How to successfully implement game-based learning in your company

Why do you need a plan to implement game-based learning?

Because a great game won’t launch itself. Learning through play is engaging, lets people practice instead of just listen, and helps knowledge stick. But to make it work you have to pick the right solution, prepare the launch, support players along the way and analyze the results.

The guide draws on the experience of Game Strategies (formerly Gamelearn) with more than 1,000 corporate clients in over 50 countries, organized into four phases with a printable checklist at the end. Get it right and the payoff goes beyond engagement and completion: the game’s data helps you understand your people better and gives the training team more visibility. Just don’t expect a magic button.

Phase 1: choose the solution before you choose the game

The key question isn’t which game looks coolest, it’s what you need to teach. Some serious games build soft skills (leadership, negotiation), others train technical practice (a surgical procedure, landing a plane), and others cover products and internal processes. They’re not interchangeable.

They don’t work in isolation either. According to the guide, the most successful programs are blended with other initiatives: classroom sessions, e-learning, hands-on practice. Before signing anything, play the game yourself from start to finish and ask for a pilot with 20 to 40 employees from different profiles and departments. Then make sure:

• It integrates with your LMS and works on computer, tablet and phone.
• It’s available in every language your workforce speaks.
• It comes with communication materials: trailers, flyers, emails, videos.
• The provider offers solid tech support and customer service.
• It fits your budget and timeline: some games last a couple of hours, some programs run for weeks or months.
• It can be customized if needed, bearing in mind that takes time, money and expertise.

Phase 2: a launch worthy of a Hollywood premiere

How you introduce it shapes much of the outcome. Some people hear “video game” and think leisure, so make it clear from day one that the goal is learning, and explain how to access it, what they’ll learn, how they’ll be assessed and how long they have.

Then build the buzz. Some companies have copied a movie premiere: a teaser campaign, emails with cinema tickets and the whole team in one room watching the game’s trailer. Posters, WhatsApp or text messages work too. And don’t forget to:

• Create teams by department, country or profile and let them compete.
• Be flexible, but set a deadline. Otherwise some people will never find the time.
• Make it mandatory: according to the guide, that’s where the best results come from.
• Announce the prizes from day one: for the winner, a gold-silver-bronze podium or the fastest finisher.
• Measure before you start: set your KPIs and capture the baseline.

Phase 3: while they play, keep the momentum going

Launch day is just level 1. Throughout the hours, days or weeks the game runs, keep communicating: a daily points summary, extra lives, a recap of the week’s lessons. Fix any technical issue fast, and if something breaks, ask your provider for answers.

Leaderboards are your best ally: healthy competition between colleagues who know each other is hard to beat. Send the rankings weekly or put them on a whiteboard in the office. And use the data: a good game tells you which screen each person is on, how long they spend and where they get stuck. Use it to reinforce the toughest concepts in person and help anyone falling behind.

Phase 4: after “game over,” measure and plan the rematch

When the game ends, the interesting part begins. Run surveys (right away and a few weeks later) focused on what people learned, not on the format. Measure the same KPIs as before and compare; you can also compare departments that played with those that didn’t. Those are the numbers that will prove to leadership that it worked.

Look for patterns: if 80% of players get stuck on the same level, that content needs reinforcing through another type of training. Hand out the promised prizes at a small ceremony, open a discussion on how to apply what they learned day to day, and use everything you’ve found out to plan the next program.