On the Job Gaming

"It's the wave of the future," says Andrea Higham, director of corporate equity for J&J. "It's the way people are being educated."

Most digital games can be run on the computers already sitting in employees' cubicles. According to Jim Wexler, an executive vice president at BrandGames, most games require Windows 98 or higher, a 64-megabyte graphics card, a 16-bit color display, 256 MB of RAM, Adobe Shockwave and an open mind. All of these are pretty standard on newer computers and easy to install if you don't already have them. Programs like Shockwave are easily downloadable, and most will prompt users to upgrade if they have an older version that is not compatible.

Wexler says most of these programs have a starting cost of about $250,000. Some companies even spend millions of dollars creating these games. But using digital games to train employees may not cost more than traditional methods. The costs of hiring corporate trainers, having employees travel to training centers and printing training materials also are substantial.

In addition to role-playing digital games, corporations are using "Second Life"-like virtual worlds that employees can access online using a password. These virtual worlds let employees who are not in the same office—or even in the same country—hold a meeting together, using animated avatars of themselves.

While games are great for employees who are computer-savvy, less technologically inclined workers may have a harder time adjusting to the new training method and may prefer to stick with a manual full of facts.

Companies also run the risk of employees taking the training less seriously because they view it as fun, says Michael Cai, director of gaming research at Park Associates. It is also important to make the game fit the work environment. Games also shouldn't take up too much work time or be replacements for certain types of traditional training, Cai notes.

Still, he says, games are hard to beat for instant feedback. "In games, you know instantly that you did badly," Cai says. "You just got shot at."

© 2008