Running head: GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 1

Gamification for Corporate Adult Learners

Komal S Patel

Post University

2017
GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 2

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to use gamification for adult learners in the workplace, to

increase learner engagement. The study was conducted through deploying new software training

to the three customer service representatives (CSRs) at Southern Pharma, utilizing e-learning

platform HaikuLearning, embedded with game design elements from other independent third

party softwares. These softwares allowed the instructional designer to create simple games to aid

the learning. The studied showed that with the use of game design the activities actively engaged

learners more in their training, thus were as productive or more with the older software system in

place. The hope from this study was to gain more insight on utilizing gamification for education

and corporate training, and the results showcased a positive correlation between the two.
GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 3

Problem Statement

Many corporate environments and different work places need to train and teach not only

new employees but seasoned employees of all different educational grounds and tech savviness

on business practices, new elements to their jobs, and for on-boarding. Keeping those adult

learners engaged in the learning is an issue. Without the learners being properly engaged in the

learning it can lead to errors, customer complaints, and disciplinary action for the employee. ...

adult learners need to be actively engaged in learning, have predetermined motivation for

engaging in the learning... (McDonough, 2014, p. 10). Gamification studies have shown great

promise with traditional student engagement. Research on adding games to the classroom, or

gamification has shown, what may be surprising to some, benefit to students. Dominguez et al

(2013), and Lee and Hammer (2011) state that Gamification has many cognitive, emotional, and

social benefits (as cited in Turan, Avinc, Kara & Goktas, 2016, p. 64). By introducing

gamification and gaming elements to education for adult learners, this could be a solution to

getting adult learners engaged in training. With these games design elements in education

learners will be able to better understand concepts, socialize with other learners, and increase

their motivation for learning, Hakulinen, Auvinen and Korgonen (2015) and Lee and Hammer

(2011) state that The literature has further demonstrated that the use of gamification in

education increases motivation towards and participation in a course (as cited in Turan et al,

2016, p. 64). With the added benefit of gamification that could be used in and out of the learning

environment, it could help with increasing their knowledge on the material without putting in

conscious effort, or laborious and stressful study sessions, thereby engaging with their course

content on multiple levels in multiple ways. This project will answer question: Can the use of
GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 4

gamification and game design in education help increase adult learner engagement in the

workplace.

Literature Review

Introduction

A major problem with training and learning in corporate environments is learner

engagement. Learner engagement relies on several factors, two of the most important being part

of motivation; intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. This is an important area to tackle as in many

corporate workplaces, training is not taken seriously and leads to countless errors, poor customer

service or quality of work which can result in disciplinary action, or loss in profit margins as

customers who do not receive proper assistance do not return.

Retention is an important part of the adult learning process. It is directly impacted by the

amount of practice and use during the learning process. What this means is that adult

learners need to be actively engaged in learning, have predetermined motivation for

engaging in the learning, and need a learning environment that supports this active

engagement and motivation (McDonough, 2014, p. 10).

Gamification could prove to be a terrific solution to this engagement issue. Gamification

and Game design refers to all the implementation details related to the development of a game:

storyline, winning modality, complexity and level design, interaction, control, communication,

engagement etc (Balan, Moldoveanu, Moldoveanu, & Morar, 2016, p. 337). The literature

reviewed here will discuss how and why gamification can improve learner engagement in

corporate training.
GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 5

Motivation

For adult learners there are many factors in what can engage them in learning and

motivate them to even conduct the learning in the first place. For traditional learning intrinsic

motivation is the most crucial, and most often found, as discovered by Archer, Cantwell, and

Bourke, 1999; Bennett, Evans, and Riedle, 2007; Bye, Pushkar, and Conway, 2007; Donohue &

Wong, 1997; Murphy and Roopchand, 2003 (as cited in Rothes, Lemos & Goncalves, 2017, p.

7), but for workplace learning, it tends to be extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation refers to the

performance of an activity that is rewarding on its own, for instance, learning about something

because we find it interesting. Extrinsic motivation relates to the performance of an activity for

the consequences or rewards that come out of it (e.g., higher grades, honors, money) and/or to

avoid negative outcomes (e.g., punishments, criticism)(Rothes,et al, 2017, p. 4). Learner

engagement is about how much time is spent on the learning and how focused they really are on

it, with actual assimilation of the knowledge. Research shows adult learners tend to be more

intrinsically motivated when it comes to gaining education, in the more traditional sense, but

with training or job related learning many times it is extrinsic, related to wanting to keep their

job or earn a promotion, etc. Additionally if learners feel the learning will not impact them

positively motivation drops, causing engagement to drop. Malcolm Knowles (2011) indicates

that adult learners are most likely to be actively engaged in learning when they are given some

choice and control over the learning process (as cited in McDonough, 2014, p. 8). McDonough

goes on to discuss how with blended courses, and introducing educational elements to adult

learners electronically allows them to conduct the learning on their own terms. This is crucial

because adult learners are practical and focus on the parts of the new knowledge that are most
GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 6

useful to them; either in their work or other areas of their life. What this means is that adult

learners what to be actively engaged in the learning process and need to have an environment

that supports this active engagement (McDonough, 2014, p. 9-10). In a study discussed by

Cheng (2013), it was reported that learners utilizing corporate e-learning programs, (CELP), had

positive experiences and felt that they had a positive attitude toward CELP for learning content

and structure, learning strategies, facilitated design, information and interface design, learning

assessment and aspects of feedback (p.88). There was one major issue that was faced by the

learners in this study, which may also plague many other environments and learners, and that is

having adequate time to use the e-methods of learning. This will need to be carefully considered

before and while implementing gamification strategies.

Gamification

There are many ways to use gamification in the workplace. From training on

point-of-sales systems, to using excel, to even virtual work environments to train doctors, pilots

and military. Gaming and game design can create a very immersive experience, in turn engaging

the learner. When a learner is engaged in the material it allows them to pay more attention,

bringing more to the job post-learning, and have more confidence when executing what was

learned. Using gaming within certain workplaces have also shown to reduce stress levels for

employees and increasing focus. Co-creating and maintaining situation-appropriate and

comprehensible work/play distinctions may be increasingly important in quality of life efforts in

workplace contexts (Oravec, 2015, p. 9). Gamification studies in both children and adult

learners show similar promise where those using gamification demonstrated an increase in

intrinsic motivation, and satisfaction for their learning. When the players gain a sense of
GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 7

identity by acknowledging their role and position in the game and by assessing its purposes and

principles, they automatically become motivated to pursue the challenges and objectives set by it

and enter into a state of immersive experience (Balan et al, 2016,p. 335). By utilizing these

immersive gaming techniques and environments it can help the adult learners to gain the

motivation to truly rise to the challenges. Gaming elements can be used to encourage

participation and interaction in a virtual training session by awarding points or badges to learners

when they interact with each other or the instructor (DuVernet, & Popp, 2014, p. 39). In the

majority of scenarios there is not time, nor resources available for a full blown game, but if

possible, the way the learner becomes involved is better for learning. In a serious game,

learning follows a cyclic model: experiencing, reflecting on the experience, drawing conclusions,

creating a plan for future actions, experiencing again etc. Reflection is a fundamental part of the

learning process, as it helps the player improve his performance on the long term (Balan et al,

2016, p. 335). In addition to an immersive experience leading to intrinsic motivation Perrotta et

al. (2013) believe that gamification of learning is intrinsically motivating because rules are

inputs to broad range of decision making processes; fun because goals allow student to see the

direct impact of their efforts; authentic because fantasy provides a compelling background that

allows students to experiment with skills without suffering the consequences of failure in real

life (as cited in Faiella & Ricciardi, 2015, p 15). These gamification strategies improve how

these training elements are then utilized in the workplace. A study conducted by Puleston and

Sleep (2011) concluded through their research that the application of soft gamification and

more creative questioning techniques can reduce straight-lining, improve the quality and quantity

of answers, and improve participant engagement levels (as cited in Bailey, Pritchard, &
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Kernohan, 2015, p. 19). The use of gamification, while alleviating stress, does create necessary

pressure within the game to facilitate the learning The setting of a time limit used in applying

the principle of a rule in the gamified cell clearly draws upon the competitive nature that is

inherent in all of us The counting down of a minute on the screen further applied a mild

pressure to make the participant focus on the task in hand (Bailey et al, 2015, p. 22) as

indicated, this pressure helps to get learners engaged in the learning and complete it. By softly

encouraging the completion of the training, and using benefits, it can encourage socializing and

interacting with fellow trainees or instructors on progress and completion. Through these studies

and discussion it is notable that overall, we do see that gamification can provide richer data and

increase participant engagement, as is evident in the more detailed responses obtained in the

gamified cell of participants (Bailey et al, 2015, p. 25). Gamification has also encountered

much scrutiny, Some critiques relate to the potentials for enforced merriment or mandatory

fun associated with gamification (Oravec, 2015, p. 3). Oravec (2015) also discusses how many

times the idea that gamification can be akin to taylorization (work routinzation)...prospects for

surveillance could also have Issues involving game plots and characters or emphasis on

certain commercial game approaches (p.3). all which are addressed and it is crucial to explore

all sides of the argument with the remainder of this paper, and as progress on implementing

gamification strategies move forward.

Social Implications

With many games in the traditional sense, there is an aspect of socializing involved, be it

gaming with friends or using a MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game) or a

derivation of such. Gamification for education can also be utilized to facilitate socialization,
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decision making and foster brainstorming. Games and game design can also encourage internal

collaboration and communications.With in game achievement learners engage more with not

only the game, but also learning, driving intrinsic motivation through the extrinsic rewards with

the game based learning. For businesses that are looking to implement different strategies for

engaging their employees there are several elements for them to explore, one such element is

communication, Purves (2005) states that Effective communication processes lie in a

background of every company that wants to be successful in a long term (as cited in Ergle,

2015, p. 220). Gamification strategies often include avenues to socialization, be it through

in-game collaboration, to fostering some healthy competition, it adds that important

communication element into the workplace, as well as keeps all participants engaged in the tasks,

information or training at hand. Competition is a core principle behind the performance

management system, as everyone likes to be appraised as the top performer (Ergle, 2015, p. 223),

Deterding (2011) writes that Gamification in Human Resource Management is the usage of

game thinking and game mechanics in non-game scenarios, specifically in recruitment, training

and development, and motivation, in order to engage users and solve problems (as cited in

Ergle, 2015, p. 222) which is a way companies can view gamification strategies, as an alternate

means to engage and interest employees in crucial information, and working together. Welch

(2011) states that communication is a psychological need of employees, which organizations

have to meet to maintain and develop employee engagement (as cited in Ergle, 2015, p. 221)

further stressing how ensuring the employees have multiple means of communication, not only

traditional means, but through gamification which can help them to learn and understand the

material they will be communication about and working on. Wanting engaged and empowered
GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 10

employees is obvious. Creating an environment, which facilitates high performance, is much

more difficult and complex. Company has to be able to communicate their mission and values, it

has to train managers and leaders to follow these values and have to hire employees who fit the

culture (Ergle, 2015, p. 221). Those managers, specialists and workers that are the supporters

of the gamification believe that the main objectives of implementation of gaming techniques are,

first of all, to improve staff motivation and create a favourable social and psychological climate

in the organisation that will facilitate the creativity and initiative of employees. (Vinichenki,

Melnichuk, Kirillov, Makushkin, & Melnichuk, (2016), p. 9). Though much research has not

been conducted on adult learners with gamification, studies based on school aged children have

shown some serious promise, research by Lee & Hammer (2011) and Simes, Redondo & Vilas

(2013) shows that Based on the literature, gamification may be used to provide incentives for

expected behaviors in education and to ensure that these behaviors help students to reach

intended learning outcomes (Turan, Avinc, Kara, & Goktas, 2016, p. 64). For adult this can

mean that The presence of a rich creative potential, proactive attitude, innovative ideas of

employees will contribute to improvement of efficiency of the organisation.(Vinichenki et al,

2016, p.9).

With the amount of research that has been conducted on the topic of gamification, there

are some shortcomings, there are a varying amount of gamification and game design strategies,

that will all work differently in different environments. Even when providing the most beneficial

strategy for the learning environment, learners can vary greatly. Not all learners may benefit

from aspects of gamification, such as competition. Regardless, there is still a problem that needs

to be addressed most adults spend a significant amount of time working, and yet only 20
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percent of them are highly engaged in their work (Ergle, 2015, p. 219) and utilizing

gamification as a solution could prove very successful, integrating games into everyday

organizational activities may serve to empower participants to expand their capacities and evolve

their perspectives even in relatively mundane settings, such as assembly lines or routine office

work (Oravec, 2015, p. 8). There has been great success with using gamification The presence

of a rich creative potential, proactive attitude, innovative ideas of employees will contribute to

improvement of efficiency of the organisation (Vinichenki et al, 2016, p.9). In the study

conducted by Turan et al (2016) they concluded that gamification can increase both cognitive

load and achievement levels, and students generally have positive thoughts regarding

gamification strategies (p.68). These studies with students and studies coupled with

observations such as those by Vinichenki et al (2016), in the course of the games, most optimal

solutions are elaborated to solve business tasks (p. 11) the literature shows that gamification

when utilized with proper intentions and strategies in place, can engage learners and employees,

and be very useful tools to managers and even businesses looking to excel.

Research Design and Methodology

The population for this project are 3 customer service representatives(CSRs). Their

responsibilities include assisting customers with placing orders, general inquiries via phone, and

email. The majority of the job involves phone support, and taking orders. With upgrades taking

place to software systems for both orders, and queries, getting all the CSRs up to speed and

functioning at their expected service-level agreement(SLA) is the main purpose of the training.

Two of the learners are not very tech savvy and the new software being delivered are fully online

e-commerce portals. This involves the CSRs learning an entirely new system for searching for
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customers, answers, entering and tracking orders.

To implement this project, gaming design will be utilized to deliver the training material.

The modules will have mock orders, presented in a live format where the CSRs can play and

learn, without the worry of creating orders on accounts where actual money and product will be

exchanged. This will allow the CSRs to become comfortable with the new interface. The mock

orders will be fully interactive, but only a select range of customers will be available, and no

payment gateway information will be given. The CSRs will then be given mock orders to fill in,

the idea is to have levels of difficulty. The more time spent within the module, the longer the

orders and more tasks to complete. Such as deleting items midway through an order, or tracking

a secondary order, and even shipping it to multiple addresses.

The data to be collected will consist of both qualitative and quantitative data. This mixed

method approach allows for the researcher and the CSRs to not only be measured quantitatively,

using raw measurable data, but also qualitatively and gain insight into their experiences directly.

The data collected on the performance before and after the training was based on number of

orders places, queries answered and emails responded to over a week long period, by the CSRs.

The qualitative data was collected through surveys before, during and after the training is

delivered. The goal for the qualitative data is to learn how the CSRs felt about the new system

and how their jobs would be affected, how the training helped or hindered their ability to learn

the new system, and how they felt about conducting daily business in the new system now that

the training was complete.

With the data, and taking an action research approach to it, the training will be updated as

needed from the information gathered from the CSRs. Action research is a reflection- in-action
GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 13

mindset for teaching where the educator continuously considers the impact of his or her actions

while they are being implemented, not afterwards (Ary, Jacobs, Sorensen, Walker, 2015, p.

548). If the metrics observed from the training reflect that the CSRs are not improving from the

training, that quantitative information coupled with the qualitative information gained from the

CSRs will allow the trainer to alter the training to make it easier, or more difficult, or add new

components if there are elements missing. This coincides with the 8 step process that Ary et al.,

(2015) discusses wherein the instructor reflects, plans, acts, observes, and repeats the process.

During the first reflection time is taken to review what is already known about the problem ,

during planning a plan is developed for taking action and/or for gathering information. During

the act phase the researcher implements the plan, then observes and synthesises and analyses

the data, and additional key issues are identified. This will be the best way to conduct this project

due to the low number of learners to get information from, and due to time constraints.

From the experimental designs that outlined by Ary et al., (2015) , the design for this

project is One-group pretest-posttest design (p. 326). This design involves three steps: (1)

administering a pretest measuring the dependant variable; (2) applying experimental treatment X

to the subjects; and (3) administering a posttest, again measuring the dependent variable (Ary et

al., 2015, p. 326).

Evaluation and Assessment of the Project

The evaluation of this project was conducted by multiple parties before, during and after

the training was implemented. The learners, the CSRs, were able to share their opinions, and

apprehensions of the project, prior to viewing it, were asked to evaluate after they had explored
GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 14

at least one gamification element, and then again after they completed all the training

information. This allowed for the training to be improved and altered to fit the needs of the

learners in real time. The learners were also able to give verbal feedback to assist in improving

the training material. The majority of the learners felt the training was positive, simply needed to

add elements to the training, such as separating the product information into the same categories

as the company website. These were heeded and altered immediately to suit the learner needs.

Similarly the management team were given the opportunity to share their thoughts on utilizing

gamification for training the CSRs, then review it thoroughly. Once the CSRs had completed

using the training and started to use the software the training revolved around, they provided

additional feedback based on how successful they felt the gamification in the training was, based

on the metrics that are recorded daily and reviewed at the weeks end. Not all the feedback was

usable, one of the management team provided no constructive feedback and was not considered

during improvements and for the final results. The positive feedback included ways in which

additional gamification could be used, and will be considered moving forward beyond this

project.

In addition to the evaluation by the learners and management teams, there was a

self-assessment conducted. This ensured that all the components necessary were completed and

comprehensive. Including how many game design elements were to be utilized and if all the

learners received and used the training material. The self evaluation showed that many of the

projected outcomes and objectives were met by the project, and were all successful. To view self

evaluation requirements, refer to Appendix A. .

GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 15

Discussion and Reflection

This project explored gamification in getting adult learners to engage with their training

material, as opposed to passively getting through it for the sake of their jobs. I was able to

present the training in a way that utilized gamification and game design elements, that allowed

both the tech savvy and non-tech savvy to be comfortable in using all aspects of the e-learning.

This provided some excellent information on how, though not intuitive, to the non-tech savvy,

the games can still be a methodology that is effective and yield positive results.

The training was accomplished utilizing the ADDIE model of instructional design, and

introduced the concept of e-learning and gamification to my current environment. The creation

of some of the gaming elements for this training material, truly pushed me to bring elements of

my undergraduate degree into play as well as creativity. I was able to program/code three live

order simulations which allowed the CSRs to place mock orders to familiarize themselves with

the software they need to use. Having been able to take so many of the program and

concentration outcomes and build upon them for this project is what made it successful. The

learners have been doing great, their performance did not suffer through the transition or training

periods. Professionally this experience will allow me to bring this success into other corporate

training positions, or even into classrooms with both adult and children learners.

The one aspect of the research and design that was lacking and the most difficult is that

many of the education game creation tools are geared towards children, which make it difficult to

bring into a corporate setting. The research that was available was also largely geared towards

children learners, which opened up an interesting comparison for when I was presenting
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everything to my adult learners. Had this been conducted with a larger population I believe that

this could really add to the research community as a positive for gamification, and increasing its

use in education. For this environment, with these learners, utilizing gamification to engage the

learners in the training proved to be successful.

GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 17

References

Ary, Jacobs, Sorensen, Walker. (2015). ACP Introduction to Research in Education - EDU688,

9th Edition. [Bookshelf Ambassadored]. Retrieved from

https://ambassadored.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781305708112/

Bailey, P., Pritchard, G., & Kernohan, H. (2015). Gamification in market research. International

Journal Of Market Research, 57(1), 17-28. doi:10.2501/IJMR-2015-003

Balan, O., Moldoveanu, A., Moldoveanu, F., & Morar, A. (2016). From Game Design to

Gamification and Serious Gaming How Game Design Principles Apply to Educational

Gaming. Elearning & Software For Education, (1), 334-341. doi:10.12753/2066-026X-

16-047

Cheng, K. (2013). Exploring the Gap between a Pre- and Post-Installation of a Corporate E-

Learning Program in an Accounting Workplace. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational

Technology TOJET, 12(4), 80-89.

DuVernet, A. M., & Popp, E. (2014). Gamification of Workplace Practices. TIP: The Industrial-

Organizational Psychologist, 52(1), 39-44.

Ergle, D. (2015). Fostering Employee Engagement Through Gamification: AirBaltic Forecaster

Tool. Management (18544223), 10(3), 219-234.

Faiella, F., & Ricciardi, M. (2015). Gamification and Learning: A Review of Issues and

Research. Journal Of E-Learning & Knowledge Society, 11(3), 13-21

McDonough, D. (2014). Providing deep learning through active engagement of adult learners in

blended courses. Journal Of Learning In Higher Education, 10(1), 9-16.

GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 18

Oravec, J. A. (2015). Gamification and multigamification in the workplace: Expanding the ludic

dimensions of work and challenging the work/play dichotomy. Cyberpsychology,9(3), 59.

doi:10.5817/CP2015-3-6

Rothes, A. p., Lemos, M. S., & Gonalves, T. (2017). Motivational Profiles of Adult

Learners. Adult Education Quarterly, 67(1), 3-29. doi:10.1177/0741713616669588

Turan, Z. z., Avinc, Z. z., Kara, K. k., & Goktas, Y. y. (2016). Gamification and Education:

Achievements, Cognitive Loads, and Views of Students. International Journal Of

Emerging Technologies In Learning, 11(7), 64-69. doi:10.3991/ijet.v11i07.5455

Vinichenki, M.V., Melnichuk, A.V., Kirillov, A.V., Makushkin, S. A., & Melnichuk, Y. A.

(2016). Modern Views on the Gamification of Business. Journal Of Internet Banking &

Commerce, 21(s3), 1.
GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 19

Appendix A

Self Assessment Criteria

CRITERIA EXEMPLARY PROFICIENT WEAK DOES NOT

MEET

Project

Project must be Project is completed Project is completed Project is completed Project was
completed via an on fully fledged through an online through emailed manually created,
online e-learning e-learning platform, format such as information printed and
platform with separate google slides or distributed.
modules and google docs
sections for the
learning

All students must All learners, Learners were given Learners were given No learners were
have access and be managers were access to learning access but only registered or
able to view training assigned logins and and were able to some successfully successfully
material at any time have successfully access learning logged in accessed learning
while on site (at the accessed elearning successfully
job)

E-Learning must Elearning has 3 or Elearning has 2 Elearning has 1 Elearning has no
include a minimum more games, or gaming elements or gaming element or games or game
of 2 gaming game design games game elements.
elements elements present

Project includes all All requested The majority of Most elements are The majority of
components elements are elements are present in learning elements are
requested by present and present, maximum maximum of 2 missing and/or not
management team completed for all of 1 missing and/or missing and/or not completed for
(information on customer service not completed completed training.
products, software, training purposes,
books, and general including
duties) information on
products, software,
book, duties, best
practices

Project include 10 or more citations 5-10 citations in <5 citations No citations, no

citations for in APA format APA APA formatting.
information present
in the e-learning
GAMIFICATION FOR ADULTS 20

Appendix B

Below are the links to the surveys administered to the learners and management teams.

These were in the e-module on a page that is no longer published, so the learners and

management cannot access the surveys any longer.

LEARNERS:

Pre-Training Survey

Inter-Training Survey

Post Training Survey

MANAGEMENT:

Pre-Training Survey

Post -Training Survey