are Good for The Brain
When video games became popular for the first time, we all heard about how they rot children’s brains. Slowly, science has worked to dispel this myth. Now, we know that games have a positive effect on brain plasticity and motor performance. Strategy and puzzle-based games are the most beneficial at helping people learn effective working traits. Cognitive flexibility is one such trait that can be learned through strategy games. Cognitive flexibility is the skill of thinking about multiple concepts at the same time and switching between them quickly. People who play strategic video games perform better at cognitive tasks that demand speed and accuracy.
Chess is one of the oldest strategy games as its original version was played back in 600 A.D. Studies have shown that the game is effective at improving higher performance in cognitive functioning. Like chess, strategy games improve observational skills, problem-solving skills, concentration, memory, logic, critical thinking, creativity, and reasoning.
Strategy games force people to be keenly observant. They must understand how their actions may affect the future actions they can take, and how this will alter the results of the game. Strategy games are also effective at enhancing creativity. This is because they force you to approach unique problems in unusual ways. Playing strategy games may help people develop better problem-solving skills as a result.
Finally, games are great stress-relievers. If your employees are feeling strained, a light-hearted game may be all they need to get recharged. If you need some ideas, Strayboots’ office scavenger hunts are a great place to start. You don’t even have to leave the workplace to have some competitive fun!
Games Benefit Workplace Teams
The modern workplace culture is vastly team-based. This kind of working environment values teamwork and communication to enhance productivity and complete tasks efficiently. Strategy games are the perfect way to work on the valuable team skills that make collaborative work run smoothly. This is why team building is leaning towards a focus on gamification.
First, games act as a kind of “sandbox” where teamwork skills can be tried out and tested. During these games, ineffective behavior may arise, and this can be corrected in the game environment before it carries over into real-world situations. Games allow teams to play around with working together and find the best strategies for effective communication. It allows teams to discover the strengths of each member, and how these can be used to best benefit the group.
Gamified team building also allows company leaders to reward employees who work well together. For example, Strayboots’ scavenger hunts pit teams against each other in friendly competition. Teams must work together to complete challenges and earn points. In the end, the team with the most points wins the game. This lets employers discover teams that work best together and reward those who put in the most effort.
These kinds of games also reveal the contributions that each team member brings to the group. Strategy games require each person to be involved. When an individual knows that their effort is key to the group’s success, they’re much more likely to participate and do their best. Discovering this through strategy games will help individual employees realize the importance of their place in the work environment.
Get Your Game On!
The trend towards gamification in team building can be enjoyed by anyone. There are loads of technology-based activities for groups of any size, that combine learning and play. Our favorite, of course, is Strayboots. We provide games and activities to groups through our planning services and comprehensive activity app. This app allows us to gamify almost any event, including conferences, orientation days, and staff training days. Enhance team building with Strayboots’ fun mobile-guided games and discover the company engagement that it sparks.
