Bimbo, PepsiCo, and Bayer discuss game-based learning and tackling current challenges

In recent weeks, in the wake of their Annual Event last month, Gamelearn has put on a series of free webinars to help professionals to stay up to date in the world of corporate training. Over the past week, they put on a total of four online roundtables in their core languages. 

These events consisted of training managers from major international companies coming together to share their challenges and concerns as they train their teams in times of COVID. 

The “new normal” and the training challenges it presents

The round table from Latin America brought together training and HR experts from Bimbo, PepsiCo, and Bayer to discuss how they’ve tweaked their digital transformation processes without jeopardizing results while their teams work from home.

The speakers agreed that the challenges of the “new normal” reared their ugly heads immediately and that they’ve had to act quickly to adapt to new training formats. 

According to Jorge Julio Espinosa, Bayer’s Training and Development Manager, “We were already in the process of digital transformation in terms of our corporate training. We had both digital and face-to-face efforts underway. But once the pandemic came, everything had to be sped up, and our main challenge was: how do we quickly and effectively move our face-to-face training efforts online?”

Facing this situation, the participants maintained that innovative digital tools, such as the Gamelearn platform, have been a boon for them to:

• reinforce key knowledge for staff to thrive while working from home.
• move forward with the company’s digital transformation.
• involve teams from various backgrounds and age groups seamlessly in the training process.
• organize and go ahead with courses that had been suggested and later postponed.

Game-based learning as a training solution

In the second part of the round table, the central challenge was clear for all participants: how do you guarantee effective learning in all contexts and environments? For this, all three companies have opted for game-based learning, a learning methodology that builds student engagement through simulators and quality, gamified content focused on helping staff in their day-to-day functions.

With more than 35 years of experience in training, Armando Cantu Brito, the Personnel Director at Bimbo, chimed in on the benefits the game-based learning provided.

“The gamified elements hook you in. As students, we want to learn in different ways, and it helps to mix video games and training.”

Likewise, Anna Bernard, Pepsico’s Learning and Development Director, highlighted the importance of observing how different students react to each training then focusing on what they like and what works for everyone.

Both of these concepts are taken to heart at Gamelearn, whose platform currently boasts the highest recommendation and participation rates to date. Marcos Robledo, Gamelearn’s Country Manager for LATAM, highlighted in the event that even on weekends, outside of working hours, many professionals are still logging on to continue their quest for development.

“The platform is friendly, and the games tackle a variety of topics that can be expanded on through the training itineraries, or ‘learning pathways.’ It also provides immediate and personalized feedback as well as measurable and quantifiable data about KPIs.” -Anna Bernard, Learning and Development Director at Pepsico.

In short, the session highlighted the clear and obvious benefits of game-based learning at companies of all stripes. It’s clear that the future is bright for the world of e-learning, especially for those companies who venture to innovate.

To rewatch this event (in Spanish), click here. To see how HP, Ericsson, and the National Labor Relations Board used game-based learning to tackle the new normal (in English), click here.