{"id":40499,"date":"2022-11-24T21:31:59","date_gmt":"2022-11-24T21:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/articles\/gamification-to-improve-employee-engagement\/"},"modified":"2024-08-27T18:22:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T18:22:19","slug":"gamification-to-improve-employee-engagement","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/articles\/gamification-to-improve-employee-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"3 workplace gamification strategies (proven) to boost employee engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class='inline-text-container MobileAlignment DesktopAlignment'>\n  <div class='richText'><p dir=\"ltr\">Gamification in the workplace can be a double-edged sword.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">On the unfavorable end of that sword, one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shrm.org\/resourcesandtools\/hr-topics\/technology\/pages\/gamification-at-work-can-go-very-wrong.aspx\"> Disneyland <\/a> Resort Hotel\u2019s employee gamification campaign resulted in workers skipping bathroom breaks and scornfully dubbing it the \u201celectronic whip.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Such extreme results contradict Samsung\u2019s experience, which reduced\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/performance-management-platform\/man-cooking-2\/\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"1e8cfea3-b89b-4c86-aa47-2bd1c1112f87\">training costs by 40% <\/a> and increased sales of premium devices by 64% when using gamification.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Samsung\u2019s success and Disney\u2019s drastic failure raises an important question: What\u2019s the right approach to workplace gamification?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019ll share the answer in this post. You\u2019ll learn why attempts to use gamification to increase employee engagement fail\u00a0and the 3 evergreen gamification tactics that every organization can rely on.<\/p>\n<div class=\"note\" role=\"note\" aria-label=\"Information\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Table of contents:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"#What-exactly-is-gamification-in-the-workplace?\">What exactly is gamification in the workplace?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"#-Why-most-fail\">Gamification to improve employee engagement: Why most fail<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"#3-evergreen-gamification-strategies-that-work\">3 evergreen gamification tactics that work<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"#Do-you-need-gamification?-Ask-these-5-questions-to-find-out\">Do you really need gamification? Ask these 5 questions to find out<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">What exactly is gamification in the workplace?<a id=\"What exactly is gamification in the workplace?\" name=\"What-exactly-is-gamification-in-the-workplace?\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/rsz_gamification-image.gif\" \/><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Gamification in the workplace is the science of tapping into the intrinsic motivators of <a href=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/become-a-partner\/totara-trade-show-partners-3\/\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"8f48d3a4-9496-4a4a-9352-c332e03dd429\"> employee experience<\/a>\u00a0to drive behavioral change, engagement and sustained productivity in a corporate environment.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">As explained in the next section, corporate gamification isn\u2019t about simply transposing video game mechanics into the workplace. <strong>It\u2019s about identifying challenges within the business that are best solved by employee recognition and reward systems\u00a0that power behavioral change.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Gamification to improve employee engagement: Why most fail<a id=\" Why most fail\" name=\"Why-most-fail\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When using gamification in the workplace, transformational and sustained change occurs when the underlying strategy is to solve pressing problems and focus on the critical aspects of employee experience.\u00a0 Corporate gamification should:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Develop the skills of employees<\/strong>: In addition to <a href=\"\/totara-feature\/compliance-management\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"f103bb6f-180b-46a5-b659-01547b1a7fa4\"> mandatory compliance training<\/a>, gamification can help employees hone their craft or learn the skills they need to address bottlenecks within the business and progress their careers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Instill important habits<\/strong>: If employees possess the knowledge to solve a problem or improve an aspect of the business, but aren\u2019t applying it, feeding them more information won\u2019t solve anything as the issue is behavioral<\/p>\n<p>In this case, gamification can reinforce behaviors and habits that benefit the business by rewarding top-performers and (in some cases) providing real-time feedback to complement <a href=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/request-a-demo-form\/\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"e98a1311-7e41-4d63-9bbf-45f29bdb8e1a\"> effective performance management <\/a><\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Encourage a collaborative culture<\/strong>: Are subject matter experts and employees in general, recognized for helping team members and sharing knowledge?<\/p>\n<p>Gamifying the process of sharing knowledge by recognizing experts with tools such as ratings, curated playlists and dedicated workspaces improves collaboration in your workplace, shortens learning curves and makes it easier to identify top-performers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-31077 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/rsz_1txp_pillar__diagram_9-1024x516.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"516\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/rsz_1txp_pillar__diagram_9-1024x516.gif 1024w, https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/rsz_1txp_pillar__diagram_9-300x151.gif 300w, https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/rsz_1txp_pillar__diagram_9-768x387.gif 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Ultimately, addressing the fundamental drivers of employee performance (we call this <a href=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/become-a-partner\/totara-trade-show-partners-3\/\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"8f48d3a4-9496-4a4a-9352-c332e03dd429\"> talent experience <\/a> at Totara) means you\u2019re recognizing, rewarding and paying attention to the long-term motivators of employee engagement while solving business problems.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Blinded by the misconception that gamification in the workplace is about making things \u201cfun,\u201d many forgo the fundamentals of <a href=\"\/blog\/talent-experience-vs-talent-management-which-drives-employee-engagement\">talent experience<\/a> and fail to tailor initiatives around their unique workplace.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This was the mistake made by the Pharmacy software company, Omnicare. Aiming to decrease helpdesk wait times, it gamified customer service procedures by rolling out an employee leaderboard and offered cash incentives for fast-responding employees.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The well-intentioned strategy <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cio.com\/article\/734521\/How_to_Use_Gamification_to_Engage_Employees\"> backfired <\/a> ; staff viewed the initiative as \u201cBig Brother\u201d attempting to watch over them and helpdesk wait times\u2014alongside employee turnover\u2014increased.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Gamification in the workplace fails because organizations:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Use short-term\u00a0initiatives that offer temporary boosts in engagement<\/strong> (would employees really value a $5 gift card or would they prefer a certification proving their expertise?)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Apply a generic approach that\u2019s ill-suited for their workplace<\/strong> (e.g. Omnicare using retail style customer service gamification on specialist knowledge workers)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Fail to make employees feel valued<\/strong>, and in extreme cases, surface suspicions of micromanagement<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Focus on the medium (gamification)<\/strong> instead of diagnosing the root cause of the problem<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">3 evergreen gamification tactics that work<a id=\"3 evergreen gamification strategies that work\" name=\"3-evergreen-gamification-strategies-that-work\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Now that you know when to use (or avoid) gamification, let\u2019s dive into the evergreen tactics and workplace gamification examples that will help you improve employee engagement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Gamification for training employees<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Workplace learning is generally centered around overcoming a challenge, whether that\u2019s mastering a new skill, becoming an expert on a new product line, understanding the laws in your market or something totally different.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Context is key when you\u2019re implementing gamification for employee training. It needs to make sense within the course, activity or topic. Ideally, the gamified elements should enhance the narrative and journey throughout your course.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">For example, when Amazon <a href=\"\/node\/1736\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"987d0523-b2bc-4632-9f7c-a38ffae5cd38\"> launched its Alexa Academy<\/a>\u00a0to improve expertise around core products (Echo, Alexa and Kindle),\u00a0 it used completion-based badges to reward learners and give them expert status.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Learners who became Fire TV Customer Experts would unlock new areas of the site and be entered into a competition.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Gamification to improve job-specific performance<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Another way to use gamification to improve employee engagement is to cultivate job-role-specific competencies and behaviors that benefit the business.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">For example, let\u2019s say your goal is to improve retention with better customer service. Your gamification efforts should focus on cultivating stronger service-related skills and rewarding behaviors and results\u00a0that exhibit great customer service.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This is exactly what Deloitte Accountancy, one of the four largest accounting firms in the world, did to adapt to accelerated digitalization triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9331 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Deloitte-accoutnancy-client-fit-1024x442.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Deloitte-accoutnancy-client-fit-1024x442.png 1024w, https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Deloitte-accoutnancy-client-fit-300x130.png 300w, https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Deloitte-accoutnancy-client-fit-768x332.png 768w, https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Deloitte-accoutnancy-client-fit.png 1332w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">After surveying clients, the firm identified 9 make-or-break stages in the accountant-client relationship.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Empowered by these insights, Deloitte Accountancy\u2019s training team used the Totara Learn LMS to create ClientFit, an award-winning, Netflix-themed <a href=\"\/customer-stories\/deloitte-accountancy-adapts-to-digital-disruption-with-advanced-soft-and-hard\">interactive employee training program<\/a> that coached its employees through (and quizzed them on) the pivotal stages and key expectations in the customer lifecycle.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This gamified approach earned an 87% completion rate for 500 employees, and more importantly, equipped Deloitte\u2019s consultants with (generally hard to teach) softs skills to improve client retention and deliver an exceptional <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-build-great-customer-experience-with-customer-training\">customer experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Gamification to empower a collaborative culture<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When Mitchells &amp; Butlers, the umbrella brand for over 1,700 pubs, <a href=\"\/node\/294\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"df62f537-c66f-4774-8c79-4cca48af6003\"> cultivated a collaborative environment<\/a>, it immediately improved engagement. As a result, compliance rates reached 89% and food quality scores increased by 5% across the board.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Gamification can help build a collaborative culture with a <a href=\"\/products\/learning-experience-platform-lxp-totara-engage\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"ffe4c8df-9537-4f19-9315-98644b74237e\"> learning experience platform <\/a> by recognizing and rewarding employees for sharing knowledge, mentoring and helping each other.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">From brand-new employees to experienced senior management, an LXP connects people with similar needs\u2014whether that&#8217;s by role, location, seniority level or skill set.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Not only will this help your people share knowledge, collaborate on projects from a central digital workspace and communicate with colleagues, but it also opens up the opportunity for <a href=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/become-a-partner\/totara-trade-show-partners-1\/\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"0f2398b8-b827-43bd-8d3e-e65af5516dd8\"> developing employees to be mentored<\/a>\u00a0by senior experts.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Experts can curate training resources from multiple channels to create personalized development paths and answer questions from mentees\u2014who can comment on and rate content created by others.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This provides employees a dedicated place to develop their skills, discuss ideas with colleagues and solve problems together in an engaging and interconnected way.<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Do you really need gamification? Ask these 5 questions to find out<a id=\"Do you need gamification? Ask these 5 questions to find out\" name=\"Do-you-need-gamification?-Ask-these-5-questions-to-find-out\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">To avoid running the wrong type of workplace gamification campaign, or even worse, wasting resources on gamification when it\u2019s the last thing your people need, develop a strong use case and structured process for deploying it.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The key here is to have a strong hypothesis for the behavioral change you want to inspire (employees should fill out CRM data) and the outcome it generates (improve lead scoring and qualification to reduce acquisition costs).<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This allows you to determine what gamification tactics and mechanics to deploy ( e.g. a leaderboard that rewards employees for accurate data entry into the CRM system).<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">As with all approaches to employee engagement, the impact gamification will have depends on how it\u2019s implemented. Saying \u201cI want to gamify xyz\u201d and shoehorning it wherever possible is the wrong approach\u2014and often turns \u201cgames\u201d into unnecessary distractions.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Before taking the plunge into gamification, here are seven key questions you should ask yourself:<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong>1. What\u2019s the challenge or opportunity?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Different types of workplace challenges require different solutions.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Corporate gamification revolves around overcoming challenges or improving processes. You should know what these challenges and opportunities are because gamification isn\u2019t the answer to every bottleneck or challenge your people face.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If, for example, production rates are slowing due to users not being able to troubleshoot technical issues on an assembly line, a simple checklist or training course will do the job; there\u2019s no need to \u201cencourage friendly competition\u201d with convoluted leaderboards and traffic lights systems.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If, however, the cause of impeded production is employees not entering the correct dimensions on a system, introducing a scoring system for their data input makes sense (and also allows you to measure the correlation between data entry and production rates).<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong>2. What does a successful campaign look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Once you\u2019ve identified what you want to improve and you\u2019re certain that gamification is the right choice, envision what success looks like with your team.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Continuing from the above example of introducing a scoring system that rates the quality of data entered by employees, success might look like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Improved production rates<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Fewer assembly line errors<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Less total downtime<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong>3. How will you implement the campaign?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Gamification can add a whole extra level of manual intervention from managers or administrators. So you\u2019ll need to identify whether your systems and workflows support automated tracking, or if you\u2019ll need to create new processes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong>4. Who\u2019s the target audience?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Depending on their job roles and collective attitude, different departments will be motivated (or demotivated by) different challenges. Knowing your audience and tailoring your gamification campaign around them, is therefore vital.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">It spells the difference between employees feeling demotivated from micromanagement or\u00a0feeling extremely empowered by a sense of autonomy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong>5. Is this a good idea?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Perhaps the most important question on your list should be: Is this a good idea?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Gamification will be just one part of your overall employee engagement strategy, so ensuring that it\u2019s capable of moving the needle is key.<\/p>\n<div class=\"note note--engage-teal\" role=\"note\" aria-label=\"Information\">\n<div class=\"note__footer\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Author bio: Hassan Uddeen is a <a href=\"https:\/\/hassanuddeen.com\/\">freelance writer, content strategist <\/a>and SEO<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>","protected":false},"template":"","tax\/tags":[724],"tax\/solutions":[1192],"tax\/topics":[731],"tax\/industries":[],"tax\/article-types":[1021],"class_list":["post-40499","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/40499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/tags?post=40499"},{"taxonomy":"solution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/solutions?post=40499"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/topics?post=40499"},{"taxonomy":"industry-tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/industries?post=40499"},{"taxonomy":"article-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/article-types?post=40499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}