Whatever the future of work looks like, gamification will be there.
The future of the workplace is on everyone’s mind lately, and with good reason – the world we live in and the way we do things are changing rapidly and the businesses that will ultimately succeed in this challenging climate are those that are willing and able to limber up and roll with the punches. This is where future-focussed technology applications like gamification comes in.
What exactly is gamification?
In a nutshell, the principle of gamification refers to the application of game mechanics in non-game activities and processes, in order to engage, influence and motivate user interaction by enhancing the overall experience. In the business sphere, gamification is often integrated into website mechanics, business services, online communities, content portals, marketing campaigns and internal communication processes. The overall aim is to deeply engage with employees in order to drive certain behaviours that are key to the accomplishment of vital business goals.
As a practical example, Cisco Systems (an American multinational technology conglomerate) leveraged team challenges to enrich internal competition. They wanted their social media to be a company asset, so they created a gamified training program that challenged their employees to become worthy brand ambassadors by gaining specialist, strategist, and master certifications based on increased knowledge and experience.
Why does it work so well?
Gamification is an extremely effective business tool because it taps straight into every human’s innate emotional need to be rewarded, level up in status, achieve goals and engage in competition. By gamifying an experience, you are providing employees with two important things: 1) control over what they’re doing and, 2) clear markers that show their progress and guide them to future actions. This is a foolproof recipe to promote wanted behaviours if ever there was one.
READ MORE: Top 10 gamification trends you don’t want to miss in 2020
4 Ways gamification can supercharge your workplace
Here are 4 proven ways gamification can supercharge your workplace in 2020 and beyond.
3. It makes learning fun. Ongoing learning is a vital component of a strong business model. Successful companies like Deloitte understand this all too well. This is why they chose to link gamification and behavioural science to transform leadership development in their Deloitte Leadership Academy training program. The result was an impressive 37% rise in week-on-week engagement on their digital platform.
In order to encourage each employee to take ownership of their training experience and progress, their approach was to make the process personal to each individual user – leaderboards were customised to show which colleagues were giving them a run for their money in terms of organisational standing. There was also a very detailed onboarding component that familiarised users with the program and the gamification elements that underpin the process.
READ MORE: Recognising the benefits of gamification elements in e-learning
2. Game-based interaction boots employee engagement. Gamification can be used to encourage employee motivation and improve overall productivity by creating a system of goals, achievement and rewards that simultaneously boosts employee satisfaction and inspires top performance. Real-time feedback and task visibility can have a big impact on speed and focus on the job. For instance, an online, scalable CRM that features a team leaderboard, progress bar, and customisable challenges can be used to promote healthy competition among a sales force.
3. It clearly communicates your company culture. A robust, well-defined company culture is one of the most effective tools in the modern-day HR arsenal – if you want your people to chase certain ideals and adopt certain behaviours, they need to know what those are straight off the bat. In fact, it actually starts with the way you find and attract top talent to your company. Here, the U.S. Army has to be applauded for their ingenious use of gamification principles to rope in new recruits. The land warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces has been using digital games for training purposes for a long time, and recently turned to widespread gamification of these well-crafted games to promote awareness of their training program among the public, and attract new recruits.
4. Gamified wellness programs are immensely effective. Healthy employees are productive employees, and at this time, a strong focus on a sustainable work-life balance has never been more important. Gamification principles can be used to great effect in corporate wellness programs, much in the same way as it is used by established branded apps like Discovery’s Vitality Active Rewards, Nike+ Run Club and Strava for runners and cyclists. While the focus of an internal wellness program doesn’t always have to be the promotion of physical fitness alone, the competition element it hinges on can still be leveraged to great effect to encourage participation in all sorts of healthy behaviours.
Sound good? That’s because it is! Find out how gamification can be used to supercharge your employee engagement and drive your bottom line business goals all in one fell swoop – contact us today. We live and breathe gamification and the PLAYA team will help you to usher in the future of the workplace at your place of business without missing a beat. Here’s to building thriving businesses that are nimble enough to take on the challenges of a brave new world!
