How can companies engage employees and customers in new and exciting ways, while still achieving business goals? Employees are people first, and people like to play! Integrating social, interactive activities, challenges, virtual rewards and even a bit of healthy competition, gamification – the application of game science to non-game situations – can offer answers for businesses that want to level up their employee engagement strategy.
The most valuable insights from game play are rooted in an understanding of what drives and motivates all human behavior. Infuse the right game mechanics into traditionally non-game activities and you’re on the road to creating a successful motivational program that’s fun, rewarding and effective.
Gamification applies elements and outcomes such as status, play, collection and surprise rewards to drive behavior and connect with people on an emotional level. People like to achieve, collect and collaborate. Game components help add these elements to employee recognition programs – increasing attention, participation and engagement. That’s the essence of a recent presentation for The Motivation Show, where my colleague Jerry Klein and I explored the unique approach we take to applying game science to employee recognition.
In designing this engagement strategy, we identify and ‘gamify’ important activities that bring value to both the employee and the success of an ongoing recognition solution. We believe that companies need to get their game on – harnessing the power to drive behavior in a more fun, engaging way:
- Immerse people in the experience. The game mechanic of rewarding a real or virtual prize, badge or trophy offers an early ‘win’ and engagement tactic for, say, the first recognition someone gives or receives. This fulfills a primary desire for self-expression, but also status, achievement, and reward. Further, design the opportunity for participants to collect a series of badges over time for completing important recognition activities, such as being recognized for specific criteria, reading, learning, approving, etc. The opportunity to ‘collect things’ drives behavior.
- Tap into our natural desire to achieve. Challenges can allow people to earn rewards, trophies, privileges or status. For example, create a challenge for consistent recognition (e.g. giving recognition every week for three weeks). Completing the challenge might qualify employees for another challenge or level, or make them eligible for a recognition program. Adding tiered-achievement levels will enhance the experience because the right level of challenge and reward excites the brain.
- Focus on the employee and allow personalization. When gaming, players often create and personalize the characters they play with, creating ownership in the experience. Allow employees to personalize a selection of rewards, how and what they achieve, or some aspect of their recognition experience.
- Surprise and delight. Many game mechanics can be designed as a surprise tactic to enhance the rewarding and engaging aspects of an employee recognition program.
- Add a social and competitive element. Use the game mechanic of a leader board to track recognitions by business unit or department. Leader boards tap into humans’ competitive drive, and are a great way, along with newsfeeds of recognition activity, to communicate and socialize recognition, encourage participation and shape social norms.
It’s inspiring to see what employees (and their organizations) can accomplish when the focus is squarely on engaging the people responsible for the business’ success.
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Michelle Pokorny is Solution Vice President of Employee Engagement and Recognition for Maritz Loyalty & Motivation.
She ensures Maritz has the tools, insight and resources to create impactful employee recognition experiences that connect employee and employer goals. Pokorny helps organizations create engaging and meaningful experiences with their people to better employee lives and accomplish business results. Maritz is a sales and marketing services company, which helps companies achieve their full potential through understanding, enabling, and motivating employees, channel partners and customers. Maritz provides market and customer research, communications, learning solutions, incentive initiatives, rewards and recognition, effective meeting, event and incentive management services and customer loyalty programs. For more information, visit www.maritz.com.