Gamification stuff we love: Traintool

In learning and development the move to online solutions is still increasing. The main reason for doing this seems to be scalability and cost reduction. Getting people into a classroom is often more expensive and than providing an online training. Having worked as a trainer and L&D manager, cost is always an issue and more than just monetary, fewer and fewer organisations allow time for their employees to undertake training due to business pressures. Obviously as someone with a clear interest in training, I have always found time even during busy periods and will when I go on training completely blank out other interruptions. But I also know I am not the majority in this.

At the recent Online Educa in Berlin, I came across Traintool, who provide a really solid alternative to role play based training in the field of soft skills. I actually believe this one may allow people to gain more from the experience online than the classroom training equivalent, where role playing is always greeted with the necessary reluctance from participants. What Traintool makes possible is to record yourself responding to specific scenario’s in business.

The examples I saw were around giving feedback in a situation where empathy was required. Basically the online scenario is watched and you respond to it b recording a video of your response. Once you are satisfied with your response (you have 3 chances to get it right), it then goes for peer review and trainer review. It is this all essential feedback loop that makes it one of those subtle gamification examples that are highly effective. You could envisage adding in the voting up of feedback as well to encourage good quality to rise to the top. I feel this kind of tool may be more effective than the face to face version, because you have time to reflect on your own actions and it is less pressurised when you are not on the spot in front of a room, which doesn’t suit everyone. The feedback I read from real cases is that people actually received actionable suggestions on their own performance.

The way I see it being used is either a full replacement of the classroom setting or a follow-up personalised coaching tool after classroom based courses.

For me this is definitely a tool to keep an eye on, it may be light on the gamification but big on impact and that in my view is how it needs to be.