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Perspectives of Learning and Training Practitioners on Gamification

Authors

Dr. Amanda Tanner Capella University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3574-5569
Dr. Michelle Preiksaitis CORALS LLC https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3064-2392

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58593/cjar.v1i1.12

Keywords:

Career development, Gamification, Training, Asynchronous learning

Abstract

United States’ information technology (IT) training professionals provided perspectives regarding the gamification of employee training to address turnover and reskilling needs. Participants (N = 9) aged 23 or above, with 5 years of training experience, provided their perceptions about gamified training during semi-structured interviews. A generic qualitative inquiry data analysis technique led to five themes: gamification is for onboarding and skills development and meets a variety of training needs; going beyond characteristics and elements of the game motivates employees; keeping the training end goal in mind is vital; gamification reduces time and resources by creating auto-nudges which track and remind employees to complete training; and, gamification assists with team building and collaboration, career development, and employee retention. Gamification can provide varied training, including compliance, onboarding, technical, and career training. Gamification training costs could be offset by reduced employee travel or location costs of live training.

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Author Biographies

Dr. Amanda Tanner, Capella University

Amanda Tanner (Primary), DBA, is a business consultant and a lifelong educator with an innate curiosity toward all trending technological gadgets. Her motto is “TEEching you to work smarter, not harder, since 1994”. A former business owner and retired vocational education teacher, Dr. Tanner is currently a professor at an online university, teaching business and leadership courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels to students worldwide. A SME and content developer for education and business, she enjoys developing and streamlining content and deliverables that meet the customer’s needs. She is the Associate Editor and Production Manager of C'JAR, a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal. Michigan. coralsjar@gmail.com

Dr. Michelle Preiksaitis, CORALS LLC

Michelle K. Preiksaitis (Secondary), JD, PhD, is the President of Coastal Organization Research and Learning Strategies, LLC, a business consulting firm, where she assists small businesses and universities with research to increase organizational and student learning, and she assists doctoral students with dissertations and capstones, including conversions from thesis to publishable articles. She is a licensed attorney and an online professor of strategy, entrepreneurship, innovation, business law, and talent management; she has chaired over 50 doctoral research projects. She is the Editor-in-Chief of C’JAR, a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal. Florida. coralsllc@gmail.com

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Published

01/15/2023 — Updated on 01/15/2023

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Tanner, A., & Preiksaitis, M. (2023). Perspectives of Learning and Training Practitioners on Gamification. CORALS’ Journal of Applied Research, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.58593/cjar.v1i1.12