Who doesn’t love games? I bet most of us do. And why do we play games? Because we feel a sense of achievement as and when we complete a game level – one that makes us feel great and good about ourselves. And not to mention – the competition. This factor just makes the game fun and worth winning for! And just imagine how incorporating this idea into your workplace can benefit both your employees and your organization. Gamification is the new buzz word today. Did you know? Along with many benefits of using gamification in the workplace, 95% of employees enjoy using gaming-inspired elements in their work and 72% of them claim that gamification inspires them to work harder. Organizations across are employing gamification to engage their employees and boost their productivity in this remote work era that’s driven by digitization.
The idea is simple! You need to create a game-like setting in your workplace while offering points, status, and rewards as your employees improve their skills, goals, or objectives the company is trying to meet. Moreover, there are several gamification apps in the market that can help you achieve the desired results you are expecting out of gamification. For instance: Improving your employee’s productivity, their skills, improving teamwork, and so on.
The Psychology behind gamification
Gamification uses the principle of ‘the need for self-esteem/recognition’ from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory. Even game app designers try to create games and game designs that aim to fulfill an individual’s need to be recognized. In the workplace, when employees seek recognition, it is not the recognition per se that needs to be fulfilled, but you need to fulfill the deeper psychological needs that are attached to it, like:
1. Need for competence
This need reflects the desire to improve oneself and get better at something. Providing feedback and recognizing employees for desired behaviors and accomplishments will drive performance and boost productivity in the virtual space.
2. Self-efficacy, the need to feel in control
This need reflects one’s belief to be able to complete tasks independently and successfully. So, give employees the task they find challenging enough. And when they do finish the project successfully, applaud them for their skills and pulling off the project solo. If there are more than 2 people on a project, divide the projects into chunks and assign them to your team members.
3. Autonomy, the need to feel free
This need reflects the volition to fulfill a task based on one’s interests and values. This means these employees want freedom in the way they do a task. For instance, they would want to choose the project or want to do the project in a certain different manner. So, it’s important to negotiate the project and its execution bit with these employees to create a win-win situation.
4. Sense of belongingness
Creating a sense of belonging is a core psychological driver of performance. Besides the needs for achievement and competence, belongingness helps to create social cohesion and psychological attachment to the group – especially when teams are working remotely.
Thus, understanding the psychology behind the need for recognition is the first step towards creating a successful gamification strategy for your workplace. There are different gamification apps with different gamification techniques that you could use to both engage your employees and boost their productivity. And there are no ends for the benefits of using gamification in your workplace.
Also – remember, achieving desired outcomes leads to positive affect which, if rewarded, will eventually lead to habit formation. Not to forget – the timing factor! And this is where gamification strategy and apps can help you.
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Benefits of using gamification
1. Spikes Engagement, boosts teamwork
Gamifying your work projects will lure your employees to work towards winning the game – in other words, successfully completing the work project. On accomplishing the challenges that came in their way of finishing the work project – employees feel gratified and self-motivated. This is in turn helps your employees to bring out their true potential and their best productive side.
Also, when like-minded people come together to achieve a common goal, there’s nothing impossible. The gamification approach will bring people together – thereby encouraging them to share the same level of enthusiasm and productivity at work. Thus, creating a work environment that boosts employee engagement and productivity.
2. Creates a great work environment and culture
Work environment is everything! It can determine if your employees want to continue working with your organization or not. Employing gamification will rule out negative workplace culture like favoritism etc and gives every employee an equal chance of proving his or her worth. Thereby, promoting a healthy and fair workplace culture that benefits the growth of the organization and the individuals working there.
3. Improves your organization’s and your employees’ brand image
Gamification can help boost your organization’s as well as your employee’s brand image. How, you ask? Most of the employees who feel motivated after getting recognized by their employers tend to share their experience over social media. That is, your employees will become the voice of your organization, making your organization stand out from the crowd. One more added bonus – this will also help you attract the best talent, a win-win situation indeed!
Final words,
The benefits of using gamification in your workplace are many! Making employee recognition an exciting and thrilling social experience can transform the way your people relate to their roles and each other in this digital world. So, what are you waiting for? Supercharge your employee engagement strategy with gamification!