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The reasons why corporations should embrace game development.
These are some of the preconceptions some might have when we argue that games have their place in corporate life. We are not only talking about the odd game or competition at a kick-off or a festive event such as a holiday party.
No - we are talking about using game mechanics as an integrated component in company core functions such as training, onboarding, team building, employer branding, marketing and, yes, fun.
Gaming is part of our biology. We start out learning skills by playing. As we got older, the way we learn changed - not because we were not playful, but because we did not have the tools to create games suited for learning at a deeper level. We still have the urge to play and compete - but we call it by their specific names; Soccer, racing, Call of Duty, Sudoku etc.
According to Statista there are 2,7 million video gamers in the world - and this is just one subcategory of people enjoying games in their spare time. So how do we as employers harness this urge to play, game and compete? Digital gamers are increasing in numbers. The people finishing schools today haven't experienced a world without the Internet. They are all native to digital games. Schools are using more and more digital tools.
According to an eBook written by Designing digitally there are seven good reasons why gamification will help corporations. The first four reasons have an additional quality in that they motivate employees directly.
As a result of implementing gamification at the workplace, companies are likely to see a better employee retention, an improvement in the workspace and higher productivity.
Skills are obtained faster when learned through motivating games. This again leads to increased revenue.
The beauty of gaming at the workplace is that implementation and use is relatively low cost - thus resulting in good return on investment. Companies have much content that can be gamified. Gaming platforms, such as Wittario, let companies take training, onboarding processes, recruitment etc and create supplementary games. They can create motivational games from what used to be unmotivating chores.
Another great benefit is that learning games can be played without an instructor. Employees can choose when to play - alone or in groups. Once the game content has been created - the game can be repeated at a very low cost.
The Wittario platform combines games with outdoor physical activity and multi sensory interactivity - enhancing learning outcome even further. As no office space or instructor is needed, ROI is even higher.
