Performance evaluation
Serious games have great potential for development in the corporate world.
These are interactive video games that allow you to practice specific skills, achieve concrete goals, and acquire transferable skills.
The State of "Flow" and Immersive Learning
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi identified flow as a mental state in which one is completely immersed in an activity. This involves maximum concentration, an altered perception of time, a sense of control, and intrinsic gratification.
Training games are designed to elicit this state of mind, making gamified training as engaging as a pastime.
Simulation and real-time feedback
When an employee is immersed in simulated scenarios, such as managing a conflict with a customer, learning relationship strategies and techniques, or leading a team and practicing leadership, their brain processes the experience similarly to how it would in real life.
The emotions experienced during the game strengthen memory and make the skills more easily recalled in real situations.
Unlike a traditional training course, a serious game provides real-time feedback on every choice.
If a decision is wrong, the player immediately discovers it.
This trial-and-error learning mechanism is a very powerful tool for supporting the development and strengthening of soft skills.
Research shows that digital video games, and in particular scientifically designed learning games, actually improve many of the most in-demand skills in companies.
Concrete benefits for HR and L&D
For those involved in training and developing human capital in companies, serious games are invaluable tools, offering benefits that traditional methods struggle to deliver. For example, I'll mention:
greater motivation and completion of training courses
personalized and scalable learning
data and performance measurement
Concrete benefits for HR and L&D
From leadership to sales.
Serious games are no longer a niche experiment. Some areas of corporate application are already mature.
In this regard, I would mention:
Onboarding: a process that simulates the initial stages of a company's experience, internal policies, and organizational culture through an interactive narrative scenario.
Sales training: objections, negotiations, and deal closings are simulated with virtual customers.
Leadership and soft skills: scenarios involving conflict management, feedback to collaborators, and decision-making under pressure are presented.
Supplier selection
When choosing a vendor, the quality of game design can make all the difference.
An effective serious game isn't simply an interactive quiz with eye-catching graphics; it requires collaboration between content experts, experience designers, and development professionals.
When evaluating a vendor, it is important to verify that the product has been designed with sound pedagogical criteria as well as compliant with WCAG accessibility criteria.
In conclusion, serious games are at their best when integrated into a broader learning program. They aren't simply a substitute for other learning modalities, but rather a value-added component of a coherent L&D ecosystem.
Bibliographic References
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper & Row.
World Economic Forum. (2016). New vision for education: Fostering social and emotional learning through technology. World Economic Forum. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Vision_for_Education.pdf
Wouters, P., van Nimwegen, C., van Oostendorp, H., & van der Spek, E. D. (2013). A meta-analysis of the cognitive and motivational effects of serious games. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(2), 249–265.