Would you believe me if I told you Gamification is now seen as the future for employee training and wellness programs? According to Gartner, “just over 70% of Global 2000 Organizations will have at least one gamified application by 2014’. To define Gamification, it is “a technique used to encourage engagement with a product or service by the application of typical elements of game playing to other areas of activity.”
To put this definition into perspective, imagine a reward system targeting salespersons or employees to achieve a set goal.
- When the sale has been completed, and the quality of the sales lead is aligned with management’s expectations, a number of points will be added to your score.
- Your score represents not only the number of sales made under your name, but also the quality of the sale, and the rate of renewal.
- The date in which the scores will be tallied is determined by management, with the high scorer being rewarded with a possible prize, or choice of where a donation to charity can be placed.
Depending on the specific program, the benefits can vary. For example, an employee wellness program that awards points for activity would spur employee health. In the earlier example of money donated to a charity, the company's image in the community would be noticed and could also prove beneficial.
There are a variety of software packages, challenge applications, and websites dedicated to different types of challenges and ways to add gamification to your workplace. The concept has been very popular in several business categories, most notibily, with startups. However, whether a company will effectively establish a lon- term plan for gamification is another topic.
Sources: Lee, Amy. "How Gamification Can Boost Business Results." CruxialCIO. Amy Lee, 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 June 2014.
