Transforming Work with Sophie Wade 154: Trond Aas - How Gamified Learning Motivates Sustainable Upskilling
Trond Aas is CEO and Co-Founder of Attensi, a leader in AI-powered gamified simulation training. Trond shares his background spanning quantum physics, consulting and gaming. He explains how gamification grounded in behavioral science drives engagement which enhances initial and long-term learning especially for younger employees. Trond describes motivation as a critical success factor for sustainable upskilling. He discusses metrics to demonstrate return on investment in skills development and how to improve skills gap issues starting with cultivating a trust-based culture of learning
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[01:17] Trond starts studying quantum physics to explore fundamental questions about nature.
[02:01] After doing research for his military service, Trond goes into industry seeking practical impact.
[02:38] Trond joins McKinsey as a business school type experience before pursuing entrepreneurship.
[03:10] Interest in games stems from early programming and creativity cultivated during university.
[04:08] In gaming, Trond reveals how behavioral science is used to drive engagement and learning.
[06:12] Tribal, team-based successes are key to stimulating successful collaboration online.
[06:25] Fascination with learning and awareness of superficial gamification drives Attensi’s founding.
[07:44] Attensi applies science to drive motivation and behavior change with measurable results.
[09:40] Correlating simulated behavior with real-world outcomes to track learning impact.
[10:23] Measuring soft skills progress when observable behavior is hard to track.
[12:10] As technology evolves rapidly, upskilling must be ongoing across high-competence industries.
[12:50] Skill development tailored to specific job challenges is more effective than one-size-fits-all.
[13:45] Self-motivated learners thrive, while others need help to develop the motivation that anchors learning.
[14:47] Many Gen Zers lack key communication skills and may not recognize this development need.
[15:49] Most learning programs fail on motivation, which must be addressed first to succeed.
[16:22] Creating mastery experiences significantly increases learner motivation and outcomes.
[15:15] Game-based learning builds confidence that translates into better real-world performance.
[19:43] Companies underinvest in onboarding due to unclear ROI, hindering workforce readiness.
[20:08] Trond emphasizes data, ROI, and clear impact as critical for better training investment decisions.
[20:34] Attensi’s research shows poor onboarding leads to lower confidence and performance.
[23:42] Skill masking arises when employees hide learning gaps, often from lack of psychological safety.
[24:18] Cultivating trust-based cultures is essential to reduce skill masking and promote learning.
[25:48] Focusing on core skills for each role facilitates the shift to becoming a skills-first organization.
[26:44] Skill-based organizations can start small and ensure programs drive skill improvements.
[28:33] Maintaining skill use needs continuous feedback, clear expectations, and learning structures.
[29:13] Organizations must define competencies to stand out and align training with competitive goals.
[30:37] Tailoring programs to learner motivation and challenges supports effective skills development.
IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: Learning motivation and skills usage are cultivated through mastery. Help employees sense their achievement to encourage their enhanced performance and growth.
RESOURCES
QUOTES
"We can use these principles of games to drive engagement, drive interest, drive motivation—and then we should be able to impact real behaviors and measure that with data."
"Most people experience poor onboarding and most people are convinced that it affects their work afterwards."
"Skill masking is that people are actually hiding the challenges that they are having."
"Are your people motivated? And if not, address that—that’s what you need to address to be able to develop your organization."
“When you are able to instill a feeling of mastery in people that has a huge effect on their motivation.”
"A lot of people think that one [training] system or one approach will fit with all the different employees... and I think it needs to be a lot more nuanced than that."