Creating employee engagement through gamification

Engaging employees more has become a priority for most companies. A Futurum study demonstrates that gamification is the ideal process to facilitate transitions and boost performance. Here's how to create employee engagement through gamification.

70% of business transformations fail due to a lack ofemployee engagement. Employees working in large, well-known companies even believe that at home this rate would be closer to 90%!

The transformation of organizations is accelerating frantically against the backdrop of digital transition. Companies today can no longer afford to fail in the race for change. They must engage employees more so that they don’t just sign up for a job, but for a long-term joint project. Commitment is not a new issue, but it is becoming increasingly crucial. Employees want to understand why they get up in the morning. They need to know what the “big picture” is, and that their work really matters to the company.

This is where gamification comes in. This concept of digital motivation through play instills a new way to engage employees which has no boundaries. A quick, immediately gratifying method that we know well in our extra-professional lives.

What is gamification?

No, we're not going to ask you to turn work into play. Gamification is based on a mechanism which, psychologically, motivates human engagement : the desire to compete, to improve, to surpass oneself – and to receive a reward. It is therefore naturally easier to stimulate employee engagement through gamification.

What are the advantages ?

The benefits of gamification are numerous. In 2015, 40% of the “ Global 1000 » were already using this method to facilitate digital transitions for companies. Why?

Receive feedback in real time

No employee likes to be surprised during their annual review. Thanks to gamification, employees no longer work (only) to meet annual goals. Instead, they work for shorter term, more meaningful goals, while receiving better quality feedback.

Fighting favoritism

Do managers have favorites? Do they reward some employees more than others? A gamified system generally offers more transparency : we see ourselves progressing in the ranking, and we can also follow our colleagues! No more risk of lacking recognition.

Improve the quality of life at work

Infusing playful mechanics naturally allows forimprove the Quality of Life at Work. Employees feel better, and your organization is all the better for it!

Employee engagement through gamification: when does it work best?

Gamification can be applied to many aspects of business life. This is the case, for example, when we talk about acculturation or mobility.

Gamification for acculturation

Your business is transforming ? It is essential to set up an acculturation system to bring your employees on board.

And to acculturate, traditional training is not the most engaging. It is indeed necessary to turn to interactive methods, which reinforce the feeling of belonging. This is where gamification comes in. Quizzes and other challenges are effective in motivating employees. Thanks to fun mechanics, your employees will more easily take ownership of the new aspects of your corporate culture.

Gamification in a mobility context

Gamification can also keep employees engaged while on the move. Indeed, many managers no longer have direct contact with their remote teams. In this context, Gamification helps maintain connections by rewarding the most efficient employees.

What are the warnings?

The game does not prevent the measurement of effectiveness! So, if you set up a playful device, do not forget to establish a reporting to best manage your system. You will thus verify that it meets your engagement objective.

Also be careful not to overuse gamification, otherwise you risk create stressful situations. To boost employee engagement through gamification, your system must remain fun. It must not create pressure on your employees under any circumstances!