When it comes to improving employee performance, there are many factors to overcome: product knowledge, technical skills, team dynamics, but arguably the most important is motivation. If an employee is motivated to perform better then everything else becomes achievable.
What do we know about motivation? In Drive by Daniel Pink, we learn that traditional approaches to employee motivation (think carrot and stick) actually can actually diminish performance and have a negative effect on motivation.
So we can’t just offer a reward and expect better performance. But we can gamify performance, and if done properly this helps to ignite an intrinsic motivation. This means, integrating game mechanics into the way learning is delivered, and performance is measured – one overarching strategy (not just random adds on that don’t tie together) created to achieve a specific goal.
- Game play
Games drive fun and engagement. Mixing learning content into a game will enable employees to learn while they play. They’ll learn more effectively by playing the game because their mind will be in a state of flow.
- Points and incentives
Use these as positive reinforcement so that people keep coming back. As they complete training or reach certain knowledge levels, issue points that they can bank or exchange for prizes.
- Leaderboards
These serve a dual purpose: sparking some friendly competition and motivating everyone to participate, but also they show individuals how they compare against their peers. Are they ahead or behind?
- Keep it social
Use newsfeeds and shout outs to let everyone know when a team member reaches a milestone or achieves success. This gives everyone the opportunity to support each other.
Where to get started? Technology is your best friend when it comes to gamification. Companies that have used Axonify to aid them in their gamification journey have experienced increased learner engagement, knowledge retention and ultimately improvements to their bottom line.
If you’re not sure where to start with introducing gamification into your learning strategy, contact us today and we’d be happy to talk you through some options.
Kind regards,
Team Biz
