Gamification might feel like an overused buzzword nowadays, but it works! By blending competition, achievement, and recognition into everyday tasks, gamification harnesses the science of dopamine (the brain’s “feel-good” neurotransmitter) to make work more engaging and rewarding. At Avantive Solutions, we’ve seen this science in action.
If you’re wondering whether gamification is still relevant, keep reading. We’ll break down the benefits and share actionable tips to help your organization level up.
What is Gamification and Why Does It Work?
Gamification engages employees by leveraging their intrinsic desires for competition, achievement, and recognition. By introducing elements like rewards, challenges, and real-time feedback, it activates dopamine. The result? A more motivated and productive workforce.
Through our partnership with Snowfly Performance Inc., we deliver solutions designed to seamlessly integrate gamification into your organization’s operations, ensuring measurable and sustainable results.
The Benefits of Gamification in the Workplace
- Skill-Building Through Engaging Challenges
Gamification makes learning interactive and enjoyable. Instead of passive instruction, employees can participate in challenges that require specific skills or product knowledge.
- Example: A retail team could engage in a sales leaderboard competition, where top performers earn rewards while sharpening their customer interaction skills.
Studies show gamification improves skill-based test scores by 14% and factual knowledge retention by 11%, [1]a game-changer for remote or digital-native teams.
- Boosting Performance and Productivity
By integrating rewards like badges, redeemable points, or public recognition, gamification motivates employees to achieve performance metrics.
- Did You Know? Over 80% of employees report feeling more productive and happier with gamification in the workplace.[2]
[1] https://dharmamonk.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/guildresearch_gamification2013.pdf
[2] https://www.talentlms.com/blog/gamification-survey-results-2018/
With Snowfly Performance’s expertise, you can design reward systems tailored to your company’s goals, from increasing sales to improving attendance.
- Fighting Fatigue with Micro-Breaks
Repetitive tasks can drain employees’ energy and focus. Gamification introduces refreshing micro-breaks, such as brief games or challenges, to recharge and refocus.
- Pro Tip: Use unpredictable rewards to keep employees engaged. Research suggests these are four times more motivating than predictable incentives.[3]
Snowfly’s dynamic reward systems offer flexibility, keeping employees intrigued and motivated while aligning with organizational objectives.
- Building a More Connected Team
Gamification fosters camaraderie and teamwork by encouraging employees to collaborate on shared goals. This strengthens relationships and improves communication, creating a more connected and productive organization.
- The Bottom Line: Companies with high employee engagement see 48% better retention rates and significant cost savings on turnover.[4]
How to Implement Gamification Successfully
- Define Success and Reward Structures
Clearly outline your goals and create a balanced reward system that motivates employees without stretching your budget. - Ensure a Solid Training Foundation
Gamification should complement, not replace, effective training programs. - Customize Incentives
Understand your employees’ motivations to design programs that resonate with them. - Incorporate Real-Time Feedback
Regular feedback ensures your gamification initiatives remain effective and positively impact team morale.
[3] C. D. Fiorillo, P. N. Tobler, W. Schultz, Science 299, 1898 (2003).
[4] https://www.zippia.com/advice/gamification-statistics
Contact us today to discover how our gamification strategies, combined with our expert contact center solutions, can boost employee performance, enhance engagement, and drive measurable results for your business.
About Snowfly
Snowfly pioneered online gamification in 1999. Snowfly was founded by Brooks Mitchell, Ph.D., who built his career helping companies better engage their employees and building a positive workplace culture through proven principles of human psychology and positive reinforcement. Recognition, Incentives, Automation, Surveys, Coaching, Data Aggregation and Visualization are all used to better understand and engage employees in their specific industries, experience levels and job roles.
Snowfly had already built a reputation of being “cultural caregivers” and experts in the field of employee engagement, when we released an advanced voice analytics and automated QA program, Voice AI. Seeing a void in the analytics space for a system that could not only give advanced high-level analytics, but also provide actionable data for individual agents, Snowfly developed an analytics program with best-in-class AQM accuracy.
Whether it be employee engagement or advanced analytics, Snowfly has built a reputation of providing “white glove” customer service. Every feature in Snowfly’s arsenal is designed to be custom fit to each customer’s unique situation and needs and each company program has access to their own dedicated Snowfly customer success specialist.
