The Gamification of Training: New Tool for the Travel Industry

As Millennials and Gen Z make up a growing portion of the workforce (about 50 percent will be a Millennial by 2020), the way employers train people today is becoming outdated, said Sam Caucci, CEO and founder of 1Huddle, an employee-training platform that uses simple mobile games to train staff in a highly engaging and efficient manner.

“We have to rethink how we incentive, motivate and recognize workers,” according to Caucci, who adds that these quick-burst games take less than two to three minutes to complete – perfect for a generation with a short-term attention span.

From there, employers can decide incentives they want to reward the winner of weekly games, helping to encourage healthy competition.

“The workforce is different, and it means managers and leaders have to adjust. If we really care about driving great business and growing great service, we need to market employees with the same time and sensitivity as we do our customers,” he said.

The company recently began working with Its first major hospitality client, Loews Hotels, but is also used by a number of organizations like ESPN, the Golden State Warriors and Audible. Caucci’s team in Newark does everything end-to-end, from designing games to branding content.

Caucci sees 1Huddle as the perfect fit for the travel industry, not only helping agencies attract and retain the next generation of employees, but in the long-term, improving revenue impact, decreasing lost sales opportunities, and reducing employee turnover.

From hiring to trade show utilization
This form of mobile training can be beneficial from initial recruitment, showing potential hires how much you invest into your team — and new hires will be ready to sell at a faster rate.

While most information during general training is forgotten within 30 days, 1Huddle focuses on retention of information, with retention 90 days after training.

Travel agencies and consortium can also utilize the platform for the substantial amount of pamphlets and sheets received at trade shows and conferences from suppliers. Managers can work with the 1Huddle team to turn that print collateral into a series of customized games that allow travel agents to learn about each hotel, cruise line, and tour operator in a more efficient way. There is a 50-60 percent knowledge retention increase when using 1Huddle, according to Caucci, so travel agents can apply that knowledge and sell quicker and more efficiently.

With most of its clients in the retail, sports, and entertainment industries, 1Huddle is now moving into the travel space, where online and automation are influencing the industry, allowing employers to close the skill gap as jobs are changing faster than ever.