During the last Gamelearn Annual Event held in Mexico City, participants had the opportunity to listen to the experiences of human resources and training managers from top Mexican companies like GNP Seguros, MANE, Sukarne and Universidad del Valle de México (UVM), on using video games for corporate training.
They all agreed that it is important to integrate game-based learning into the culture of the company. In other words, when you adapt the development strategy for employees to the desired objectives using this training method, it will be adopted more naturally and fluidly.
The training manager from UVM indicated during the event that the serious game they chose has become part of the culture of the organization. Many employees already recognize the sound effects associated with the rewards or penalties in the video game and use them in other contexts. This has led to the creation of a community around it.
For Juan Hernán, training manager at GNP, the key is therefore to align the game implementation strategy with the human resources strategy. In this way, this type of training will be introduced into the company more smoothly and organically. Employees will also see that learning can be fun, and aside from this, they can achieve synergies that involve the entire company.
The key to success: engagement
The methodology of game-based learning and gamification elements generate immediate engagement in the person receiving the training. Their attention is retained, and they end up actively asking for more training content in the same format. This is the experience of Eduardo Curiel, manager of Sukarne university, an international leader in meat production. He was able to confirm that thanks to game-based learning they can offer online training programs around eight hours long, which the majority manage to complete.
“We made sure that the story, educational content and applicability of the video games were aligned with corporate culture, and from there it was an easy decision”, Eduardo explained, referring to the process of selecting their training catalog.
Without motivation, there is no engagement
The basis for engagement is without doubt found in motivation, that is, in what moves us to act. In this sense, there is nothing like the healthy competition generated by the game. The rankings system means employees get much more involved and, on the flip side, it gives the area of human resources more visibility and relevance among members of the company, regardless of what stage they are at.
For Marisol Gallardo, Director of Training and Business Development at UVM, it is vital that the training team experience game-based learning in order to ensuring they are the primary motivators. This way, they are as involved as their employees, and their communications are based on their own experience, which always gives their messages greater credibility.
The search for self-development
For MANE, implementing game-based learning into the company’s training strategy was a change in culture in and of itself. And in fact, that was what they were hoping for: a change in the culture of the organization, moving towards a model of self-management of employees. They managed to involve all employees, who went from initially showing a certain amount of resistance to asking for more training activities. Thanks to this, the Human Resources development were able to build a new image as providers of entertainment and promotors of professional development in the eyes of employees.
Juan Hernán of GNP also followed the same line. Through game-based learning, not only were company values transmitted, but self-development of employees was sparked. When collaborators verify that the training helps them professionally and even in their personal life and, in addition, convinces the management team that this is very positive for the company, the result is impressive.