Gamification in the Workplace: When Work Becomes a Game, Companies Win
Gamification has been a hot buzz word for a few years now. It refers to the practice of using "game playing" techniques for non-game activities by motivating users with rewards such as badges or unlocked levels. In essence, gamification transforms the completion of dull or difficult tasks into play.
Many popular mobile apps are based on gamification techniques. The language learning app DuoLingo motivates users to keep up with the difficult tasking of learning a foreign language by making language study into a game. Users practice language drills to progress to higher levels, earning badges as they complete each section.
Like education, physical fitness is another domain that benefits from the motivating effects of play. The clever running app Zombies, Run! gets would-be marathoners into shape by turning a weekend run into a thrilling game of virtual chase, with users earning points as they run from a horde of the undead.
FourSquare is another popular app that motivates users to check in when they patronize different businesses, earning them the title of "mayor" after they visit the business (often a restaurant) more than anyone else. Gamified apps like FourSquare move beyond the realm of just fun and games, however, as these patronized businesses see concrete benefits from the exposure and connections being built between them and their eager customer base.
Gamification Goes to Work
Recently, gamification techniques have been put to work not only in commercial businesses, but also in the workplace itself. Gamification turns work functions into game-like interactions. The idea is that employees who have fun and are engaged at work will become more motivated to do a better job and increase their productivity.
LiveHelpNow is a gamified customer service system that monitors how well customer services representatives handle questions and deal with problems. Through the company's gamification feature, The LiveHelpNow Challenge, reps are motivated to work harder by forming teams that then compete for game points and level advancements each time they answer a customer query expediently and satisfactorily.
"Some of the metrics are: How long does it take for you to answer a chat? How long does it take you to solve a consumer's question?" explains Lauren Schneck, marketing director of LiveHelpNow. "These, including a slew of other metrics, are entered into a mathematical formula that lets customer service professionals know exactly how they're doing."
Unlocking Motivation
Gamifying your customer service is all about packaging motivation into a digital engagement model, using game mechanics and experience design to charge up and motivate reps to be better at their jobs. Gartner's Brian Burke writes, "Building self-esteem and reinforcing it with peer recognition is a powerful means of unlocking motivation. Gamification leads players on an experience to help them to achieve their goals, and while that's important, it's not entirely new. The real news with gamification is the digitalization of motivation, and in the near term it will become a key part of every organization's digital business strategy."
Some critics of gamification have pointed out that psyching up and engaging employees takes more than a few interactions with an app. However, both critics and supporters agree that an effective motivational game requires expert planning and skilled game design. Brian Burke adds, "It is not a simple matter of rewarding employees with badges and points that will magically turn them into power-producers; an effective game must be immersive, engaging, and supported by employees."
Engagement Is the Goal
Engaging employees to motivate them and improve their job performance is the key goal of workplace gamification. Bernice Boucher, Head of Workplace Strategy for JLL, cites a Hay Group study when she states, "For the workplace we need to understand the impact of engagement on the bottom line. There was a 54 percent increase in employee retention between highest and lowest engaged employees and an 89 percent increase in customer satisfaction by their customers. Probably best of all, there was a 4x jump in revenue growth."
To be successful, gamification has to begin with employers and employees communicating their expectations and goals. Participants need to feel like they are playing to win and having fun in the process. Employers need to find reasons to celebrate great ideas, meet goals, and keep engagement high.
Businesses can use gamification to package motivation and engage many different audiences in a number of activities. Companies such as DirecTV, NTT Data, and the U.K.'s Department for Work and Pensions successfully use it to motivate employees, while others such as BarclayCard, Vail Resorts, and BBVA use gamification to motivate their customers. The common element in all cases is they are igniting motivation within the context of a digital, rather than physical, engagement model.
The best part about turning work into a game is that when it comes to business, everybody wins. Says LiveHelpNow's Lauren Schneck, "Gamification is important because employees have something to strive for, and the customers win too because the employees are trying to rise to those marks and beat their personal bests."
