Is it possible to achieve better results by playing games, having fun, and doing the activity more effectively? Seriously? Yes, seriously, if you involve gamification the right way.
The use of gamification or its elements can bring something positive to the company and generally supports people’s internal motivation, in any activity. Thus, it can also find its great use in the field of HR. Whether you engage gamification in recruitment, onboarding, or training of employees, you can achieve greater efficiency and people will enjoy the activities more. They will also remember your company better and you will distinguish yourself from the competition, something that is more than desirable, especially in recruitment. Gamification can help you achieve greater employee involvement, it helps arouse their interest in what is going on around them and also in their self-development.
Gamification close-up
Gamification is using game elements, design and thinking into non-game situations. The goal of such an environment is to motivate users to achieve goals and make them more engaged.
Although it may seem that gamification has been a new trend in the last few years, it has been part of HR or recruitment for over 20 years and has already a stable place in several areas. Let’s have a look at where it makes sense to introduce gamification elements and gain some inspiration from companies where it has already been done.
Gamification in recruitment
In the field of recruitment, game elements help create a pleasant environment that promotes healthy competition among candidates. It will allow you to take the quality of the recruitment process a few steps forward, reach out and eventually get better candidates. In return, you can offer them variety in an otherwise constantly recurring process that they experience in every company again and again.
So let’s wave goodbye to the classic interviews, which may be very ineffective for some positions and let’s welcome the so-called recruitainment, i.e. recruitment with game elements.
Elements of entertainment can have form of various quizzes or even behaviour-based assessments within the recruitment process. For example, puzzles, platform games or online programming tests may also work.
Observe how the candidate behaves in the game, how they deal with the situations and whether they can cope with them. This gives you a much better idea of whether the candidate has the necessary skills for the position than if you were just asking questions or relying on how the candidate has described themselves.
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Inspiration from companies:
- Marriot Hotel or Siemens Plantville prepared virtual games where players played the role they actually applied for in a simulated environment. They dealt with everyday situations, had to cope with the circumstances that could normally happen to them...
- Google installed a billboard with a mathematical puzzle in Silicon Valley. The talents who were able to solve it were asked to submit their CV and offered a job.
Gamification in onboarding
Onboarding is a very complex process, where a newcomer has to absorb a lot of information, get acquainted with a lot of new things, etc. So, the question is, how to make the first days and weeks as pleasant as possible for them?
From the point of view of gamification, a logbook, online or offline, may be a helpful tool, which will accompany the newcomer throughout their journey. You can also make useful content more relaxed using various stories, photos or jokes from your company or team.
You can also design a game that will provide the new employee with all the necessary information and knowledge.
Inspiration from companies:
- Deloitte created a game for new analysts. Their mission was to save the world from the zombie apocalypse. As they progressed in the game, they acquired the necessary knowledge and skills (including MS Excel) at a pace that suited them.
Gamification in employee development
In the field of employee training and development, you can use a large number of gamification elements:
- Challenges among teams will increase their motivation.
- Awarding badges for achieved goals or milestones is a simple and still well-functioning element.
- Visualization: You can create an employee’s avatar (a person in the online environment), which will display all the newly acquired skills, courses ahead, etc. Such a specific visualization, again, helps increase motivation.
- Short games, quizzes or funny videos
Inspiration from companies:
- Wallmart has also included gamification in regular H&S training. Every year, employees play a computer game, which provides immediate feedback on how they have managed. Wallmart reports that after the introduction of this game, 96% of employees began to involve the elements they learned in H&S training in their daily work.
- At NTT, they needed to test whether candidates for leadership and managerial positions had the necessary skills. Therefore, they developed Samurai, which helps find out what level their employees are currently at and identifies which skills they need to further develop within the management program.
Gamification and employee engagement
Employee engagement is a relatively big topic, it is stated that only 14% of employees can really be described as engaged. This means that they are willing to take an extra step and help others or even willing to meet other colleagues outside their immediate work environment.
How can gamification help?
- Rewarding individual activities with score. Employees can exchange earned points for gifts or benefits.
- Competitions between individuals or teams.
- Tasks aimed at supporting teamwork, networking and socialization.
Inspiration from companies:
- At Accenture, gamification elements have been used to create an environment where employees will cooperate more and share know-how. They earn points for predefined activities, such as sharing interesting content, writing an article, etc. The points can then be exchanged for rewards.
- LinkedIn also dealt with the topic of internal cooperation. To support it, they organized a hackathon, aimed at filling difficult-to-occupy positions in the shortest possible time. Within 5 hours, 226 relevant candidates were available.
How to implement the gamification process
Like any other tool or process, gamification needs to be implemented with great care and consistency.
Don’t underestimate planning
- What results do you expect from the introduction of gamification and how will you measure them?
- What type of game do you want to use?
- How does the selected game correspond to the results you need/expect?
Choose the best gamification tools
And be careful about it, remember that it is not just a game, it is a game with a result that is supposed to bring you something.
Let the employees have fun
While chasing the result, do not be distracted from the idea that employees should have a little fun. Gamification is supposed to help you make a certain activity or task more relaxed, not make it another equally dull process.
Work with user feedback
Do A/B tests, ask users if their experience corresponds to your expectations. Implement qualitative and quantitative surveys.
Measure and analyze
Determine the metrics that will tell you whether your gamification project is successful and monitor it regularly.
Spread the word about the games
You invented the whole thing, tested it, you know what to measure, so don’t forget to communicate the new gamification to your employees. Attract them, explain to them why they should take part, and remind of the thing on an ongoing basis.
As we can see, gamification can be a great and very versatile helper. At the same time, however, it requires a lot of time, thorough planning and preparation. If you want to start gamification on a large scale, but you do not have the space for it in your team, you can also use a supplier who will help in the extent you need, from inventing the whole process to designing its individual elements. We wish you every success.
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