The benefits of gamification in business - Hays Journal Viewpoint careers advice blog

The benefits of gamification in business - Hays Journal Through the use of game mechanics, gamification can tap into our innate sense of competition and desire to improve. And while many of us have adopted it in our personal lives, businesses often still struggle to use it effectively. But what benefits can gamification bring to an organisation, and how can companies engage their staff with it? What is gamification? Although the label gamification was coined in 2002, almost 20 years later many people still struggle to explain what it is. Research company Gartner defines the phenomenon as “the use of game mechanics and experience design to digitally engage and motivate people to achieve goals”. Gamification can include tracking of progress, and its impact has certainly been felt in our lives outside the workplace. The ‘Quantified Self’ is the cultural phenomenon of self-tracking through the use of technology. This may be by keeping count of the calories you consume or even by measuring the amount of sleep you have had. And while the term has been around since the 1970s, the rise of smartphones, GPS watches and fitness monitors in recent years has seen the number of people that track themselves skyrocket. Why has gamification failed to revolutionise the workplace? The theory has arguably been around long enough. Its ability to promote certain behaviours in the workplace was also first proposed in 2002. By 2011, Gartner was so confident in its potential that a report from the organisation predicted that by 2015, half of businesses would have gamified part of their processes. Yet a Penna study from 2015 found that 70 per cent of HR Directors said that it was not used in their workplace at all. By 2018, TalentLMS data still revealed that around half of employees had yet to experience gamification in the workplace. While its value as an industry is still growing each year, it seems that some organisations are still struggling to implement gamification technology in the first place or engage employees once they have. Early difficulties revolved around a lack of real clarity as to what gamification is and how it can help an organisation. This fed into poor initial results that have dampened enthusiasm among early adopters. There was also a belief that a one-size-fits-all approach could be used, regardless of the circumstances, the demographics of the teams involved or the processes being gamified. For the persistent, these early forays provided valuable lessons that rendered future projects more successful. Why does gamification work? Gamification works because it gives people control over what they’re doing, and also provides them with clear markers as to their progress to date, a map to guide them in future actions and prizes to clearly indicate when they’ve undertaken the right behaviours. Toss in the competitive element that most gamification programs employ and it’s easy to see why it is touted as an effective engagement tool. “Gameful design works through triggering factors of intrinsic motivation, such as our drives for social interaction, meaningful contributions, achievements, increasing challenges and self-challenges to demonstrate our competence, and giving us the ability to autonomously self-express,” Dr Lennart Nacke, Director of the HCI Games Group at the University of Waterloo’s Games Institute in Canada, says. “Designing for successful gamification means to engage people meaningfully with interactions that would otherwise be considered bland.” Arguably the most common form of gamification to date has been in learning and development, with 2019 research from Harvard Business School highlighting the potency of gamification on our ability to learn at work. The study found that applying gamification during the learning process had a strong impact on the willingness of employees to not only engage with learning, but to complete the programmes more consistently. Putting gamification into practice One company that can relate to the findings is Deloitte, which utilised gamification in its Deloitte Leadership Academy training programme. It found that after integrating gamification into the Academy, there was a 37 per cent increase in the number of employees returning to the digital platform every week. Deloitte aimed to stand out from previous implementations of gamification by making it very personal to each employee. For instance, the leaderboard is customised to each person, and only shows those nearest to them in the overall organisational standings. They also provide users with extensive onboarding to ensure that they are familiar with the mechanics of both the learning management system and the game elements behind it. The aim of this personalisation is to help each employee take ownership of their own training and development. They can then tailor the courseware provided through the platform in a way that best suits their needs and work patterns. How gamification can make learning fun Similar results have been achieved by home, car and life insurance company Farmers Insurance, which has been working with VR company Talespin to provide AI-driven training to employees across 500 different scenarios in the home insurance space. The training application is gamified to add an element of fun and competition to the process. Farmers Insurance says that the tool has helped to accelerate learning, build confidence among the workforce and reduce the time and cost associated with training programmes. Global software company Red Hat has also been using gamification and ‘serious game’ techniques as part of an immersive experience in its Open Innovation Labs. The company has used a serious game (a game designed for a primary purpose such as training, problem solving or skills-practising) that allows people to collaboratively build a Lego city, using the same methods and practices it wants employees to use with customers. The aim was to make learning more fun, and there have been immediate results, with the programme having one of the highest Net Promoter Scores the company has ever seen. Red Hat now wants to use gamification in other learning settings too. Making employees healthier using gamification Gamification can also be deployed to boost employee physical wellbeing. The importance of physical activity in the workplace was illustrated by a recent Australian study from Curtin University, which found that employees who walked during their lunch break were less stressed than their more sedentary peers. Projects such as Step Ahead: Zombies aim to use gamification to encourage activity among the workforce. The project includes a walking challenge, with participants having to escape a virtual zombie invasion courtesy of the steps they undertake in the real world. Employees are placed into teams, who are encouraged to get to a safe house as fast as possible, with the team element designed to encourage employees to support and help their colleagues be more active. Those who fail to walk enough are caught by the zombies and henceforth become part of the zombie team. The game has already seen considerable success, with the developers reporting that 20 per cent improvements in employee engagement were common among participating organisations. Lee County Schools district in Florida deployed the program for their workforce over a one-month period, and saw an 87 per cent participation rate, and health risk reduction savings of more than $132,000. What was most pleasing, however, is that the healthy behaviour changes stuck among employees. “We had people on our teams meeting before work to walk for an hour, and they’re still currently doing that months and months after the challenge is over. People still walk in the halls, but they’re also still doing those things that they weren’t doing beforehand,” reports Heather Parker, Employee Wellness Coordinator at Lee County Schools district. The benefit of prizes Perhaps the largest case study of gamifying wellbeing comes from the research undertaken by RAND Europe on behalf of health insurer Vitality, which worked with the Apple Watch and behavioural scientists such as Nobel prize winner Richard Thaler to create a gamified process to encourage activity among insurance customers. In total, around 400,000 Vitality consumers were equipped with the Apple Watch, and a range of incentives were provided to encourage activity, the ultimate one being the offer of keeping the device if they maintained a certain level of activity for two years. The data found that there was a 34 per cent increase in activity levels from across the research group, with the increase common across demographic profiles and previous activity levels. It’s an outcome that the team believes exemplifies the improvements that are possible. It can also be used to improve engagement, whether it’s retailer Target, which made the checkout process more like a game, or the pharmacy software company Omnicare, which gamified the customer service process, with leaderboards awarding the best performers cash prizes. Why gamification fails Alas, gamification is no guarantee of success. A study from Washington University highlights how some employees can try to manipulate these kinds of schemes, while Wharton research showed that trying to force fun at work often has the opposite effect than the one intended. These risks help to contribute to the 80 per cent or so of gamification projects that Gartner believes fail to deliver on set objectives. “Gamification has raced up the HR agenda in recent years as employers look to find creative and innovative ways to recruit, train and engage employees, as well as allow teams to learn about themselves and others,” John Hackston, Head of Thought Leadership at The Myers-Briggs Company says. “But gamified approaches aren’t a magic bullet and are often most effective when they are used together with more traditional methods.” This approach should involve the parking of any presumptions you may have, as there is no one demographic that is particularly in tune with gamification. Indeed, research from TalentLMS suggested that 90 per cent of workers aged 45+ felt they were likely to be more productive if work was more game-like, compared with 73 per cent of 18â€"24-year-olds and 87 per cent of 25â€"44-year-olds. Cultural challenges of gamification It can also be challenging to implement gamification across cultures, especially in multinational organisations with teams spread across the globe. “It has often been tricky to get everyone in a group to ‘play a game’; this can be due to cultural reasons (we work across the world and many different cultures), and sometimes down to personality,” Jeremy Brown, Director, Red Hat Open Innovation Labs â€" EMEA says. Brown adds that making gamification more collaborative and less formal has made its introduction easier. “We have found that working in teams can help us overcome most of the resistance to trying a new approach.” Gamification taps into many of the innate motivations that drive us to perform, and as such its promise remains rich across the working world. Implementing a gamified approach is not without risks, however, and these underpin the poor return seen in many gamification initiatives implemented to date. Organisations must offer a balanced approach that engages more of their workforce if they want to get the most from gamification. Did you enjoy this blog? Here are some more  Hays Journal 18  articles that you may be interested in: Six qualities you need to be an inspirational modern leader How businesses can get more from ageing workforces How to build a business that is sustainable and authentic Why it’s time to give your employees the recognition they deserve Is our approach to solving the productivity crisis all wrong? How Warner Bros. Entertainment is supporting diversity and innovation in its industry How one innovative organisation helps disadvantaged women get back into work Is it time for your business to embrace a four-day week?

5 Reasons You Need LinkedIn

5 Reasons You Need LinkedIn A few specialists state that on the off chance that you arent on LinkedIn, you dont exist. This could be valid, yet it does appear to be a little extreme. My presence as an expert is void since I dont have a LinkedIn account? Things being what they are, there are numerous reasons why profession specialists and recruiting authorities speak so exceptionally of LinkedIn. Here are the best five reasons why keeping up a solid LinkedIn nearness is so significant for each expert. 1. The Networking Possibilities About 380 million experts from around the globe are on LinkedIn, which means the open doors for building up new business and vocation associations through the stage are practically perpetual. There are a great deal of approaches to arrange on LinkedIn, and one of the most well known and viable approaches to do so is by going along with one of the sites numerous gatherings. There are in excess of two million groups on LinkedIn, so every expert ought to have the option to locate a not many that meet their systems administration needs. 2. High Visibility Since LinkedIn is such a mainstream stage, your LinkedIn profile is among the principal Web pages to come up when a business looks for you on Google. What better approach to assemble your image than to ensure employers are welcomed by an expert, complete LinkedIn profile when they search for you? This sends the message that you are not kidding about your vocation and that you have some degree of power over your online notoriety. 3. Organization Accessibility There are more than 2.7 million organization pages on LinkedIn, and that number is without a doubt developing. Company pages give you the capacity to see employment opportunities inside organizations you follow, and they likewise give you the alternative to contact the individual who posted the activity for more data on the position. Organization pages additionally post corporate news and updates. Focusing on the happenings of an organization you are keen on is an amazing method to increase a decisive advantage over the opposition. 4. Marking LinkedIn permits you to exhibit your abilities, achievements, and foundation, which gives you a way to complement your resume by demonstrating the gentler side of your expert self. You can discuss your interests and why you picked the vocation you are in. Accept the open door to add a progressively close to home touch to your expert image. This will help employing chiefs interface all the more effectively with you as a person not only a resume. 5. Credibility On account of LinkedIns proposals and supports, employing chiefs dont need to simply trust you: they can peruse what others need to state about your quality, morals, and worth. A decent profile has in any event three suggestions, so dont falter to ask past administrators and partners to vouch for you on LinkedIn. In todays ever-developing occupation advertise, it is basic that you maintain a solid online nearness as a strong partner to your beguiling face to face self. Dont fade away into a grim nonexistence: be seen on the universes biggest expert systems administration site. A variant of this article initially showed up on the writers LinkedIn blog.

Heres why I cant stand the phrase, I dont disagree

Here's the reason I can't stand the expression, 'I don't oppose this idea' Here's the reason I can't stand the expression, 'I don't oppose this idea' I don't frequently drop the words annoyance, yet I can't keep down when I talk about the following topic.Here it goes: I moan when I hear individuals (pioneers or something else) utilize the expression, I don't disagree.What individuals mean is, I am not ready to concede you are right. So I will rather say I am not restricted to what you are telling me.Yuck. For what reason is it so difficult to tell individuals they are correct? Does it make you, thusly, wrong to give another person approval and a brief period in the sun?No! Not so much as a tad. Truth be told, the move causes others to feel valued.And particularly for pioneers - indeed, you are permitted to let others look savvy. You will pick up somebody's trust and show you are open to giving the individual the credit.From now on, hurl I don't dissent into the dustbin of destroyed expressions.I concur with you.Let somebody be correct. It will be OK.#rantover #stillpeevedThis article first showed up on Dannyhrubin.com.

Exercising for just 10 minutes a day could help prevent disability later

Practicing for only 10 minutes daily could help forestall incapacity later Practicing for only 10 minutes daily could help forestall handicap later Another examination directed by specialists at Northwestern Medicine distributed Monday in the American Journal For Preventive Medicine propels a hypothesis that champions one hour seven days of lively to vivacious physical movement is connected to a huge hazard decline for inability later in life.Even however it's notable physical action can help forestall incapacity, for some, individuals, they're simply idle, and it's overwhelming to begin, Dorothy Dunlop, the lead creator of the investigation, told USA Today.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders' magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!Just 10 minutes a dayThe study started with in excess of 1,500 members between the ages of 49 and 83 from the multi-site concentrate on knee osteoarthritis, known as the Osteoarthritis Initiative. The people used in the investigation all accomplished agony in their lower-furthest point joints, for example, their hips, knees, and ankles. The scientists required the members to wear quickening agents so they could gauge their physical movement. These people were then followed up through the span of four years. The outcomes yielded a 86% hazard decline for those that focused on only 56 minutes of exceptional to mellow exercise seven days, which adds up to somewhat more than 10 minutes a day.The study states, Negligible edges of 56 and 55 moderate-overwhelming minutes/week best anticipated inability free status more than four years from portability and exercises of day by day living incapacities, individually, over the up-and-comer measures. Edges were reliable across sex, BMI, age, and knee osteoarthritis presence.Now the more dynamic you are the more subtotal the advantages, however Dunlop thinks beginning a 10 minutes every day of moderate exercise can assist people with indicators for handicap clutch their resources and autonomy for any longer than they would have otherwise.For sound grown-ups that display osteoarth ritis manifestations or express torment in their lower furthest point joints, the CDC suggests getting 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.You may likewise appreciate… New neuroscience uncovers 4 customs that will fulfill you Outsiders know your social class in the initial seven words you state, study finds 10 exercises from Benjamin Franklin's day by day plan that will twofold your efficiency The most exceedingly terrible mix-ups you can make in a meeting, as indicated by 12 CEOs 10 propensities for intellectually resilient individuals

Exercising for just 10 minutes a day could help prevent disability later

Practicing for only 10 minutes daily could help forestall incapacity later Practicing for only 10 minutes daily could help forestall handicap later Another examination directed by specialists at Northwestern Medicine distributed Monday in the American Journal For Preventive Medicine propels a hypothesis that champions one hour seven days of lively to vivacious physical movement is connected to a huge hazard decline for inability later in life.Even however it's notable physical action can help forestall incapacity, for some, individuals, they're simply idle, and it's overwhelming to begin, Dorothy Dunlop, the lead creator of the investigation, told USA Today.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders' magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!Just 10 minutes a dayThe study started with in excess of 1,500 members between the ages of 49 and 83 from the multi-site concentrate on knee osteoarthritis, known as the Osteoarthritis Initiative. The people used in the investigation all accomplished agony in their lower-furthest point joints, for example, their hips, knees, and ankles. The scientists required the members to wear quickening agents so they could gauge their physical movement. These people were then followed up through the span of four years. The outcomes yielded a 86% hazard decline for those that focused on only 56 minutes of exceptional to mellow exercise seven days, which adds up to somewhat more than 10 minutes a day.The study states, Negligible edges of 56 and 55 moderate-overwhelming minutes/week best anticipated inability free status more than four years from portability and exercises of day by day living incapacities, individually, over the up-and-comer measures. Edges were reliable across sex, BMI, age, and knee osteoarthritis presence.Now the more dynamic you are the more subtotal the advantages, however Dunlop thinks beginning a 10 minutes every day of moderate exercise can assist people with indicators for handicap clutch their resources and autonomy for any longer than they would have otherwise.For sound grown-ups that display osteoarth ritis manifestations or express torment in their lower furthest point joints, the CDC suggests getting 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.You may likewise appreciate… New neuroscience uncovers 4 customs that will fulfill you Outsiders know your social class in the initial seven words you state, study finds 10 exercises from Benjamin Franklin's day by day plan that will twofold your efficiency The most exceedingly terrible mix-ups you can make in a meeting, as indicated by 12 CEOs 10 propensities for intellectually resilient individuals