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A strong on boarding program can quickly bring new recruits up to speed in unfamiliar working environment and align them to their immediate deliverable as well as long term goals. While most organizations realize the need for impactful induction trainings, it is now evident that on-boarding training solutions have to be more than just revamped presentations or lengthy documents.
In recent times, popularity of mobile devices is on the rise. Most organizations are now open to the idea of taking advantage of the increased use of smartphone and tablet for e-Learning delivery at work place. This enhances availability and accessibility of training for employees – who can now utilize their time learning, even when out of office. But the increasing use of mobile-enabled learning content creates a set of challenges for e-Learning developers. In addition to creating mobile-enabled learning content, e-learning developers also have to think about different strategies that will best benefit mobile medium. Games-based learning on the mobile platform is a powerful amalgam of effective learning and just-in-time delivery.
Our client is a rural non-banking finance company, with over 1500 front-line sales executives providing an opportunity to bring alive dreams of entrepreneurs working in the grassroots of the country. Training front-line sales personnel is an ongoing challenge for the Client, as growing number of clients lead to newer recruits coming in on a regular basis. Training them on the details of their work as well as the vision and of the organization is critical for sales success and they wanted a learning solution that would quickly bring new recruits up to speed and help them retain the knowledge for long.
We created a mobile-enabled Online On boarding Training program for our Client that enables learner to perform business activities effectively through a Game-based approach. The training material is available through a mobile App, installed on the learners’ handheld device.
This App was the first of its kind for sales force of the Client. Previously, all new recruits were trained with a 4-day long classroom training session, with little scope for re-enforcements – especially for the first few crucial months. The mobile delivery of training made learning content available as per the needs of learner and the game-based approach made learning come alive for employees. Winsome combination of mobile-platform and game-based learning created an avenue for effective learning.
- With technology-enabled learning, we were able to compress a 4-day long training to 5.5 learning hours. This made considerable time as well as money savings.
- In addition, game mechanics were built into the training, making mundane topics come alive for learners. This increased the effectiveness of the training manifold.
- Mobile delivery ensured that training was available for the learner as per his/her schedule and changing needs. In addition, making learning content available on their handheld devices, the training content is automatically accessed more. Furthermore, this also allows for greater flexibility and increases learners’ control over their training.
- Learners in this case, are on the move and rarely get a chance to sit and read. With mobile based training, we provided learners: flexibility to complete the course as per respective schedule. Progress is tracked and synched automatically – even if they complete the course in multiple tries.
- The app is linked to the organization’s LMS. Managers and administrators have the option of pulling out updated reports and user data as per their requirements. This ensures that the effectiveness of training can be reviewed from time to time and ROI effectively calculated.
Training is split into four levels: First level shares the organization’s background. The second level dwells on the basics of finance and accounting, the third lists various products and their features and the fourth level shares ethics that all employees must follow.
Theme based game structure: We chose Drona (a famous character from the Mahabharata) as the main mentor along with a panel of experts, who guide learners towards success. The theme is very familiar to learners and they easily align to their roles within the game mechanics.
• Learner receives a welcome message from Drona, the great teacher. He informs players of the quest that lies ahead of them and what he expects them to achieve at the end of the quest.
• He also tells about the various mentors from his panel of experts who will meet learners along the way, helping them to overcome learning challenges, achieve success, gather points, and finally acquire the crown and the title of Arjuna – the Great.
• Each player will get a sketchy outline of his Arjuna avatar at the beginning of the game on the leader board page of the gaming app. Throughout the quest, mentors from different modules will set the targets for their module.
• As learner achieves each target, their Arjuna avatar will gain depth and colours, along with his weapons.
The avatar will have four stages for each level of training. When a player completes a level by finishing all the modules within, the Arjuna avatar will enhance. At the end of all four levels, learner will be transformed from a novice to an expert in their field and acquire one of the three crowns – silver, gold, and diamond – based on the points gathered and bag the title, “Arjuna – the Great”. They will also receive a certificate, depending on the final score.
The theme-based game app provided pertinent information in a way that is best-suited for intended audiences. Learning content was created as per the preferences of learners. The content was then made available using modern, easy-to-use technology, which increases its reach as well as provides continuous access. The sales function of an organization often has unique distinction that very few employees have a sedentary job. Thus it is always a challenge to congregate them for any kind of training. In the face of this challenge, game-based mobile app was a radical way of reaching out to such a dynamic set of target audience. Not only did it reach out to the audience, it also provided a learning experience which suits the needs of learners as well as aligns itself to their preferences of experiential learning.
Reference: Mobile Game-Based Learning For Onboarding And Sales Proficiency
