What is Gamification?
We're here to answer the most important question when it comes to gamification (and no, that's not "How do you pronounce it). What exactly is gamification?
Gamification is the process of incorporating game design techniques and mechanics into your companies workflows and processes, with the aim of engaging employees and motivating them to achieve their targets and goals. It takes the key elements from games which drive engagement and motivation, like design, visual achievements and even competition, and applies them to the workplace.
Gamification for your employees can come in both the traditional format, for example physical badges and certificates, or the more popular digital format, through online leaderboards or digital progress tracking.
It is important to understand that gamification in the workplace is not the creation of new games which fit your business aims, but instead it is about taking experiences which already exist within your workflows, and findings ways to make them more engaging and enjoyable for your employees.
When people think of Gamification within the workplace, they typically think of it in a sales context, however it's important to note that you can integrate gamification across a whole range of departments, whether that be your sales team, customer support team or even your operations department.
Examples of Gamification
Badges/Certificates
These can come either in the traditional physical format, or a digital format. These are typically awarded after an employee completes a certain task or goal, and are associated with accomplishments. If in a digital format, these badges are typically shown either next to an employees name or on their profile within your integrated systems (e.g a CRM system)
Leaderboards
Leaderboards are a very simple way to implement gamification and competition into your workflows. You can assign a certain number of points/score to completing tasks, which will then be applied to your employees whenever they complete these tasks. These leaderboards can be seen by all employees and will highlight your highest performers. Leaderboards are a great way to implement friendly competition within the workplace, you could even have rewards for your employees at the top of the leaderboard at the end of each month/quarter.
Levels/Progress Tracking
Levels are one of the more contemporary forms of gamification. They are used to indicate that an employee has reached a certain threshold/point. Levels can be a signal of status for your employees, highlighting that they have achieved certain tasks or a certain level of engagement. They can be used to regulate access to certain materials or even events for your employees, encouraging them to remain engaged and "level up" as it were.
Competitions/Challenges
Competitions are one of the most common forms of gamification within the workplace. They can come in either the traditional analogue or digital formats, and can be found in workplaces across a wide range of industries, from sales and marketing, to factories and warehouses. Employers can use this to drive up their employee engagement, if they introduce a challenge, this plays on their employees natural competitive instinct. You can ask your employees to compete on anything, for example who can make the most sales in a week, or who can pack the most boxes in a day. Providing a prize for these competitions is a great way to encourage your employees, and generate a healthy competitive atmosphere within the workplace.
So what's next?
That's it!
We've told you all about the ways you can implement Gamification for your employees! It's up to you to take the plunge now!
Make sure to check back in April where we'll fill you in on how you can implement gamification for your customers, as well as some of the pros and cons of using gamification within your company!
If you're looking for help with how you can action your ideas, why not reach out to us? Here at CX Consultants, we have over 25 years of implementation experience within the customer and employee experience industries.
With a track record of supporting businesses with their software implementations and maintenance, why not get in touch? And find out how we can help you today!