Gamification boosts overall business productivity

According to a new market research report published by Credence Research, it is estimated that the global gamification market will expand with a CAGR from 23.4% from 2016 to 2023.

The goal of gamification is that by applying the game and design techniques in the various business processes, the overall productivity of employees will be increased. In terms of business context, gamification involves integrating game mechanics into an internal business process, whether through a portal, website or marketing campaign, in order to encourage active employee engagement/ target audience.

The reason behind the implementation of gamification is to achieve a deeper commitment to employees, partners and also to consumers in order to achieve better results. Employee motivation is one of the key aspects of effective business processes, leading to better production and profitability. Subsequently, with the growing awareness of motivating employees and better consumer engagement, the demand for gamification solutions is expected to witness remarkable growth in the coming years.

Gamification factors

The most significant factor driving gamification adoption is the immense advantages of these solutions that drive the overall productivity of the company. Active employee engagement is often done using mechanics such as badges, leaderboards, achievement levels, scorepoints, and others.

The use of gamification to develop a sense of healthy competition among employees, leads to a higher level of dedication. Apart from this, the market is strongly driven by the growing shift towards digital advertising and the penetration of Internet services around the world.

Another important factor supporting gamification market growth is increased efforts by business organizations around the world to achieve high productivity. Business organizations are willing to invest in solutions that can effectively improve their internal processes, as well as drive consumer engagement.

Subsequently, increasing competition among companies around the world would significantly drive the growth of the gamification market. However, low awareness among end users can restrict market growth during the forecast period.

A very competitive market

The global gamification market is very competitive with different companies focused on developing innovative solutions for different applications. But despite this, the overall market is still in its early stages, with few adoptions in the different sectors of the industry. Currently, the market is consolidated in the wild, with few major players contributing to more than 50% of the total revenue of the gamification market worldwide.

Even so, there are now quite a few companies that decide to implement gamification and test with their employees if it works. An example of this is the case of the technology company Asurion in Nashville, which locks its employees, during their first week of work, in a room with the sole purpose of escaping from it. This game is called “Room Escape”.

Small teams in the company are tasked with figuring out how to “escape” the room, working together to solve challenges designed to reflect their new roles. These tasks can range from something as simple as resetting a router to more complex problems involving multiple operating systems.

“The Concept of Room Escape allows Asurion to leverage its employees’ innate affinity for the game, while reinforcing its skills and traits important to its work,” explained Vincent Phamvan, senior director of innovation.

Facebook, Adobe and LinkedIn also bet on gamification

In addition to the Example of Asurion other companies such as Facebook, Adobe, or LinkedIn have also implemented gamification in their offices, and in addition to an original way.

LinkedIn has several gamification techniques within its company, including a room with foosball, a pool table and karaoke. In addition, employees can also relax and get distracted playing video games or having a drink and snack in the lounge/bar. They also perform a series of “teambuilding” activities once a month.

In Adobe offices, employees have a free gym where they can do fitness classes, among other proposals. There are also entertainment venues throughout the office so that any worker can perform small exercises whenever they want.

At Facebook’s Manhattan offices, employees can hang out playing board games, which are spread throughout the office. They also have a “wall of memories” where they leave costumes, hats, bags, accessories, etc., party, and of which they can have them whenever they want.

Gamification platforms

Human resources technology tools are offering companies gamification activities to improve their employees’ work experience. As these examples:

1. Axonify: It’s a platform that wants to make your employees more knowledgeable, so they can perform better, and your organization can squeeze out its full potential. The platform contains training modules with the option to play a game to test the knowledge. They can also earn badges and other reward.

2. Limeade: It is a corporate wellness platform to improve health. Limeade drives real employee engagement. It helps the best companies in the world develop happier, healthier and more productive employees.

3. Ambition: It’s an end-to-end solution for people, teams, and businesses looking to increase productivity. It allows organizations to create and conduct contests designed to motivate employees.

4. YouScience: It is a software that has taken advantage of 40 years of research to develop evaluations that guide people in their career. But instead of having users take skill tests and exams, YouScience has brain-squeezing games. Each individual then receives a report detailing their good potential skills and adjustments of the job.