In uncertain economic times, maintaining company morale can be challenging. Employees may be dealing with holiday stress and struggling to complete projects on time.
Gamification can help boost productivity during this time, giving employees something to look forward to when they come into the office. Hereโs what to know about gamifying your projects and how you can leverage the power of friendly competition to achieve your goals.
How Does Gamification Work?
Gamification is the process of integrating game-like elements into non-gaming contexts to increase engagement. It fosters competition and collaboration, making employees more eager to participate in tasks and projects. This is vital to cultivating a positive workplace.
Motivated by rewards, employees throw themselves into the project at hand, often going above and beyond to achieve desired outcomes. Gamification typically incorporates the same kind of mechanics used in traditional games: points, badges, and leaderboards.
Large corporations have widely adopted gamification across various departments for:
- Employee Training: Introducing game elements into training programs can make the learning process more engaging. Instead of passive learning, employees actively participate and earn rewards, resulting in greater retention and application of knowledge.
- Customer Engagement: If thereโs one thing customers love, itโs loyalty perks. These types of gamified programs have proven to be hugely successful. Customers can earn points for purchases, sharing on social media, or providing feedback. These points can then be redeemed for discounts or other incentives.ย
- Product Development: Some businesses use gamified platforms for product testing and feedback. Users are rewarded for identifying bugs or providing valuable insights, helping to create a more refined end product.
Work in a smaller office? You, too, can incorporate gamification to drive results. Hereโs how:
- Team Building: Gamified challenges encourage team collaboration. Beyond just rewards and recognition, these challenges help build a sense of unity and shared purpose among teammates.
- Productivity Boost: With the right gamified tools, everyday tasks become more engaging. When employees earn points or rewards for completing tasks or projects, it adds an element of fun and competition, encouraging timely and efficient work.
Solopreneurs, or solo entrepreneurs, might assume that gamification is beyond their reach, but that couldnโt be further from the truth.
- Self-Motivation: Without a team to drive motivation, solopreneurs can use gamified task managers to set and achieve personal goals. By turning daily tasks into challenges, it adds an element of fun and achievement to solo work.
- Client Engagement: Solopreneurs can employ gamification in their interactions with clients. For example, gamified surveys or feedback systems can incentivize clients to provide insights, allowing for the delivery of the best products possible.
Gamification Doโs and Dontโs
Hold up! Before you start gamifying your projects, itโs important to be aware of some gamification best practices so you can ensure project success โ and that everyone has a great time.
Do Start With Clear Objectives
Start by identifying your objectives. Whether your goal is to increase user engagement, improve learning outcomes, or anything in between, having a clear focus will shape your strategy as you proceed with your mission.ย
Do Design For Your Audience
Different people are motivated by different things. Some may be driven by the spirit of competition, while others value collaboration and exploration. Perform user research ahead of time and design experiences for your specific audience.
Do Opt For Meaningful Rewards
Get creative with your rewards. Consider those that offer intrinsic value, such as personalized feedback, access to exclusive content, or opportunities for social recognition. These can have a long-lasting impact.
Do Create Balanced Challenges
Challenges should be neither too easy nor too hard. They should strike a balance to keep the user in the “flow” state, a concept highlighted by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Adjusting the difficulty level according to the user’s progress can be a practical approach.
Donโt Forget the Social Aspect
Who doesnโt like to play with their friends? One of the reasons gamification has become so popular is that it allows for connection, especially over social platforms.ย Be sure to incorporate features that tap into the innate human desire for collaboration and recognition.
Do Create a Gamification App
When you think about gamification, chances are one of the first things you think about – mobile or not – is an app. Apps are a great way to increase engagement within the team and motivate everyone to work together. If you do design your app for mobile, though, consider making it available on both Android and iPhones.ย
Donโt Rely Solely on External Rewards
While rewards like money and gift cards are always appreciated, they can diminish intrinsic motivation over time. Focus on cultivating internal motivators, such as mastery, autonomy, and purpose. Users who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to stay engaged in the long run.
Donโt Ignore Feedback
Feedback is crucial in gamification. Users want to know how they are doing and where they can improve. Offering timely, constructive feedback helps them progress and reinforces their commitment to the task or platform.
Donโt Forget Analytics
Analytics provide valuable insight into user behavior and preferences. Use them to understand what’s working and what’s not, and make adjustments accordingly. Continuous iteration based on data can help you optimize your gamification strategy over time.
Build Fun Experiences With Matcha Design
Keeping employees engaged can be hard, especially at the end of the year. However, by gamifying your projects, you can find new and exciting ways to get them involved and progress towards your ultimate objectives.
Matcha Design offers multiple services, including motion graphics, to spruce up your content for gamification. Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can help you gamify your next company project.
