The Winner Takes It All: How Gamification Can Improve Productivity
It’s no secret that people are motivated by reward, so why have we lost sight of this in so many workplaces? In this opinion piece, John Palfreyman, CEO, ipSCAPE explores how gamification, with the help of current technology, can improve employee engagement and productivity in the workplace.
Whether it is stars on a chart during primary school, or even just recognition when we let another person into our lane in crowded traffic, the fact remains that people are motivated by reward and far more interested in positive reinforcement than negative.
So why have we lost sight of this in the workplace? Why have we lost that sense of excitement that comes with achieving a new personal best, or being congratulated by our team mates for an impressive try on the rugby field?
Perhaps the difficulty in tracking staff’s work and achievements holds the answer to these questions. With so many employees, it can be hard to keep an eye on all staff and equally celebrate their work without bias.
Except, with current technology, it’s actually not hard to do this at all. All you need is a contact centre solution that provides by-the-minute results, a few wallboards, and dedication to recognising your employees.
The concept I’m talking about is gamification. Hinging on our human desire for reward, gamification is the process of applying game-like mechanics to the activities we perform at work.
Introducing gamification to your workplace is proven to improve staff engagement and productivity. Studies by TalentLMS have shown that “89 per cent of those surveyed stated that a point system would boost their engagement” and that a further “62 per cent stated that they would be motivated to learn if leaderboards were involved and they had the opportunity to compete with other colleagues.”
Let’s take a look at how this could impact the performance of one of the most important parts of any business: the contact centre.
For a section of business so focused on providing customer satisfaction, it is astounding that this sector provides so little staff satisfaction for service agents. Low wages, long hours and little opportunity for upward mobility combine to leave contact centres with one of the highest staff turnover rates, with most call centres replacing 26 per cent of their staff annually.
When you factor in that it takes around $4,000 to hire each new worker, and a further $4,800 to train them, it becomes clear that staff retention is just as important as customer retention.
Gamification provides companies the opportunity to combat this issue, in a process that can be implemented in three easy steps.
- Collect Real-Time Analytics.
In order for service agents to engage in game-like reward system, your company must first create grounds for them to compete and improve on.
Any good omni-channel solution will provide by-the-minute analytics of your service agents’ performance. Factors such as customer satisfaction, average call time, number of sales and number of solutions are all measurable and quantitative. Analytics of these factors not only allow management to track the performance of employees, but also allow employees to see where they need to improve and where they are hitting the mark.
These analytics can be used to create a points system and areas for your service agents to compete in. These analytics can be turned into graphs or other visual mediums in order to easily convey service quality information.
- Display Information on Wallboards
The analytics provided by your communication channel now must be displayed for all your service agents to see clearly. This can be easily achieved through the use of electronic wallboards around the office. These wallboards allow you to publically display the performance of your service agents, encouraging improvement and even a bit of healthy competition.
The public display of real time analytics may also encourage better performance from your low achievers, as they will not want to be seen to publically let down the team. Also, it recognises and displays the success of those who are performing well, tapping into our reward-orientated mentality.
- Reward Success and Improvement
Perhaps the most important step of gamification is ensuring that there is incentive to perform well, beyond the obvious motivation to do well at our jobs.
Introduce a system of reward based on the statistics collected through your communication channel, and ensure that not only the highest achievers are rewarded, but also those who have improved the most. Encourage collaboration between your staff to achieve the best performances as a team, perhaps with a ‘best mentor’ reward for those high achievers who help others improve.
The rewards don’t have to be big: they can be anything from a simple announcement congratulating the winners of the week, to a bigger prize such as a dinner voucher for a nearby restaurant for long-term success. The most important thing is tapping into your staff’s desire for positive reinforcement, and pushing them to perform through recognition and a sense that they are valued.
Gamification is just one way to encourage productivity in your staff. Ultimately, the rule is that happy staff are productive staff. A little recognition and acknowledgement can go a long way in improving staff satisfaction and ensuring they feel valued.
Please login with linkedin to comment
Latest News
Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]
Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]
Is Meta’s New AI Chatbot Too Left-Wing?
Meta's chatbot accused of being left-wing after being caught wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt & listening to Billy Bragg.
TV Ratings (23/04/2024): Why Did No One Tell Angela That Farmer Wants A Wife Is Set On A Farm?
As wonderful as this headline is, let's face it, we all know an 'Angela', don't we?
PubMatic Unveils New AI Partnership To Turn Social Posts Into Ads For Any Digital Channel
Here's some nifty tech for turning social posts into ads. Assuming said posts aren't one-star character assassinations.
Intuit Mailchimp Makes A Splash With Its First Australian Brand Campaign
Ever laugh along at a gag you didn't get so as not to appear dumb? Get ready for more feigning with this new work.
GumGum’s Rob Hall: Advertisers Can No Longer “Rely On Binary Descriptions” Of Consumers
If anyone's got their finger on adtech's pulse, it's Rob Hall. He also avoids using the good paper in the office printer
Mastercard Nabs Florencia Aimo From Marriott International
Marriott International's Florencia Aimo jumps from the hotel business to the exploitative credit card one.
Bastion Agency Appoints Cheuk Chiang As New ANZ CEO
Cheuk Chiang takes the reins over at Bastion Agency. But not the rains down in Africa.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Major Sponsorship Wins After A Disappointing Week In Sport
B&T continuing our deep dive into local sport sponsorships & that's despite not a single offer of a free ticket as yet.
Macca’s Marketing Director, Samantha McLeod On Big Mac Chant: “What Was Once Old Is Now Cool Again”
Macca's using the power of nostalgia in latest Big Mac campaign. Well, only for those who've ever eaten one sober.
World Premiere Of Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line To Open Sydney Film Festival 2024
Oil's biopic to open Sydney Film Festival. Here's hoping Molly Meldrum will take his pants down at the premiere.
Entries Are Now Open For The 2024 Brandies, IntelligenceBank’s Annual Brand Marketing Awards
The Brandies are, of course, a prestigious marketing gong and not the mystery tipple favoured by nannas everywhere.
The Fred Hollows Foundation Appoints Ardent For PR
Yes, we all like to have a joke at PR's expense. But sometimes it does important work, like this.
AI, eCommerce & Marketing Specialists Are In Increased Demand By Businesses, New Data From Fiverr Shows
Has your philosophy & anthropology degree left you with nothing but a huge HECS debt? Here's what you should've studied.
Perth’s First 3D Anamorphic Billboard Arrives Courtesy Of oOh!media
Do you love a buzzword? Now you can add anamorphic to the list as it relates to billboards, not a colleague's ears.
MasterChef Australia & Crown Resorts Launch Unique Dining Experience With ALUMNI
A pop-up restaurant staffed by MasterChef contestants! That's fine dining prices for first-year apprentice chef cuisine!
Amanda Laing Announces Resignation From Foxtel Group
Foxtel's chief commercial & content officer heads for the exits. Read nice things the bosses said about her right here.
The Lost Letters From Our Diggers: News Corp Unveils ANZAC Day Special
It's nice when brands respectfully acknowledge ANZAC Day.
Howatson+Company Acquires Akkomplice
Large indie acquires a slightly smaller indie. Much like a shark eating a tuna, just with less thrashing and blood.
Google Delays Third-Party Cookie Deprecation Again
In good news for the sale of picture library biscuit photos, Google continues to tease over the end of cookies.
Education A Low Priority For Aussies More Concerned With Cost Of Living Forethought Study Reveals
Study finds Aussies cutting back on education due to cost of living. Booze & Uber Eats sales remain largely unaffected.
“I’m Still The Same Person That I Was”: Rikki Stern Says “Fucc It” To Cancer Stereotypes
B&T always happy to promote the anti-cancer cause. Even brands that massively overdo it with the hot pink.
The Unapproved Climate Certification Allegedly Causing Mass Greenwashing
Are you left flummoxed in the canned tuna & free range eggs aisle? Just wait till this green certification gets up.
TV Ratings (22/04/2024): Fans Mock “Over The Top” Reaction To New MasterChef Judges
MasterChef returns for its 2024 season. B&T stands by putting peppercorns in Gravox & no one will be any the wiser.
Dentsu Restructure: Muddle, Harvey & Johnston Take Leadership Baton As Bass & Yurisich Exit
A large broom has swept through Dentsu's local ops this morning, taking with it some big names & the air con's cobwebs.
Industry Shares Trends Shaping The Industry This International Creators Day
B&T's asking adland creators to reveal their top trends. And it's not good news for your Jenny Kee cardigan collection.
Mable Extends HOYTS Sensory Screenings Partnership
Mable has extended its HOYTS sensory screening partnership. Vigorously defends its two-star Oppenheimer review.
Orphan Launches ‘They Need Our Help. We Need Yours’ For Children’s Cancer Institute
Anything to do with childhood cancers has B&T's 110% support. That said, we do ignore the red meat & alcohol warnings.
Smile Team Orthodontics & Keep Left Collaborate On Smile-Inducing Campaign
As parents would attest, given the cost of orthodontics you'd expect this campaign to be a lavish production indeed.
Opinion: How Video Calls Neglect Learning Diversity
Need an excuse to duck out of a video call this arvo? Show this to your boss.
DoubleVerify Achieves First-Of-Its-Kind Responsible AI Certification From TrustArc
DoubleVerify receives responsible AI certification. However, not its robotic vacuum that's been seen menacing the cat.
Smile For A Good Cause: The Social Media Campaign Giving Back To The Community
Are you known as the office Austin Powers? More for you teeth than shagability? Get snappy new fangs with this news.
Elon Musk Mocks Albo After ESafety Wins Court Injunction Against X
Albo's 2024 from hell continues - Rabbitohs in crisis, down in the polls and now feuding with world's richest man.
Real Estate Developer In Hot Water Over “Sexually Exploitative” OOH Campaign
Real estate agents again tops in the 'least trusted profession' polls, nudging used car salesmen & ad creatives.
Epsilon’s Shane Hanby: Post-Cookie Era Relies On “Teamwork” Between Brands, Marketers & Tech
This pro predicts more "teamwork" in a post-cookie era. Which spells bad news for the uncooperative or plain stubborn.