Introduction to Gamification
Gamification is a concept that can make you smile when you know that it is about transposing game mechanics into an environment as serious as the company's.
However, when we look at the results that can be obtained through Gamification in terms of productivity, employee engagement, mutual aid or even a reduction in turnover, we quickly understand why it is so popular.
For many experts in the field, Gamification is not just about using game mechanics, it is a mindset that has the potential to transform our vision of business.
To better understand what this is and why some see it as a great growth lever, you have to look at it from a player's perspective:
🎖 Is it the taste of the challenge?
✅ Is it the sense of accomplishment you feel when you reach your goal?
🕹 Is it the will to win and the tension you feel when you play?
👋 Or would it ultimately be the interactions with others that make you love playing?
The concept of Gamification is based on the careful selection of elements that motivate each player profile, while providing a very positive context, since it is linked to the pleasure of playing.
Everyone has a reason to love to play and therefore every employee has a player in them.
The Gaming Industry
We live in an era where gaming, and more specifically video gaming, has become phenomenal:
The video game industry has become bigger than the music and movie industry combined 🕹
More than one out of two French people play video games regularly, the average age of players is 35, 70% of them are over 20 years old and 47% are women.
The turnover of e-sport is now approaching the billion euros and the earnings for the winner of some tournaments have become greater than those of Roland Garos or the Tour de France.💸
A method to increase employee engagement
In an increasingly competitive world, the commitment of employees has become more essential than ever to continue to be innovative, competitive and satisfy increasingly demanding customers.
However, the latest figures on employee engagement from a leading study on the subject (Gallup "State of the Global Workplace" 2017) are more than worrying:
In France, only 10% of employees say they are involved in the development of their company!
This means that on average 90% of employees are either disinterested or actively disengaged, and these figures are even more worrying when it comes to new generations.
Obviously, this has important repercussions for companies. The Gallup study estimates that the cost of disengagement is on average €12,600 per employee per year!
Employee engagement is becoming an essential and strategic issue for all companies, which are increasingly betting on employee engagement to win the bet of customer engagement.
Our advice for a successful Gamification project
First of all, it is important to specify that the implementation of gamification must be part of a global strategy of the company aiming at creating a stimulating work environment. It must be prepared in advance in order to maximize its adoption. To do this, nothing is better thanintegrating your employees and managers in the thinking process, to build a quality experience.
If it has not been sufficiently thought through, it runs the risk of being perceived as a means of control implemented by the company, thereby diminishing the well-being of employees and the performance of teams.
We also recommend that you increase the number of performance indicators. Whether they are individual and/or collective, the fact that they are numerous allows employees to always progress in the game and to distinguish themselves in certain categories according to their profiles, their skills and their competences.
For example, some companies propose quantitative indicators (number of projects signed, number of leads detected, number of interactions with customers, etc.) but also qualitative indicators such as the customer satisfaction rate or the transformation rate. Other managers do not hesitate to include indicators that are more related to the life of the company.
In addition, regular animation of successes, even when they seem minor, is important. The game should not only reward the best performing employees but also recognize the progress and efforts of all participants.
Finally, it is essential to include in the gamification program rewards that are linked to the results and that do not only reward the best. The choice of the proposed rewards must be thought to be motivating for a maximum of people (bonuses, gift cards, team restaurants, donations to associations...).
At Fire Tiger, we believe that by putting employees at the center of the game, by offering them a quality experience, the company will be able to capture their attention, seduce them and keep them.
Gamification offers us the opportunity to reconcile fun and performance while creating more synergies.
So, ready to play? 🙂
