Rule #5. Gamification Doesn’t Work.

Olia Stasiuk
Sep 6, 2024
6 min read

Harvard, Cambridge, Cornell don’t play games!

Play Games but Don't.

2 years ago I questioned EVERYTHING I knew about training —and life. That’s when I decided to explore what truly THE BEST institutions like Harvard, Cornell, and Cambridge were doing. I enrolled in one or more programs at each to get genuinely surprised by seeing the same training flow there: what works in training programs is universal. It’s a complex mix of methodologies, psychology, understanding human needs and motivations, and translating these into well-built systems. I wasn’t off. I was right on point.

To start: Two flipcards and a game will not make your people stay. Period.

Gamification is a beautiful word, but it has been drastically overused by people who don’t really know what it means—they just think it’s trendy. It reminds me of the D&I (Diversity & Inclusion) buzz; everyone talks about it, but few can properly explain it.

Well, I’m not your "Easy trend that doesn’t work" fan. I’m your "LONG TERM success actions" person.

For today’s post, I was inspired by a red flag sentence I heard from some investors or L&D professionals during demos over the summer:

“...Great! And you have gamification too, right? Like flipcards and games?”

My response is always “Right,” but in my head, I’m thinking, “Do you even know what gamification means for adults in the workplace?” I bet they’d be shocked to learn that top universities don’t use gamification the way they imagine. Top universities chase results and quality, not upvotes on training programs for “this was fun, but I still don’t know how to do my job.”

Of course gamification started with kids playing games. Why? Because adults and kids don’t speak the same language, and games have always been a middle ground, universal language. But the purpose of the game isn’t just to have fun—it’s to learn something. Let’s take a look at my favorite, Monopoly (for a bit older kids).

Games usually include:

Rules (non-negotiable): Ex: “You start by throwing the dice”. The clearer the rules, the faster everyone starts playing.

Competitors: Whether it’s the computer or other people, competitors keep you motivated and help you learn winning techniques from others. This develops observation, patience, and an open-mindedness to the idea that “there might be better ways than mine.”

Element of unpredictability (“?” cards): These teach you to manage situations on the spot, developing anger management, patience, and decision-making skills.

Practice: Building a house in Monopoly isn’t enough—you need to do it repeatedly. This develops confidence and a clear understanding of the winning pattern within a particular set of conditions (game, group, tools, and resources). For kids, @breshna.io is a great example of a company you should explore.

Challenge (you can’t control the dice): Something always gets in the way, making the path to success longer and harder. This develops patience and adaptation skills.

Reward: The recognition as the winner or the best motivates you to participate in the game, overcoming challenges and learning along the way.
Lessons (there is only one winner): Monopoly is full of lessons. I remember more games where people gave up mid-way and threw the cards on the table than those where they played to the end.

We hate losing, but the hardest lesson is learning how to lose. It will teach you more than victory ever could.

In fact, you don’t need to win every game on the planet. It won’t make you happy; it will exhaust you. Winning everything often comes down to proving something to someone else when it should be about you. We are all winners in our own time, in the right game for us, if we keep practicing what we preach and doing good. Even in loss, there’s always something to learn.

Now that you know the elements of the typical game, you can break down any game the same way.

So what’s the difference about gamification for adults?

The purpose of gamifying training programs is to incorporate these same elements—not through literal games, but through structured, meaningful engagement. Let’s go one by one:

Rules (non-negotiable): Everyone assigned to the training needs to complete it for a better chance of succeeding in their job. You’ll be measured based on clear KPIs, and your job security might depend on it. Remember, not doing your training is your decision, and it might affect your job security. While it’s non negotiable, trainers can make it less forceful and more exciting by making sure the rest of the game elements are present. That’s it, that’s all.

Competitors: I often hear from managers, “Wouldn’t making the numbers and leaderboard visible to everyone harm team dynamics?” My answer is a strong “NO.” It’s one of the best drivers I’ve seen in every team performance. It aligns perfectly with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, particularly Level 3 (Love and Belonging) and Level 4 (Respect and Recognition). People work better when they see a clear, quantifiable rating of their performance compared to others. We’re fighters by nature—whether it’s for survival or to be #1 for recognition, promotion, etc. There’s no better gamification than healthy competition at work.

Elements of unpredictability: Training is full of them, testing not just the trainee but also the trainer and the trainee’s manager. Everyone faces uncertainty on how difficult will the training be, how good are others in the group, will someone get sick, will the manager suddenly pull the employee from training, or will there be an unexpected meeting? Fear, poor communication, and wrong organizational priorities can all undermine good training experience.

Practice (I call it Safe Practice): Real, proper practice is crucial yet often underused. I recall when three new hires quit during the third week of onboarding because they were thrown into client calls before they even knew what they were doing. Safe practice involves going through multiple real-life activities in a safe but challenging environment, simulating real scenarios three times, receiving timely feedback, and reiterating in future attempts. Why three? Because we suck the most in the first three tries. After that, we understand what works, and our support group notices too. We feel stressed but ready to face the real challenge.

Challenge: Knowledge checks and job simulations are challenges. No one likes challenges because they’re uncomfortable and expose our weaknesses in front of colleagues and bosses. But we’ll do it for the reward. It’s in our DNA. We won’t enjoy the reward as much if there’s no challenge or if it’s too easy. I remember applying to Harvard Business School for the first time; it took them two months to verify my experience, and the entire time, I thought I wouldn’t make it. But knowing myself, I still applied. I still remember that email: “You are approved for Program A.” That feeling never repeated because every subsequent program was pre-approved with a clear discount as an alumna. Each new program meant less to me, and ultimately, I never finished the last one that I was invited to for free and the one that had no strict deadlines. The same goes for people at work and knowledge checks. Don’t be afraid to have them—people need them. Just remember, they should be balanced, relevant, and paired with a reward of appropriate weight. Just this Saturday, I read in Brené Brown’s book, “Dare to Lead,” about the same concept in different words: “Easy learning doesn’t build strong skills.” You want to include “desirable difficulty” in your programs.

Reward: Often, training is done for a check mark, with the training team caring and the manager not. In 80% of cases, employees do the training to impress their manager and improve at their job. Unfortunately, in 80% of cases, this effort isn’t recognized because managers are too focused on operational tasks to see the human side. Pause. See your people. Celebrate small things—they matter.

I wish someone had celebrated my first 10 pushups after years of not being able to do a ponytail because of scars on my arms. But all I got was “You did it wrong” from some people. It left scars on my heart. Don’t do that.

Lessons: People will learn the lesson if you let them struggle a bit—if you push them out of their comfort zone but catch them when they fall during safe practice. They’ll thank you for years afterward. Believe me, that’s the most precious part of my life until now. I challenged every single person in my training room. My one regret is not challenging my direct team enough at times, overprotecting them from discomfort. That was my biggest mistake to date in managing the team.

All in all, in over a decade of training, I haven’t created a single flipcard. Even if my team did because one of our LMSs had that feature, not a single piece of feedback out of hundreds ever said, “Olia, what a great training because of the flipcards.” No one ever said that. It was always for safe practice and clearly explained material in a way relevant to their role.

Finally, here’s a hack for you. If you care deeply about results but still want to be liked—want people to say your programs are fun—DON’T COMPROMISE on quality. Stick to what I wrote above. ADD “Kahoot!” and you’ll have a happy team, great gamification, and strong results.

This is the only exception to my rule of “having it all in one place,” and it’s okay to use LMS + Kahoot!. It’s been my perfect combination for the past decade, and it hasn’t failed me once.

Now that you know what gamification is, I’ll say this: