Gamifying Growth: How Education Strategies Are Powering the Future of HR Development

HRSouthwest Conference 2025 (HRSWC 2025), hosted from October 12–14 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Texas, brought together HR professionals, educators, and business leaders to explore how organizations can adapt to evolving expectations around culture, engagement, and professional development. As hybrid work models and AI-driven learning tools reshape how employees grow and connect, one message rang clear: engagement isn’t a perk — it’s a strategy. With Gallup’s global research showing that only 23% of employees feel engaged at work, today’s HR leaders face an urgent and transformative challenge: to create learning and workplace cultures that not only retain talent but also inspire genuine connection and growth.

So, how can HR leaders design learning environments that make development engaging, effective, and human again? How can lessons from classroom education inform corporate training strategies that truly stick?

Daniel Litwin, the Voice of B2B at MarketScale, sat down with Shamyra Jacobs, an MBA student at Texas Woman’s University, at the MarketScale media booth during HRSWC 2025 to explore these questions. Drawing from her eight years in education and government training roles, Jacobs shared how her transition into HR is shaped by her passion for learning, engagement, and culture-building.

Top insights…

• Bringing Classroom Energy to the Workplace: Jacobs draws on her eight years in education to show how engagement tools like gamification, collaboration, and “gallery walks” can make adult learning more dynamic.
• Rethinking Mentorship: She challenges outdated mentorship models, advocating for thoughtful, enthusiastic mentors — not just the most tenured employees.
• Building Cultures of Expectation and Excellence: For Jacobs, workplace learning isn’t just about fun; it’s about building environments where engagement and accountability coexist.

Shamyra Jacobs, MBA, is a learning and development professional with extensive experience spanning education, government, and program administration. She currently serves as a Program Support Specialist and Professional Development Facilitator at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), where she provides compliance guidance, data analysis, and training for Head Start grantees. With prior roles in instructional design, teacher development, and child welfare, Jacobs brings a proven ability to design engaging learning experiences, lead professional training, and implement strategies that enhance organizational performance and workforce growth.

Article written by MarketScale.