Could gamification as an employee engagement strategy work for your business?

UK culture loves gaming – boardgames, TV game shows, video games, quizzes – which is why adding elements of gameplay to the workplace is a popular employee engagement strategy in 2024.

We live in an age where distractions abound and attention spans seem to shrink by the minute. Therefore, engaging employees in the workplace has become more challenging than ever. Managers are finding that gamifying work tasks is an effective strategy to suit most leadership styles.

I've often found that traditional methods of motivation and productivity enhancement can fall short in capturing the interest and commitment of employees. However, there’s an employee engagement strategy that’s been gaining traction in recent years – gamification.

Yes, you read it right – gamification isn’t just for video games anymore.

It’s a powerful tool that can be harnessed to transform the workplace into a dynamic, interactive environment where employees are genuinely excited to contribute their best.

What is gamification in the workplace?

Gamification involves applying elements of games and their mechanics to non-game settings, In this case, the workplace.

What this essentially means is including things like points, badges, leaderboards, levels, challenges, and rewards in your employees’ day-to-day work. Some workplaces do this to make tasks more engaging, motivating, and enjoyable. It's particularly useful for training courses that you want to make more relatable and memorable such as equality, diversity, and inclusion courses

Think about it: when you play a game, whether it’s a board game, a video game, or even a simple card game, you’re often immersed in the experience. Games see us eagerly striving to achieve objectives, overcome challenges, and outperform your competitors.

Gamification taps into this innate human desire for achievement, progression, and competition and channels it into the workplace environment.

Why does gamification work for employee engagement?

Gamification as an employee engagement strategy works from four main principles:

1. Intrinsic motivation: Games are inherently enjoyable because they tap into our intrinsic motivation. This is the desire to master skills, overcome challenges, and achieve goals for the sheer satisfaction of it. By gamifying tasks in the workplace, you’re tapping into this same intrinsic motivation. It can make work feel less like a chore and more like a rewarding experience.
   

2. Clear goals and feedback: Games provide clear goals and immediate feedback on performance, which helps to keep players focused and motivated. By incorporating these elements into the workplace through gamification, you’re providing employees with a sense of direction and progress, which can increase their motivation and productivity.

3. Sense of achievement: Games often provide a sense of achievement through rewards, such as points, badges, or levels. By earning these rewards, players feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in their abilities. In the workplace, gamification can similarly provide employees with opportunities to earn recognition and rewards for their achievements, fostering a positive and rewarding work environment.

4. Social interaction: Many games involve social interaction, whether it’s competing against friends, collaborating with teammates, or sharing achievements with others. Gamified experiences at work can foster a sense of camaraderie and teamwork among employees, leading to increased engagement and collaboration.

How to gamify the workplace effectively

Now we understand the principles behind gamification, let’s see if it’s the right employee engagement strategy for your business. Here are six things you’ll need to consider to successfully apply gaming elements to your workplace.

1. Identify goals and objectives: Before implementing gamification, it’s essential to identify the goals and objectives you want to achieve. Whether it’s increasing productivity, improving teamwork, or enhancing employee satisfaction, having clear goals will help guide your gamification strategy.

2. Understand your audience: Just like in game design, it’s crucial to understand your audience – in this case, your employees. What motivates them? What are their interests and preferences? Tailoring your gamification approach to align with the needs and preferences of your employees will increase its effectiveness.

3. Choose the right mechanics: Select game mechanics that align with your goals and resonate with your employees. This could include things like point systems for completing tasks, badges for achieving milestones, leaderboards for tracking progress, or challenges for fostering healthy competition.

4. Provide meaningful rewards: Rewards are a central component of gamification, but they need to be meaningful to be effective. Consider offering rewards such as additional time off, personalised experiences, or opportunities for professional development that align with your employees’ interests and aspirations.

5. Promote transparency and fairness: It’s essential to ensure that your gamification system is transparent and fair to all employees. Clearly communicate the rules and criteria for earning rewards, and ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate and succeed.

6. Encourage feedback and iteration: Gamification is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and it’s essential to continuously solicit feedback from employees and iterate on your approach based on their input. This will help ensure that your gamification strategy remains relevant and effective over time.

Real-world examples of gamification in the workplace

To bring these concepts to life, here are some real-world examples of companies that have successfully gamified the workplace:

1. Salesforce: The cloud computing company Salesforce uses gamification in its employee training programmes to make learning more engaging and effective. Employees earn points and badges for completing training modules and can track their progress on leaderboards, fostering healthy competition and motivation.

2. Deloitte: The professional services firm Deloitte created a gamified app called “Deloitte Leadership Academy” to encourage employee development and learning. The app incorporates elements such as badges, leaderboards, and social features to make learning more interactive and rewarding.

3. Microsoft: Microsoft implemented gamification in its developer community through the “Microsoft Learn” platform. It offers interactive learning paths, quizzes, and challenges to help developers improve their skills. By gamifying the learning experience, Microsoft has been able to increase engagement and retention among its developer audience.

The bottom line

Gamifying the workplace is an employee engagement strategy that can help increase motivation, and productivity.

Tapping into the innate human desire for achievement, progression, and competition, gamification can transform mundane tasks into engaging experiences that employees genuinely enjoy.

I’ve seen first-hand the transformative impact that gamification can have on workplace culture and performance.

If you take a bit of time to understand the principles behind gamification, identify clear goals and objectives, and implement tailored gamification strategies, you can create a workplace where employees are excited to contribute their best.