If you’ve done any work for Accenture, you’ll have met Harrie and Will. The global business management consultancy requires all its staff – contractors included – to complete mandatory training, and that’s where they meet the famous pair. Harrie and Will aren’t employees; they’re characters in Accenture’s engaging, gold Viddy Award-winning security training video series.

‘Engaging’ and ‘award-winning’ are not words one would typically associate with security training. All too often, corporate learning and development (L&D) becomes a compliance exercise for HR, an annoyance for staff and a cash-in for third-party training providers. That’s not an option in the digital economy, where cybercriminals are all too eager to teach businesses the importance of having employees who know company policy and are equipped and educated to follow it.

The L&D space has shifted towards training that is entertaining and engaging – and, ultimately, that sticks. As workforces get younger, game-based training programmes  are becoming increasingly relevant. Most industry players call this ‘gamification’. It’s an approach that uses game-inspired elements, such as progress tracking, points or scenario-based challenges, to make learning more interesting and practical.

‘Gamification is, to put it simply, taking some of the stuff that games do really well and applying it to other things, like learning,’ says Justin Blanchard, simulation director at gamified training provider Attensi. ‘It’s a method, not a big monolith that does one thing.’

Bob Gerard, the learning ingenuity lead at Accenture, prefers the term ‘playable learning’. ‘It is a game that you play that helps you meet learning objectives,’ he said in a recent Attensi podcast conversation.

Whatever you call it, the approach works. Ruan Janse van Rensburg, partner for corporate accounts at health and safety firm KBC, says the shift from passive instruction to active engagement leads to long-term behavioural change. ‘Gamification rewards consistency and growth, reinforcing the right behaviours with instant feedback and recognition,’ he said. ‘Over time, this encourages employees to integrate safety practices into their daily routines – not because they have to, but because it becomes second nature.’

Janse van Rensburg said companies using gamified safety training reported increased hazard awareness and fewer incidents. ‘Feedback reveals that through gamified safety training, employees feel more confident, capable and committed to workplace safety. In this case, the training no longer feels like a compliance requirement but rather like a meaningful investment in their well-being.’

Anna Collard, senior vice-president of content strategy at KnowBe4 Africa, says the same about data security. ‘When learning feels like an exciting challenge rather than a chore, retention and engagement improve,’ she says. ‘It helps shift cybersecurity from a compliance burden to a personal skill to be proud of.’

Collard says that gamified learning taps into the same biological reward centres as recreational gaming. ‘When we achieve a goal, the brain releases dopamine, activating its reward centres,’ she says. ‘That’s what makes gamified learning so engaging – it literally feels good to make progress.’

What does this look like in practice? Not too dissimilar from an old-school arcade, or a platform scrolling game on a digital device. Gamified learning uses the same elements: quizzes, challenges, side quests, teamwork, final bosses… and the social comparison of it all hits the same psychological buttons as having your name at the top of the leaderboard at an old-school arcade. ‘When employees see how they stack up, they often push themselves further,’ says Collard.

But while gamified learning has its benefits, Gerard warns it can be self-defeating when points are easily exploited. He explained on the Attensi podcast that Accenture’s gamification awarded points for staff interactions, occasionally yielding real monetary rewards. Two key problems followed. First, what began as an incentive became a requirement, with some staff needing a minimum monthly knowledge  game score – this created difficulties. Second, some staff simply exploited the point system for rewards without engaging in the intended behaviours. Gerard’s takeaway is that poorly designed gamification can undermine genuine engagement and lead to unintended negative consequences. This led to a flood of meaning-less replies – ‘Done’; ‘Completed’; ‘Good’.

‘The genuine comments we wanted were drowned out by noise,’ says Gerard. To make matters worse for the L&D team, an external training provider was being paid for each of those interactions.

KBC got it right when it brought the escape-room concept to its health, safety and environment training in SA. The training, which it recently implemented at Phalaborwa Mining Company, teaches hazard awareness and develops essential safety skills in an immersive, on-the-job setting.

It works on the same principles as an escape-room game, taking participants through simulated, high-stakes safety challenges where they must work together to identify and mitigate potential hazards within a set time. By adding a ticking clock to the scenario, players learn to identify and manage potential hazards while practising decision-making, teamwork, leadership and problem-solving skills.

‘The safety escape room transforms safety training from theory into practice,’ says Janse van Rensburg. ‘It places participants in real-life scenarios where they actively engage with critical safety concepts, applying them on the spot. This immersive experience not only reinforces essential skills but also gives us a clear, real-time view of each team’s strengths and areas for improvement, allowing for more targeted and effective training.’

He adds that the experience goes beyond traditional classroom learning by providing participants with a direct, practical understanding of safety concepts that apply to their daily work. It also allows the business to identify leadership qualities in staff, as well as their strengths and potential weaknesses that can be addressed.

The ‘safety room’ game has certainly won over PMC. ‘We required a fresh approach to training and partnered with KBC to develop a flagship hazard identification solution tailored to their safety standards,’ says Mabore Macheru, manager in training development and contractor management at PMC. ‘This innovative solution was designed to integrate a practical, real-life element into training, allowing our staff to engage in a fun, hands-on experience while learning about critical risks specific to the mine.’

In an age of waning attention spans, gamified L&D initiatives such as this prove the value of training programmes that are thoughtful, customised and – most importantly – engaging. When staff play to learn, and not just to beat the game, everybody wins.

By Mark van Dijk
Image: iStock