1. Training needs

Gamification is anything but a one-size-fits-all solution. Even though it is a common business component, gamification companies do not offer the same things. You have to carefully review your company’s training requirements to select the right service provider. 

If your primary goal is to provide process training or compliance training, make sure the service provider understands your requirements and is capable of creating appropriate solutions. For instance, if you want to teach leadership and management, you should select a gamified course that presents leadership challenges and offers practical knowledge in a fun way. 

Apart from that, you should also analyze the aesthetics, dynamics, and mechanics of the games. 

 2. Accessibility across devices

Your employees may want to access their gamified training program on their mobile phone, tablet, or computer. If that’s the case, you should choose a gamification company that can create a solution that is accessible from various devices. 

Apart from that, if your company uses a learning management system, you should be able to integrate the gamified content with it. Irrespective of which game-based learning program you choose, it should run smoothly on all devices. 

3. Appropriate challenges

What’s the point of gamification if your employees sail through the challenges with little effort? The purpose of gamified content is to create high-pressure scenarios that compel learners to use their analytical skills. 

While a highly complex game could be demotivating, a simple game with too few challenges could be less interesting for learners. There should be a fine balance keeping in mind the skill level of employees. 

Also, while searching for the best gamification companies, select the one that offers resettable leaderboards. This way, once a challenge is completed, you can reset the leaderboard for employees to start afresh and aim for higher scores.

4. Incentivize

People are motivated by varying incentives depending on the nature of their work. Therefore, your gamification program should be able to incentivize the learners accordingly. 

You should first pick your target audience, learn what motivates them, and then select an appropriate incentive for completing the gamified training program. For instance, the targets and the driving factors of a sales team and a development team are quite different. Hence, you need to incentivize your gamified learning programs  based on what drives the employees to perform better.

5. Multi-language

A great advantage of online training programs is that employees can access them from anywhere in the world. If you have a team that is spread across continents, your gamified learning content should be available in multiple languages. 

Before selecting a vendor, check if their product is available in all the languages your team needs. 

6. Technical support

Businesses may or may not have an in-house support team for fixing technical glitches. Since you are probably going to outsource game-based learning content development, make sure that the vendor has a strong technical support team. 

It’s not uncommon to run into problems due to a lack of technical knowledge or any other issues. For this reason, a good quality customer care service is imperative to continue providing the best learning experience. 

Considering that most employees are still working remotely, technical support is of utmost importance. 

7. Budget and time

Have you allocated the appropriate budget and time required to complete the training? 

Needless to say, your budget will be an important factor while choosing the best vendor among scores of gamification companies. For instance, some companies charge an extra amount to customize the content.

If your budget set for employee training permits, customization is the way to go. Depending on how much time you can dedicate to corporate training, you should choose a game that would fit the length of the training program. 

It is because some game-based learning programs may take days, weeks, or even several months to complete. Therefore, you must bear this factor in mind while selecting a vendor. 

8. Communication materials

Apart from the gamified training program, your employees may need communication materials including videos, emails, and leaflets. For instance, launching a trailer before an actual gamified program may motivate employees to participate in it. 

Similarly, leaflets may serve as a guide or reference material after the training period is over. To increase the chances of success of your game-based learning program, your vendor should be able to provide these communication materials. 

9. Overall training plan

Does your gamified training program integrate well with other learning initiatives such as practical training, eLearning courses, and on-field training?

While going through a list of gamification companies, make sure that your vendor can create a program that supports your overall training plan. To attain the desired learning outcomes, you should create a combination of game-based learning and other training initiatives. 

Not only would it boost the effectiveness of your employee training program but also instill new skills and knowledge in the learners. 

10. Automated reports

Depending on the vendor you choose, you can access automated reports that will help you analyze the results. If you have a large workforce, it could be particularly challenging to measure the results manually.

In that case, the auto-generated reports will help you save a lot of time and take some pressure off the project managers. For instance, companies such as Michelin, Sanitas, and Ford access automated reports through gamification platforms to review and track the performance of each learner.