One of the newer methods companies use to motivate employees capitalizes on game-playing techniques — bringing out the competitive nature in employees. Called gamification, the program applies game-design philosophies to non-game applications so workers have fun while meeting performance goals.
“Maybe some employees thought they couldn’t achieve a certain performance level, but if it’s fun and there’s a little competition, they will drive themselves a little further for a period of time and outperform expectations,” says Chris Vignali, director of performance analytics at InfoCision Management Corp.
“It speaks to companies who really want to try new things to engage their workforce,” says Steve Brubaker, chief of staff for InfoCision. “Gamification is effective because it helps to develop performance-based challenges.”
Smart Business spoke with Vignali and Brubaker on how gamification and a rewards system can help a business increase productivity.
What should a company consider before it enters the gamification arena?
Gamification is rooted in two concepts. First, the company should believe in a general rewards concept such as one that compensates customer loyalty. That belief will make it easier to develop this concept and apply it toward employees.
The second concept is buying into the game theory itself, to institute a game approach into a non-game environment. In order for any business to attempt this, it depends upon the culture. The culture has to be data-driven, people driven and incentive driven.
And a company should want to drive job satisfaction and employee engagement within a culture of fun.
What data are prime targets for a business to quantify in its rewards program? Productivity, for many businesses, is everything. A company tries to keep people busy, and all that is quantifiable. Efficiencies are also quantifiable. Quality, in the sense of customer service, is quantifiable, although different businesses measure quality in different ways. As long as it is quantifiable, it’s a candidate for gamification.
How do performance-based challenges work?
Performance-based challenges are tied to the company’s key performance indicators to help drive the company forward in incremental steps. These are challenges at specific or random times that will help the company achieve certain client metrics.
For instance, a company may hold a challenge from 3 to 4 in the afternoon where employees learn as a message appears across their computer screens. If the employee rises to that challenge and improves performance to ‘x’ numbers, the employee will receive a certain number of points. The person can then log in to the rewards store and purchase items, gift cards, company perks or make a donation to a nonprofit organization.
Is an employee more likely to advance in a company if he or she has a record of accumulating a substantial number of points?
Companies that promote from within and believe in career opportunities will find that the program offers excellent career advantages. It’s another indicator of being a team player, and that definitely stands out. Individuals who perform well are highlighted consistently, and supervisors are well aware that they are performing.
A rewards program is about rewarding the people who do a good job, another way to give back and say, ‘Thank you for your hard work. Thanks for applying yourself. Thanks for going the extra mile. Here’s something you’ve earned.’
What advice should companies heed once they decide to launch a rewards program?
Companies should make sure the program supplements their culture, and does not change the major tenets of the culture. This is a program of the people, so the program is not going to work unless the people want it to work. A company and its employees only get out of it what they put into it. If the people don’t adopt the mentality behind the program, it will fail.
Company leaders should stay very open to feedback. They should embrace positive change for their organization. ●
Teleservices is brought to you by InfoCision Management Corp.
