The Future of Work: How Gamification is Changing The Game
Picture this: You’re a high ranking executive at a Fortune 10 company, scrambling to come up with new ideas to make a product that works, is consumer ready, and will be profitable. You’ve exhausted all resources and have sought counsel with your immediate peers with no end in sight. In an effort to save face without having to report the ugly facts to your board, you turn to some of your subordinates to come up with ideas, which, unfortunately leads to nothing. After endless rounds of coffee and frustration, you finally get a hit. Like a miner hunting for gold during the California gold rush, you hit the jackpot. Over a water cooler conversation you overhear a comment by an entry level intern that strikes a cord and gets the ball rolling for a final product that is greater than you could have ever mustered up on your own. And you are ecstatic. However, the wheels in your head screech to a halt as you think about why you never asked this intern, someone who is still very much a part of your company, for help on this project and furthermore, what could be done to avoid such hurdles in the future?
In an effort to save you and anyone else that’s ever needed input on a project some time, allow me to introduce you to the future of work: collaboration and participation through gamification.
Gamification is the future of work and what will motivate staff to collaborate on a level that hasn’t been seen before, and as a company, you would be wise to jump on this bandwagon in order to maximize productivity.
Companies today are already maximizing their staff’s potential by changing the way employees are rewarded and recognized.
- Sam’s Club recently turned to gamification in order to solve a problem: how to save money in the break room. It was presented to all employees and a member of the janitorial staff came up with the idea to turn off the lights in their vending machines, a solution that saved Sam’s Club about 4 million. Of course, the janitor was rewarded for his solution.
- Restaurants have been using gamification for a long time now to increase sales through upselling appetizers and desserts to guests, tracking each sale and rewarding the server that racks in the highest sales.
- Kendra Scott Design has harnessed gamification in a marketing campaign that encourages employees to post to their personal Instagram accounts with the hashtag #ksstaffstyle showcasing the company’s jewelry in order to gain traction amongst audiences they would have otherwise not reached through their Instagram account alone. The top posts are chosen and rewarded with a $50 gift card.
Imagine all of the possibilities when every staff member of your company, big and small, is not only allowed but encouraged and rewarded for participating fully in the workplace. This boosts morale and fosters an environment where creativity and innovation thrive. Gamification creates a pipeline where individuals strive to present only the best ideas in order to receive recognition.
The point here is that people need and long to not only be recognized but also rewarded for hard work, something that goes beyond what they receive every paycheck. It doesn’t have to be something that breaks the bank either: in this case all rewards are good rewards.
“Research indicates that employees have three prime needs: Interesting work, recognition for doing a good job, and being let in on things that are going on in the company.” -Zig Ziglar
Gamification can increase healthy competition which is a great way to have staff producing at top notch rates. If I were to notice that Mark, my co-worker, were receiving more points and rewards for his work, wouldn’t I be more inclined to step my game up? Absolutely.
On the flip side, someone might counter that employees should want to participate and engage in the workforce simply because they are paid to do so, without the need of gamification as a crutch. To them I would say that this is a poor way to view the impact and role a company plays in the life of an employee and staff member. It’s time for companies to realize that not only is gamification within reach with a few small tweaks but also an effective way to maximize productivity and create a happier and more fulfilling workplace. The age in which a salary and bonuses every now and then are enough to fully engage staff is long gone, with gamification on the horizon for a better workforce that creates better products and yields better employees.
Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, said it best: “Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.”
