A game of engagement

Keeping employees engaged is key to keeping loyal customers, yet most companies have not been able to master the matrix of costs vs ROI in the complex push and pull environment of financial obligations and customer satisfaction. But the answer may be right underneath our agile thumbs that happily build farms and defeat angry birds on our smartphones.

Gamification has become a core part of our daily lives. Whether we’re sitting at home playing Candy Crush or trying to break that unbeatable Flappy Bird record on the way to work, people from all walks of life are beginning to play more games more frequently.

We work best when we are happy, and smart companies are looking into how they can use the surge in popularity of both games and the smartphones they are played on. Is there some way you can blend the two to make work that little bit easier? The answer is absolutely.

Gamification is a term that has been around for a while, but only now are we really seeing it being adopted by businesses of all industries and sizes to:

• engage employees
• maintain customer loyalty
• change behaviours
• develop skills
• drive innovation

It also helps make those tasks you know you have to do, but don’t always enjoy doing, a little more exciting. Actions like completing timesheets can be turned into a reward for employees who complete these tasks on time and accurately. A small badge here, an unlockable picture there - small tokens that can make staff more open to attending to administrative matters.

Engaging employees of all levels and functions is a notoriously difficult thing to do, especially when it comes to adopting new processes. It often happens that employees are resistant to changes because they can’t understand the new processes nor do they see any personal benefit in adopting them. But adding in gaming tools just might be the way forward