Board Games for HR: Personnel Development Through Play

Tabletop games provide one of the best mediums for personnel development through play. Many board games help people to interact in a structured and helpful manner, allowing us to communicate better.

We need to develop the confidence, knowledge, and skills of our employees if we want them to make improvements. The problem is that sometimes it is difficult to get your staff engaged in learning. Well, one of the best ways to do this is to make learning more enjoyable! Also, when you’re playing board games for HR development, it doesn’t feel like you’re training.

Why board games for HR development?

Tabletop games make people come together and interact. They have to talk, share, and will find themselves having fun. The games are structured in a way that forces us to have discussions that we must ourselves manage. The reason children learn so much when learning is structured as play, is that they’re more relaxed and open to absorbing new ideas. The same works with adults. 

Not many people like to be told they have to learn something or need to improve. Board games help to break down the walls that people build around them. They bring back into the workplace the dynamic and creative group interactions that we had at school. 

What’s so good about learning with board games?

One of the best things about board games is that they don’t always need a facilitator. The best way to learn is to learn on your own. Tabletop games give you a structure to follow and the rest is up to you and your group. If you can choose games that allow people to work in teams, cooperative play so to speak, you’ll be allowing them to learn more in less time and the training will be more cost-effective!

Learning with board games provides a whole bunch of other benefits:

• When we’re young, the first way we learn is through playing. In truth, we are still wired that way. 
• With board games, we aren’t just learning the objectives that are set out. It helps the people in the teams to work better together, breaks down rivalries, and brings them all together to enjoy themselves. They allow the players to relax and just enjoy the interactive group experience where everyone is involved. 
• The interaction involved in playing board games together, help players to build relationships and develop their soft skills. Many times the reason we need to work on these soft skills with staff and employees is because modern education tends to have moved backwards in terms of what is best for learning. It focuses too much on memory and technical skills, and forgets the human side of things. That’s why board games are the answer.
• We learn to share! You’d have thought we learned that as children already. The truth is, unlearning is just as common as learning. So, it’s time to relearn with these board games for HR. They encourage players to share knowledge, experience, and anything else that might be relevant. Share it! When playing these board games, the space is safe! You’re not being called out in front of everyone to shake in your boots as you have to present. You’re just asked to help your teammates with the knowledge you might be the only one to have. 

What’s it come down to?

Now, board games are relevant and meaningful through the built in social interaction that is required to play them. They motivate employees to work and try harder through friendly competition. In the controlled environment they’ll learn and develop without realizing it. Many companies are even starting to use customized board games made specifically for them. These games simulate challenges, issues, and scenarios that are relevant to them and lead to outcomes that they desire. 

Board games for HR development are quite successful. Healthcare, fast food, and many other organizations are already involving tabletop games in their learning and development programs. The reason for this is that employee engagement directly impacts their performance, competitiveness, and growth. They’re willing to invest in their people because they understand that looking after their people is also good for them. Click here to check us out and contact us if you would like more information.