Compliance training has traditionally been considered a challenging area for trainers to both engage and motivate the learner population. While many recognize the inherent promise of leveraging game techniques within training, and compliance training even more specifically, best practices for gamification are still largely undefined and without a clear justification.

In lieu of data-drive justifications, relational and anecdotal research becomes an important tool. The following is a “Four E” framework that you can leverage to outline the benefits of gamified learning solutions, with some anecdotal commentary specific to its use for ethics and compliance training at one top-ten global pharma company.

Engage

Learning games are typically built in modern web standards or as native mobile applications that can be accessed for asynchronous self-directed play on one’s phone or tablet. This approach embraces the consumer nature of content consumption. Most research indicates that as of 2015, U.S. adults spend an average of two hours and 50 minutes on mobile devices a day. On a time basis alone, it’s easy to argue for the “engagement” benefits of gamified training, particularly with mobile.

Enrich

Now that you have a learner engaged, you need to keep him there. In any scenario, the game needs to enrich the learner experience. Game mechanics must be developed in service of the learning rather than overshadow it. Building a successful game means strong integration of learning goals, relevant content and a better experience than one would find in a traditional slide-based e-learning module.

As an example, the pharma company emulated a popular television gameshow, where individuals get in a taxicab and are asked timed questions. Correct answers are awarded cash. Simple. This game ensured ongoing motivation, through competition, and kept learners in the content without it seeming boring.  And, connecting compliance to cash rewards emphasized a key concept – non-compliance has a price.

Enhance

Gaming can be used as a complementary tool that enhances the training journey in a number of ways. Consider lessons learned from the deployment of the top ten pharma company’s game. Originally built as an interactive module for individualized asynchronous learning, this company quickly began leveraging the game as a group learning tool at several large in-person meetings. Facilitators broke people into groups of five to six people, each with one iPad and time parameters. The groups had to answer the questions given within a specified timeframe, and were awarded points, making it a team competition. This drove peer-to-peer training, and gave facilitators the opportunity to leverage group thinking to discuss issues where knowledge gaps clearly emerged.

Evaluate

One of the hottest topics in training is measurement, and the use of data to further demonstrate program efficacy.

In addition to tracking completion, time spent in the games may also be trackable, revealing actual engagement levels. Cross-referenced with knowledge areas, simple analytics can demonstrate where time is driving knowledge retention, or making no difference at all.

The pharma company has been able to identify the areas of compliance training for which learners require additional support, thus allowing the compliance and ethics team to consider additional content areas on which to focus. That is not possible with flat completion records.

Gamification as part of training is not a fad. It is most certainly here to stay, because there is significant qualitative evidence that it works. However, in a world absent data, it may not be seen as serious enough for topics like compliance training. Applying the “Four E’s” framework can reduce that barrier to entry. When presenting games or game mechanics as part of your compliance training program consider an outline that looks like this:

• Engagement: Using this game framework is expected to increase learner activity by four hours over the course of the program.
• Enrich: A simulation-style game will give novice learners, which comprise 30 percent of our learner population, a real-world application of the critical information.
• Enhance: The game framework can be used both asynchronously and as part of an event-based agenda, ensuring continuity and consistency across the training journey.
• Evaluate: This game will generate three additional data sets to identify knowledge gaps, retention challenges, and a correlation between time spent and training efficacy.

Even the most skeptical stakeholders will understand the value of applying gamified approaches, and open the door to further innovation around their use.