7 compelling business reasons to use gamification

Gamification is helping to transform workplace learning for forward-thinking organisations around the world, but not everyone’s convinced.

There are a range of factors stopping organisations reaping the benefits of gamification including scepticism, lack of evidence and misinformation.

Perhaps, you have come up against resistance yourself, or think it may be a battle you will face in the future.

Whatever your situation, making a strong business case for gamification in learning is a necessity.

This post offers 7 compelling business reasons to use gamification, based on real life experiences and data.

Boost productivity

40% increase in customer service response rate

Productivity has always been important to business, but it’s particularly central to UK-based organisations at this time.  Since 2008, many UK businesses have struggled to increase productivity. It’s a problem across the economy with productivity levels estimated to be around 40% below the USA. It’s been called the productivity puzzle because it has persisted despite the UK experiencing economic growth.

Increasing productivity is a common driver for elearning and there’s evidence that gamification, used appropriately can help to achieve significant results.

One example is a gamified customer support community implemented by the application management platform company, Engine Yard.  Using game mechanics to encourage contributions from employees, the company saw a 40% increase in the rate at which staff responded to customer contacts.

Improve employee engagement

80% voluntary participation rates by employees

Getting employees engaged in learning programmes means better results not just in terms of the performance of individual employees, but for the financial health of the company. Companies with an engaged workforce grow their profits up to three times faster than their competitors, according to a report by the SHRM Foundation.

Gamification is a powerful tool for improving employee engagement through the use of game mechanics to boost motivation and enjoyment.

Reduced Absenteeism

24% higher attendance rate for employees

Employee absenteeism costs business an eye-watering amount of money. Research suggests missed days by workers amounts to an average of £554 per employee for UK businesses. This adds up to a shocking £100 billion for the UK economy as a whole.

Increase knowledge

30% average knowledge increase for players

Getting knowledge to stick is a perennial problem for L&D teams. If an employee isn’t able to learn what they need to do their job, it quickly affects the performance of the business, and ultimately the bottom line.

Gamification is helping workers engage with, remember and use knowledge in the workplace. Look at the experience of Spanish company, retaME. They use a gamified app to help support employees around new product launches or sales events. More than 35,000 people have used the game, answering more than 8 million questions. The average knowledge increase for players is 30 percent.

Increase sales

12% increase in cross-selling

Increasing sales and growth is a top priority for almost every business. The contribution that gamification can make to this goal is not always obvious.

A clear example is a gamified training programme for counter staff at Yapi Kredi Bank, one of the biggest banks in Turkey. After it had been running for several weeks, the company saw a 12% increase in cross-selling. The digital gamification approach also resulted in cost savings compared to the previous face-to-face training.

Influence behaviour

55% drop in safety incidents

Organisations that change culture and influence behaviour are less likely to incur fines for compliance breaches. They are also less at risk from loss of reputation and business. But achieving effective compliance goes beyond providing training and making sure everyone completes it. Employees must understand their responsibilities and use that knowledge to do the right thing.

Speed up time to competency

50% increase in completions for gamified courses

Getting new employees up to speed quickly is important for any business. It’s also important for workers too. If they feel confident in their role they are more likely to stick around. Data from the SHRM Foundation suggests employees who have experienced good onboarding or induction programmes are 69% more likely to stay in the job for three years.

Multi-national professional services company, Deloitte knew it its leadership training could help new executives thrive, but only if they completed the programme. The business used gamification to boost completion rates by 50% and speed up the time it took their new hires to reach competency.

Conclusion

As an informed learning professional, you will be well-versed in the opportunities offered by gamification, but your colleagues in other business functions may not be.

Gamification has many benefits but it will only work if your business leaders understand where it fits into the wider priorities of the organisation.