By Ahsan Qazi
What is Gamification ?
Gamification describes the enticement of people’s engagement in non-game settings and activities by using game-style mechanics. Gamification influences people’s natural tendencies for competition, achievement, collaboration, and charity.
Tools employed in game design, such as rewarding users for achievements, “levelling-up,” and earning badges, are carried into the real world to help motivate individuals to achieve their goals or boost performance. Gamification can enhance customer and employee engagement, boost sales, and cut costs.
Feedback Mechanics – Key to Successful Gamification
For any project to be successful, the feedback mechanism needs to be defined and used correctly. For success in gamification, the key is accurate and on the spot feedback. If the feedback takes a long time, people will lose interest, and the Gamification process will be less effective. The reward for accomplishing a task should not be delayed unnecessarily as the players are likely to lose interest if the rewarding process takes far too long. Generally, in an organizational context, positive contribution should be rewarded in few days at most, as waiting for weeks to reward achievements will defeat the aim of gamification as most of the emotions and context is lost.
Once a player receives points for a valuable contribution in a game context, the player is likely to feel more engaged in the game. In the same way, once an employee receives points for completing a task for exhibiting a behaviour in a Gamified workplace, the process is likely to bring about more engagement. The feedback in gamification can be in the form of points, badges, leaderboards and performance graphs.
The game tools and game-based concepts can be successfully integrated into the workplace to achieve a better organizational culture that supports more engagement at the workplace.
Have Fun and Achieve More
Work can be a notoriously dull task for many individuals. However, we can change this by employing work gamification in our work processes. By using work gamification, we can enhance the level of engagement and commitment in the employees.
The playground is a classic example of game elements, in which the players are challenged to do more to get better results, the feedback is instant, and the environment is safe.
If we introduce the same game element of fun from the workplace to the work processes in a controlled manner, we can enhance performance and have better levels of engagement.
Points, Leader board, Badges and other means are way’s by which players playing the game obtain feedback on how they are playing the game.
Positive Feedback / Rewards
One of the easiest and commonly used ways to gamify work processes is by using points, leader boards, badges and rewards. Topics can be awarded for completing small but meaningful tasks to achieve the bigger goal for the company. Leader boards provide instant feedback to enhance motivation for competing team members. The leader board can be maintained for a weekly period to give all parties a fair chance of getting to the top of the leader board.
Badges have been successfully used in the armed forces, boy scouts, girl guides to enhance and distinguish good performance. Different types and mechanisms of rewards can provide instant feedback to the players playing the game. Different levels and stages can also be employed in combination with points, leader boards, and badges to acknowledge greater levels of achievement.
Thus enhancing performance.
Conclusion
In an organizational context, positive contribution should be rewarded immediately, as waiting for weeks to reward achievements will defeat the aim of gamification as most of the emotions and context is lost. Positive feedback and rewards are some of the easiest and commonly used ways to gamify work processes
are by using points, leader boards, badges and rewards. Different levels and stages can also be employed in combination with points, leader boards, and badges to acknowledge greater levels of achievement.
Why Gamification Works- Some Examples
It can feel like in today’s world, games are everywhere. We’re surrounded by new technology and new ways that games can become a part of our daily life. With attention spans shortening, gamification is expanding. Gamification actually has helped businesses run smoother, and people work harder. Here’s how:
Gamification in Sustainability
0power is an example of a product that has been gamified for more extensive use. 75 electrical companies have decided to use this service. Here, you can track your energy consumption in comparison to your neighbour’s.
It brings out that competitive edge in people to be lower in electricity than the house beside them. This helps with sustainability and even your electrical bill, saving money and the planet.
This is also seen with the Nissan Leaf. Not only does this car have a points system that can earn you rewards through sustainable driving, but it also has a way to compare progress. You can connect this gamification tool to your Facebook and compare your environmental progress to that of your friends. Efforts to be sustainable are gamified and, therefore, increased.
Gamification for Restaurants
We see gamification used in reward systems for many popular restaurants. You rack up a certain number of points at a restaurant; you get a free meal or a free item. Gamification is all about that rush of earning a reward and “winning” at something.
Though the restaurant loses a little for the free item, they make it up by the extra money sent by the customer to get to that free item. Some reward systems are app-based, where the customer can check how many points they have while on the go, just like they would with a game on their phone. This makes the game aspect of reward systems work even better.
This type of gamification ultimately increases loyalty. Since the company is giving back to their customers somehow, the customers feel like buying from the brand is worth it. This encourages customers to go to the store with the point system over another restaurant.
Gamification in Training
Gamification is also used in many businesses to train employees to do their job to the company’s standard. For instance, Xerox uses a gamification method to train managers by completing “quests” online when they learn how to do a task.
This can be a great way to train employees, old or new, in a motivating way. Also, this training can be done online, so employees can complete challenges from home. With the changing world, more people are working remotely, so this online form of training will help various companies significantly.
Gamification in the Future
Gamification still is expanding and growing into different sectors of the world every day. We can only expect that its reach will continue to grow in the future. Gamification increases sales, loyalty and overall improves management.
From reward systems to competitions, the gamification of our world is just beginning.
Contributed by
Ahsen Qazi graduated from Middlesex University London with a Masters in HRM. He completed his M-Phil in Management Sciences from NDU, Islamabad. In addition he also has a Master degree in Information Technology. He is author of the book “Chinese Entrepreneurship model a benchmark to the Pakistan” and “Business Success”. A well reputed motivational and leadership speaker certified by “Directive Communication International (DCI)”, ranked 8th in World in leadership and motivation, accredited by the American Institute of Business Psychology. He is certified in “work gamification” and has twenty years of experience in training, leadership, motivation and HRM
