Co-founder and CSO of Gamelearn, Maider Apraiz has founded different companies for different sectors (consulting, publications, real estate, applications, and video games). Speaker at numerous congresses and conferences in the training sector such as HRCode Academy or iiR eLearning México. She holds a law degree from the University of Deusto and an MBA from the IE Business School.

When it comes to the banking industry, what are the main challenges that companies face, in terms of training and development?

Based on our experience with financial entities, it’s common that they ask us to help them develop their employees’ soft skills related to customer service, negotiation, and leadership.

Beyond that, many of these organizations are also looking for the best way to support their corporate digital transformation, which usually means they are looking to meet the following needs:

  • Digital solutions. They are looking for training that is entirely online and separate from traditional classroom-based models. In this way, it can support the company’s global digitization process and drive the cultural and mindset shift towards a more modern and productive staff.
  • Flexible accessibility. They often are hoping to free themselves from physical limitations and provide their employees with the freedom to train wherever and whenever they want. To do so, it’s essential that courses can be easily followed from any device.

What innovations does Gamelearn bring to the learning and development market, and what are the main benefits of using game-based learning methodology in the banking industry?

Gamelearn brings innovation to the L&D market through its 3-in-1 platform, giving clients access to an award-winning serious game catalogue, allowing them to create their own training video games, and giving them the appropriate tools to manage students throughout the whole process.

Our extensive video game catalogue never stops growing. Several new courses are added every year. While many of the games are related to soft skills development, other relevant topics are also available. For instance, we have games to make compliance training easier, and one of our latest titles is focused on a topic the industry is well aware of: money laundering.

Apart from these specific topics, the game-based learning methodology provides companies in this sector with the same benefits it offers all its clients: a solution for developing their employees’ skills in a meaningful way. This is because they’re playing while learning and engaging with their emotions. Our online courses are so successful because they include storytelling, simulation, and gamification elements combined with high-quality content and personalized feedback. In other words, people today are spending many hours in front of their computers, so if they are meant to learn, something different, attractive, and useful needs to be brought to them.

Can you give us a case study from your experience connected with this topic?

One of our most successful experiences in the banking industry was with Banesco, in Latin America.

After analyzing the different vendors on the market, Banesco opted to go with Gamelearn’s game-based learning platform to fully realize its digital transformation. This solution provided them with three key advantages:

  • Cutting edge training that goes beyond traditional online courses based on old technologies such as PDF documents and videos.
  • Applicability to their employees’ jobs as Gamelearn video games are prominent for their practical content and exceptional quality.
  • Cost savings. By developing a training program that is entirely online and moving away from classroom-based courses, Banesco avoided the elevated costs of teachers, travel, and lodging. According to the bank’s own estimates, with Gamelearn courses, not only were 70 professionals trained in over 20 skills (compared with the 4 or 5 skills offered through most classroom-based courses), but the savings on training amounted to $30,000.

The video game format fostered the digital transformation of the bank’s staff. The training and development department conducted an internal course communication and promotional campaign, which guaranteed the success of Gamelearn serious games and made them a social phenomenon in the company.

These efforts reached the objective set at the very beginning: a more digitized and motivated staff, capable of guaranteeing Banesco leadership in the financial sector.

How do you see the future of learning and development, and how can Gamelearn support employee development in the banking industry, in the years to come?

Gamelearn has the premier game-based learning catalog and offers a one-of-a-kind solution to meet the digitalization needs of companies in all sectors. Soft skills will continue to be on the rise in this increasingly digitized world, and Gamelearn is here to meet this need. From leadership and negotiation to assertiveness and best remote working practices, Gamelearn’s video games are already helping more than 5,000 clients worldwide across all sectors learn and adapt to this new reality. If that were not enough, an authoring tool has now been included in the equation so that L&D professionals can create and deliver their very own serious games to their students.