Gamification – How To Increase Employee Motivation In A Playful Way

Definition: what is Gamification?

As Gamification, the application is a game of typical elements in a game foreign Kontex t. Gamification is a playful transfer of knowledge. The contents and tasks that are particularly complex, difficult to access or monotonous can be brought closer innovatively.

An active implementation has only taken place since the beginning of the 2010s. One of the most famous examples of such Gamification is the Wahlomat. With the Wahlomat, the user is playfully given political knowledge. This option is also becoming increasingly popular in the professional environment. This playful incentive is intended to increase motivation and motivation.

Gamification development

In the beginning, Gamification was first used in advertising and the entertainment sector. This was then expanded to include shopping, fitness and learning. This further overlaps with older theories from the educational sector, such as serious games, edutainment and game-based learning.

The main reason why Gamification is so successful is that people are fundamentally interested in playing. Not least because the emotions that playful experiences bring with them can trigger positive experiences; however, it remains to be seen whether in the long term there will be a habituation effect and willingness to decline.

Gamification to increase employee motivation

Gamification can also be used in the area of employee motivation. For example, ranking lists can be created within the company. All employees are listed in these ranking lists. The respective employee climbs further up the ranking list for completed projects, high sales figures, and other successes. On the one hand, this promotes motivation, but it also promotes competition among employees because every employee wants to win. Especially when a price is in prospect, that is also part of Gamification.

These prices can be, for example, discounts, vacation days or virtual certificates. Within Gamification, new opportunities open up repeatedly because further training in this form is also possible.

Employees receive avatars that guide them through the learning environment. Completed courses result in points that are assigned to the employee. Then the employees print out certificates or watch short reward videos.

Physical fitness can also be increased with it – those who use the stairs instead of the elevator receive virtual points. The employer can decide for himself whether there should be prizes or other incentives.

Because that, too, is a great advantage of Gamification: the actual design is up to you. In this way, the individual needs and wishes of the workforce can be optimally included.

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Apps and tools for Gamification

In addition, there are now various apps and tools that can be used for Gamification. For example, the following:

Habitica

Habitica is one of them. Habitica uses game mechanics to improve work habits. Here, the player slips into a hero or heroine role, and as in a role-playing game, the player can acquire new points or skills when tasks are completed.

In addition to the classic to-do list, Habitica should also help you develop new habits. Regular exercise routines or work habits can be defined. If the new habits are practiced regularly, the player receives small rewards. This game can be used both as a classic to-do list and as a habit tracker with which new habits can be developed. This game is based on role-playing games. The avatar and its equipment can be chosen by yourself.

Todoist karma

In addition to Habitica, there is Todoist Karma. Todoist Karma is a classic task manager with a relatively large range of functions.

A special feature that this task manager brings with it and gives it its name is the so-called karma function. The karma function brings a game mechanism into self-management. Every time the employee defines or completes a new task, points are credited to their karma account.

With these points, you then rise to different levels, and the level of difficulty increases steadily. Daily and weekly goals can also be defined, which provide extra points as soon as they are done. The completed tasks of the last weeks can also be displayed. In this way, the employee always has an overview of what he has already done.

Offline Gamification

In addition to the apps and programs, Gamification can also be carried out offline. You can create a ranking yourself and hang it up in the office or company. You then create certain quests yourself or define goals.

If the employees then complete their tasks within a certain period, they receive points and rise. There are no limits to your creativity.

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Criticism of Gamification

In addition to all the positive sides of Gamification, there are also numerous criticisms of it. There are two main arguments that the critics have:

• Gamification is often poorly done.
• Gamification can sometimes be immoral.

It is often the case that a point system is linked to a bad application, which does not always work well. The point system often has a positive effect. Still, it quickly disappears as soon as the users get used to it and have to continue working with the slow, tedious or not very user-friendly applications.

Conclusion

Gamification, if used correctly, can be very helpful in motivating your employees. Various quests, which are getting more and more difficult, ensure a recurring, exciting experience. And it is precisely this experience that can be combined with the world of work. You should make sure to use a good system to keep your employees happy. It is best to start a kind of pilot project in your company to see how the employees continue to use the system after a while.

After such a pilot project, you can also observe whether the reviews are correct or not. In the end, good Gamification can help you to increase the work ethic of your employees and to make their workers happy and fun.