Gamification is one of those vague business terms that you might have heard people throwing around lately. For the past few years, it hasn’t really had a clear meaning or purpose and most people thought it was just a gimmick that didn’t have any practical use in the workplace. But more recently, companies have started using it in a more effective way. So, what exactly does gamification mean and how can it help you to increase productivity around the office?
The definition is fairly broad but it essentially refers to any example of applying video game concepts to existing processes in the workplace to make them more fun and engaging. That includes competitive elements, points, achievements, and whatever else you can think of to encourage your employees to spend more time on tasks and complete them quickly. People often get confused and think that gamification just means creating games that you can use in the workplace, but that’s not the right definition. Now you know what it is, how can it help you?
Gamification works on both ends of a business, with your employers and with your customers. Lots of companies are starting to introduce game concepts into their products to encourage customers to use them more often and prove to their customer base that their products have utility. Nike is a great example of this; they’ve created a platform where customers can track and compare workouts with one another, they can also build up points and move up levels. This is a great way to get people actively using their products and if people want to compete with their friends, they’ll have to get products from Nike as well. If you think that your product is one that would benefit from something similar, look into the cost of making a mobile app and adding an extra section to your website where customers can use gamification elements. This builds brand loyalty because you’ve created something that customers rely more heavily on and in future, they won’t think about going elsewhere.
As well as encouraging customers to use your products more often, gamification can also be used to increase productivity in your employees. Injecting a bit of healthy competition into the office can encourage people to work a bit harder. It’s also useful to use points and levels to give them a better idea of exactly how they’re progressing. One of the main things that reduces productivity in employees is a lack of recognition for their work. Feeling like their hard work is going unnoticed means that they’re more likely to slack off. However, if they’ve got a tangible points system that tracks their progress and puts it on display for everybody to see, they’ll know that you recognize their hard work. Competing with their colleagues will also inspire them to work harder, especially if you’re offering some kind of rewards for the best performing employees. You do need to be careful though and make sure that the competition stays friendly and doesn’t cause any disputes in the office.
Gamification is a brilliant way of expanding your customer base and encouraging productive work practices. It’s set to be a feature of all major companies in a few years, so get on board with it right away.
