Compliance training. Just the words have some people falling asleep the minute you mention the words. For years now, organisations have shoveled bullet pointed content at employees, usually at induction and then annually repeating exactly the same content over and over for the lifetime of their employment. I remember my first sleepy experience of this very well.
So how do you go about creating something more engaging? And why bother? Stuart Harris from Southern NHS Foundation Trust was talking about this on today’s live session on the Big #SpongeHangout with Sponge UK. With over 40 pieces of compliance learning covering the industry of this particular organisation, engagement is key. He said:
‘We were open to being ambitious by not just sticking to what was done before. We wanted something new and innovative and to look around at what else was out there. We wanted to not leave any stone un-turned’.
Stuart went on to say how him and his team visited Learning Technologies and discovered what they thought could be the answer. Gamification.
‘Hands up, we didn’t know what this meant. But being open minded we approached some people, looked at some suppliers case studies and that opened our imaginations to what was possible. We quickly realised it had a role to play and we had a thirst for it. Part of our procurement spec stated that we wanted to include gamification.’
Stuart described how working with their partner, virtual games were created inside their new elearning. In the infection control learning, there was a virtual game pitching learners against the clock to wash their hands. Some of those who had attended the training had reported back how they recalled the game when they were washing their hands an indicator that the learning had lasting impressions. In fire training, there was a game on evacuating the building where you gained time for closing fire doors behind you and collecting patients along the way. In some courses, there were games that once completed unlocked other sections. This approach gave the feeling of discovery according to Stuart.
Whilst completing the training online wasn't mandatory and the team still offered other ways to complete the learning face to face, Stuart told how they had engaged people who were previously resistant in using online learning and more people were completing the new learning in this way. Other benefits of the approach were clear. They benchmarked what people thought of the ‘old’ elearning versus the new and found that feedback was much more positive. Learners were talking about the training in a positive light and recommending it to their peers. The approach brought about cost savings too and he estimates that the trust is saving in the region of 1.6m over five years.
Stuart shared two main tips for organisations looking to do similar:
- Project Management: Stuart said adopting a project management discipline was important. ‘It was a much bigger than we had first imagined. We had a dedicated PM resource. That really helped us’
- Learner involvement: ‘One of the ways we got more confident [with the approach] is that we would pilot early. We wanted to get it right and wanted early indications that we were on the right track. We took a limited number of people and showed concepts, prototyping along the way’
Gamification is a buzz word across L&D right now. It’s all too easy to introduce this concept as the latest fad. What this session did however highlight is that with some careful consideration, involving learners along the way, it is possible to use gamification to enhance the learner experience and create a more positive impression of online learning.
I’d be interested to hear from you. Are you using Gamification in your online learning? What are the results you’ve seen? Or is this a brand new area to you? What would you like to learn more about in this area?
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