Gamification is looking like it could be a great way for organizations to engage with workers, particularly the ‘Facebook generation’, to boost productivity and customer service.

However, with analysts predicting that 80% of gamified applications will fail to meet business objectives, the thought of understanding the concept of gamification, let alone implementing it, might sound like an uphill battle.

The consumerization of IT has taken hold and is a fact of life for most organizations. People expect to use technology similar to the devices they use at home and in their personal lives. They expect to use social media and increasingly they are completely turned off by the traditional interfaces of many older business applications.

Organizations looking to recruit and retain tomorrow’s top talent can do a lot to ensure that they manage their workforce, including introducing gamification techniques that actively improve employee engagement and help boost productivity.

Gamification uses game theory to introduce a competitive element to work operations that use social capital, self-esteem and fun to appeal to the workforce. It forms an important aspect of employee reward and recognition schemes, and can be used to encourage staff to work towards corporate goals.

Understanding how gamification works is one thing, making it a viable option that works in a real-life business environment is something quite different.

Here is a practical guide, a simple three-step methodology that will put you on the road to successful gamification.

Gain buy-in

Customer service gamification- Don’t assume everyone understands the concept of gamification and make sure to position it as a motivational reward and recognition system rather than just another fad.

• What’s in it for the players? Linking rewards to something tangible like cake and coffee, or even monetary gain, will grab their attention.
• Recognise that not all players are the same – challenges and rewards need to reflect differences in roles and function.
• Don’t commit to promises of rewards you can’t keep – a sure-fire way to demotivate your team.

Start simple

• Wait until everyone is familiar with gamification before introducing more complex, longer-term goals and rewards.
• Go slowly to build up confidence and keep players keen – start with simple challenges and rewards that encourage healthy competition between players such as ‘highest weekly customer satisfaction rating’, ‘lowest service level agreement stats’, ‘lowest number of re-opened incidents’ or ‘highest number of approved knowledge base articles submitted in a month’.
• Decision criteria for determining winners should be based on measurable statistics such as being ‘rated 5 out of 5 by a customer’ rather than just ‘closing 10 incidents a day’.
• Make first-time rewards attainable to keep new players motivated.
• Create tiered rewards that motivate players to continually do better.
• Mix it up –  apply different rewards for different Service Desk groups at different times but make sure players are competing against colleagues performing similar tasks.
• Don’t be ‘out-gamed’ – minimise the opportunities to cheat by keeping rewards criteria clear and strict.
• Align gaming scenarios with business objectives to keep them real and meaningful – after all, gamification is all about supporting the business!

Monitor and Iterate

• Continually review the effectiveness of your gamification techniques – is everyone participating? Are there enough rewards and challenges to keep players interested in the long term?
• Listen to staff feedback – more often than not, they will know what works, what does not and come up with fresh ideas.
• It’s an evolving process – constantly tweak and roll-out new challenges and rewards to keep up momentum.

In today’s collaborative world, using clever technology that integrates the concepts of game theory is essential to gaining the support of younger staff members. At the end of the day, they are tomorrow’s business leaders. Engaging them in a way that entertains and educates is vital to creating a dynamic and thriving work environment.

By introducing gamification successfully, companies can look forward to increased employee motivation that boosts productivity and impacts positively on customer service, and ultimately the organization’s bottom line.

About the Author

Neil Penny is Product Director at Sunrise Software.

A growing trend that I’ve been writing about recently is “gamification,” defined by Wikipedia as “the use of game-thinking and game mechanics in non-game contexts in order to engage users.” Companies are using games to enhance the customer experience and engage with their customers, as well as their employees.

It is a winning strategy for businesses – providing customers with entertainment in a fun, competitive way builds the company’s image and level of interaction with its customers.

Some of these games are in the form of downloadable apps, taking advantage of the popularity of games for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

One of my favorite examples of gamification is the online arcade at the Home Shopping Network’s website (www.hsn.com) that attracts tens of thousands of users each day. Badgeville offers games that motivate and inspire employees to reach a higher level of performance. Games are a great way for businesses to increase customer interaction and provide a better working experience for employees.

Gamification is not just for large corporations. Chris Ressa of DLC Management, a commercial real estate management company based in New York, manages a fantasy football league for his customers. This unique plan for engaging customers through a game is interesting on many levels.

Consider the following:

1. The fantasy football league does more than connect Chris with his customers; it encourages them to interact with each other. It offers a sense of community. People tend to enjoy the company of others, especially if there is a common interest. The game offers a shared interest and connects those who participate. As they check in regularly to follow their players and teams, they are forming a bond, and Chris is the connecting factor.

2. The game expands and strengthens the business relationship to something more. Chris can keep in touch with his clients on a regular basis without having to talk about business. It is personal and fun, and it moves the focus from deal-making to building a friendly relationship. But, when the time comes to focus on business, where do you think they will turn?

3. Ongoing contact makes it easier to attain customer loyalty, which in Chris’s business, means lease renewals. Loyalty is not generally gained by one single transaction with a company – it starts with the first interaction, but has to grow from there. Contact between the business dealings makes Chris’s job easier. He doesn’t have to check in a month or two before a lease expires, he already has established a method of ongoing, frequent contact.

4. Chris is having fun, too. If you can add fun to your work, why wouldn’t you? You – and your customers – will be happier, and your business will benefit.

As you can see from the way Chris applied the concept, you can personalize the way you connect with your customers through games or other fun activities. There are countless ways – online and offline – to create a better experience for customers and employees through fun interaction.

About the Author

Shep Hyken is the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. As a professional speaker and best-selling author, Shep helps companies develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees.