Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the global economic landscape has changed. To succeed in the post-pandemic corporate world, we need to transform our concept of the traditional workplace.
One method leading businesses are employing to thrive in 2022 is gamification, a trend entrepreneur Kris Dugan spearheaded with the early business gamification platform Badgeville in 2010. Gamification refers to the utilization of game-playing elements in fields that generally wouldn’t use them, such as the workplace.
Here are four ways businesses are leveraging gamification in the workplace.
1. Improving User Engagement
A key usage of gamification is increasing user engagement with your product or service. Customer-facing gamification builds consumer loyalty by providing additional incentives to both choose and stick with your product over time.
Fitness brand Fitbit offers a perfect example of gamification in action. The brand harnesses this idea using a robust social interface that allows users to compete with their friends to reach fitness targets. The app also rewards exercise milestones with attainment badges that can be displayed for clout.
Research has shown that competition is one of the biggest motivators when it comes to meeting exercise goals. Thus, gamifying Fitbit through friendly competition increases both user enjoyment and goal attainment. Satisfied customers are more likely to recommend the product to friends.
2. Increasing Brand Visibility
Effective gamification of your product/service will also typically lead to sharing (digitally or through word of mouth). To use the example above, Fitbit’s social sharing feature allows users to post their achievement badges and workout stats on social media. This generates broader brand awareness and encourages others to purchase a Fitbit to join in.
Also consider the McDonald’s Monopoly promotion. The popular, Hasbro-sanctioned competition lets customers collect “properties” with food purchases for the chance to win a prize. This clever Monopoly adaptation generates considerable consumer interest and increased sales.
McDonald’s Monopoly was discontinued in the U.S after reports of fraud, but this gamification attempt is still generating brand recognition for Mc Donald’s and is thriving in other countries. As recently as 2020, the McMillions docu-series was released, detailing the scandal, and getting tongues wagging all over again.
3. Motivating Business & Staff Performance
Just as gamification can encourage your customers to engage at a higher level, it can also be a powerful motivator for your staff. Even the best-run organizations can run into worker burnout or task fatigue. Inject a sense of fun and urgency back into your workplace with gamification.
A simple example would be to create Bingo cards for each staff member. Boxes can be filled with tasks that need to be achieved, such as “receive positive feedback from two customers” or “complete safety awareness module.” When the goal is reached, the winning staff member or team receives a reward.
The most effective rewards pair praise with a tangible prize. For example, a coffee voucher and recognition at the next staff meeting. Why does it work? Rewards release a rush of dopamine, the “happy” hormone, in the brain. Our brains are hardwired to pursue this chemical, which can translate to increased motivation to reach targets and a higher level of satisfaction when they are achieved.
4. Hiring Incentives
Despite high unemployment rates, many businesses are feeling the pinch of a suitable labor shortage. Savvy businesses are now using gamification to find high-quality candidates to fill essential roles. How? By offering cash incentives, prizes and kudos to employees who successfully refer suitable friends and acquaintances to vacancies.
The four examples above barely scrape the surface of business gamification. Consider implementing gamification in your business now to watch your company’s success soar in 2023.