Forms of gamification that work
There are a lot of forms of gamification you can use. Our experience is that not all forms are suitable for training and not for both online and offline work. The form that we successfully use in our offline training sessions is the scoreboard. We ask questions and give points based on the answer. The more points you get, the higher you get on the list. This becomes even more successful if you let the participants work in small teams.
We also use this principle in our online training courses. Just not in teams and is therefore much less effective. What does work very actively are 'badges', 'rewards' and certificates. If you take the scoring from the scoreboard principle and give 'rewards' for getting x points, the participants will be more motivated to give correct answers.
In addition, we have the 'badge '. If you do something you can earn a badge if you do it more than x times you get the expert badge. This works well, for example, to motivate participants to do the different types of training offered. Suppose you have e-learning modules, news articles, videos and the possibility for feedback, then you ensure that you can earn one or more badges for each of these activities. After all, people are collectors.
The ultimate goal is of course the certificate. This reward gives the feeling that you have completed something and are ready for the next level or subject. It is similar to the level up in platform games. The key to success is to find a good balance between these forms of gamification.
The benefits of enhancing security awareness training
The benefits of gamification in enhancing security awareness training are numerous. The most obvious are increased engagement and motivation. Gamification provides participants with immediate feedback on what they did correctly and incorrectly – the latter often accompanied by a text and/or video explaining the correct answer and why it is correct. It is a form of reinforcement in the training that offers participants immediate coaching and support for long-term memory.
By adding gamification elements, you no longer just look at the number of questions someone gets right. For difficult questions you get more points and some answers are not completely wrong or not quite right, for which you still get a part of the points. This gives a much more positive image and the motivation of employees is not negatively influenced. The immediacy of feedback and tracking of statistics also automates many elements of the training reinforcement process, which, combined with the accessibility of mobile platforms, makes for faster and more active learning.