Freely subscribe to our NEWSLETTER

It doesn’t have to be this way, according to David Emm, principle security researcher at Kaspersky, if business’s look towards elements of gamification within their corporate learning. In their upcoming viewpoint David argues that, although traditionally considered the remit of teenagers and children, the immersive nature of games offers an opportunity to enhance the learning process, especially when combined with the right aims and limitations.

David Emm, Principle security researcher at Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT).

Typically, and traditionally, people don’t enjoy corporate learning. For example, 42% of respondents working in companies with more than 1,000 employees said that the majority of training programs they attended were useless and uninteresting. And this perception is often true when it comes to security awareness education.

We often hear from our customers that they are tired of traditional, boring security basics training. Instead, they are exploring the use of completely game-based courses, which are fun and entertaining. However, there is also an opposing train of thought: some customers don’t feel comfortable about implementing any gaming techniques in corporate education. They still believe that games are for teenagers and children only, and that it is nonsense to suggest adults – and especially business executives – should play games in order to learn.

In fact, games (formats where a person acts in an imaginary world and/or as another character) and the process of gamification (when only some game elements are added) are great learning techniques. And like any other methods, they work best when specific aims and limitations are included.