Gamification has been on the rise since 2010 and has become a buzzword among companies keen on improving employee engagement and boosting their communication processes.
According to NICE systems, only 31% of companies are deploying unique forms of digital mechanisms or introducing gaming techniques within their internal processes to help drive better employee engagement.
It’s no surprising then that leading organizations such as Google and Deloitte have reportedly achieving immense success by embracing gamification principles within their internal communications.
So, what do we mean by ‘gamification’ and what makes it such an interesting and unique tool among employers?
What is Gamification?
Put simply, ‘Gamification’ is the process of taking an existing system (i.e. an intranet or website) and integrating it with gaming mechanisms which reward you for completing tasks. Gamification taps into our competitive nature and desire to achieve, by introducing reward systems into everyday tasks, this helps motivate users, encouraging them to interact with content and ultimately boosts productivity as users undertake tasks more frequently when they know they will receive a positive outcome.
The most frequently used gaming mechanics for Gamification include:
Points scoring
Achievement Levels
Achievement Badges
Leaderboards (individual or team)
Unlocks
Progression Bars
Competitions
Easter Eggs
A common misconception is that gamification is about creating games within business applications, but that isn’t the case. Instead, gamification is a tool which uses technology to elicit positive psychological behavior, effectively adding an element of fun to dull tasks.
Why Use Gamification? Gamification is a fantastic tool to utilise within your digital workplace, as it helps encourage employees to achieve more within their roles, allowing them to set goals and objectives by way of rewards, fun challenges and competition so that they remain engaged and productive within your business.
In terms of business, gamification plays a vital role in engaging people, as it focuses on positive behavioral changes which help improve both employee and business performance.
A survey by Gallup has revealed that over 70% of the workforce in the US are disengaged or not actively engaged in their work, which has cost the US economy $450 billion to $550 billion every year. By choosing to add game mechanics to critical business processes and training, organizations can boost productivity, employee engagement and improve their operational performance.
According to a report by Aberdeen Group, organizations that deploy gamification can boost employee engagement by 48%, and reduce employee turnover by 36%.
The rise of millennials entering the workplace places a greater expectation on businesses to provide rewarding digital experiences within their working environment, as millennials regularly receive gamification in one form or another in their everyday lives - within apps, messaging, social media, gaming and beyond. This makes gamification even more sought-after as a tool for adding business value and improving internal communications among employees.
Three Ways Gamification Fuels Intranet Engagement:
1. Helps Employees Learn New Processes Quicker Technology is constantly evolving and it can be quite challenging to keep your employees upskilled to meet the growing business demands amidst tough competition. Gamification mechanisms can be integrated into your new technology and systems to provide a more rewarding, engaging way to encourage employees to utilise and get to grips with new processes more quickly.
For example, when launching your company intranet you could set up a treasure hunt competition for users to find ‘easter eggs’ hidden across the platform - this encourages employees to access the new system and explore, motivating them to learn how the platform works more effectively.
2. Improve Employee Engagement in the Workplace The biggest challenge on every intranet is engagement. Actually getting your employees to like, comment, share or simply acknowledge any form of internal communications can be a real challenge - but this is where gamification can play a vital role in engaging your employees on your intranet platform.
For example, you could award achievement badges or provide point scores based on a user’s level of engagement with your internal communications, i.e. ‘Liked 100 News Articles’ badge or ‘+25 points for completing new HR Assessment’. Users have different levels of influence based their level of contributions or completeness of their profile - all of which drives users to engage more with content to unlock new achievements.
3. Benchmark and Reward Employees to Recognize Efforts Gamification can act as a great incentive for employees working in marketing and sales teams, where individual and group dashboards or leaderboards may be created for awarding key employees with points or other forms of rewards to show appreciation towards their work and contribution to the business. Gamification may also be used to provide review of employee performance so that they can get real time insights and feedback for further improvement.
Find out how a Social Intranet can transform your internal comms.
Speak to our intranet portal specialists to see how the Hub could help you boost employee engagement and productivity, and make your internal communications seem seamless. Call: 020 7099 6370 Email: hub@pancentric.com
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