Focus Magazine - Fall 2017 - 50

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companies participating in the study
showed moderate use of this method,
rating 3.8 on the 1 to 7 scale. (Figure
3)
In the life sciences industry, the
testing and evaluation approach has
changed very little over the years. e
focus remains a summative evaluation
and verbal certification approach aer
the core content is completed. In order
to take advantage of a diﬀerent
methodology, the core must be
designed so that multiple evaluation
techniques are built in from the initial
pre-work throughout the content. If
done well, the learner should see the
mini-evaluation approach as fun and
engaging as opposed to punitive.
Gamification is another
methodology that has received endless
attention but is still underutilized.
is refers not merely to "games," but
rather the engagement framework that
sits behind the activity. Gamification
oﬀers the ability to drive profound
levels of engagement and contribute to
the development of the front-line
customer-facing employees. is is
accomplished through building
solutions that drive friendly
competition, oﬀer rewards and have
leveling/badging to actively engage
learners who thrive on peer-to-peer
recognition. Despite the potential,
gamification is oen not applied in the
myriad ways it could be. In the latest
landscape study, industry ratings
revealed levels of utilization of
diﬀerent gamification mechanisms.
(Figure 4) e rates reveal that many
organizations still do not take
advantage of gamification
mechanisms in a way that drives
learner engagement.
To fully leverage gamification,
organizations need to do the
following:
1. Educate stakeholders on the value
of gamification in driving
performance that leads to
improved business outcomes.

50

FIGURE 3

EMPLOY END-TO END EVALUATION

FIGURE 4

LEVERAGING GAMIFICATION

2. Create a strategy that defines how
you will employ gamification
principles to build capabilities over
time.
3. Begin with the end in mind and
reverse engineer your design
approach and solution.
4. Pilot first and build over time,
based on results.
5. Get the organization and senior
leadership involved in the process.
Learner engagement is critical to
the success of any learning initiative,
but in many cases, it is still on the
back burner. Organizations are always
battling resources, budget and time
challenges in building new learning

solutions. If organizations want to
improve performance and build new
behaviors, they need to invest in and
support the learning and development
function in creating and maintaining
programs that produce desired
results. ■
About this Study: Working in
partnership with LTEN, TGaS Advisors, a
benchmarking and advisory services
firm, conducts studies of learning and
development in life sciences companies.
For more information on this study,
contact Rich Waite, vice president,
learning and development solutions, at
Rich.Waite@tgas.com.

FOCUS | Fall 2017 | www.L-TEN.org
http://www.L-TEN.org
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