Organisations across industries are turning to gamification to crack the employee engagement code. Gamification has been used by companies to engage their customers for some time now, using social media and mobile technologies to deliver contests, challenges and rewards. Now, however, enterprises are beginning to uncover the value that games can add inside the organisation to drive business performance by motivating employees.
Growing seriousness about gamification marks a dramatic change in the way enterprises engage with their employees, and is emerging as the software component that binds employees, organisational values and objectives. Global researcher Markets and Markets predicts that gamification will be worth $5.5 billion by 2018, compared with its present size of $421 million.
Getting started with gamification is one thing; sustaining users’ interest levels is much tougher. There will be several challenges along the path of transforming employees from novices to masters.
The Keys to Successful Gamification in the Workplace
According to our friends at Cognizant, the following steps and considerations are prerequisites for the successful gamification of work:
- Develop a clear view of where and what change in behaviour and skills is desired.
- Ensure the effort reflects business goals and rewards activities that add value.
- Design the game so that it’s inherently social in nature.
- Make the game simple and easy to understand.
- On-board employees into the gamified process through easy-to-use instructional material.
- Target and leverage employees’ competitive nature.
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