How To Use Gamification To Increase Motivation

Gamification is taking the world by storm, and the concept has been applied successfully in various fields including marketing, iGaming , fintech , social networking, and learning. For many people, however, a few key questions arise: What exactly is Gamification? How is it best applied? Does it work? In this article, we’ll analyze how Gamification can drive motivation while answering the above-mentioned questions.

What Is Gamification?

Gamification is the application of gaming mechanics to non-game environments. Gamified techniques are used to make subjects more engaging through features that can usually be found in games.

When it comes to learning and work environments, most gaming mechanics such as role-playing, points, rewards, and badges, can be used to increase engagement , motivation, and productivity. And despite the seriousness of the work or the subjects being studied, Gamification fits in surprisingly well.

Why Gamification Affects Motivation

As human beings, we cannot function without a healthy dose of socialization and validation.

Our need for validation has massively increased since the invention of social media, and the employees of today also need to feel that what they bring to the table is being appreciated to feel happy at the workplace.

One of the most ancient tools for rewarding employees for their hard work is to give them a raise or promote them to a new position. Sadly, as a business owner, you can’t promote them every month, so alternatives have to be implemented to keep employees at 100%.

Thankfully, Gamification can give people the validation they need to maintain high-level sharpness. This is accomplished through rewards, vouchers, or even virtual congratulations for a job well done.

Now, let’s we will explore the key motivational benefits of Gamification in learning and at the workplace:

• Gamification increases motivation when workers are given rewards and receive validation for their efforts: To accomplish this, businesses can also use leaderboards to encourage people to strive to be top-performing employees .
• Gamification keeps up the team spirit: You can put people into teams and give them tasks to accomplish. To win the prize, people have to work together and complete the tasks in a timely and satisfactory manner.
• Gamification can give employees a healthy sense of competition: By fostering a competitive spirit in the office, businesses can boost productivity and drive revenue as a result.
• Gamification allows employees to feel in control of their journey upward: Tools such as to-do lists and direct action cues help employees keep track of their development and complete their tasks quicker and more efficiently. You can also give individuals and teams feedback on their performance so they know their weak points and where they need to improve.
• Gamification Makes Employees Happier: Gamification helps employees break the chains of the mundane. According to recent surveys, apart from increasing productivity, it also keeps workers engaged and does wonders when it comes to retaining talented people for longer periods. The findings have revealed that nearly 50% of employees believe that Gamification boosts engagement, while 72% have said that it inspires them to be more productive.
• Gamification Increases Focus: No matter how hard we try to stay on point, we all have particular subjects that bore us out of our minds, and despite our need to stay focused, sometimes our minds refuse to play along. Gamification is a highly effective tool for people who are having trouble keeping focused on work or studies. Boring subjects might mess with our focus, but when gamified, they become much more engaging and enjoyable. Reward systems are a key element that needs to be paid special attention to when it comes to focusing.
• Gamification Helps Us Memorize: Games designed with care, help us recall and utilize the knowledge and skills we’ve learned. To help people utilize their knowledge more effectively, you must provide engaging activities, constructive feedback, and capturing stories. When feeling immersed in fun activities, people start appreciating and finding true meaning in the content provided. Short and long-term memory can be improved through experience, relevance, repetition, and enjoyment.

A Key Note On Best Practices

To come up with a solid Gamification strategy, first, you need to be able to answer the following questions:

• What are your business problems?
• Who is your target audience?
• Have you identified performance objectives for your employees?

From there, you can bring in Gamification as a potential solution to engage your employees or students and start driving productivity and sales.

Learning Objectives

Here are some key behaviors sales associates need to master to boost sales:

• Greet customers immediately upon arrival.
• Ask your customers about their problems and the most important goals they wish to accomplish.
• Recommend solutions that benefit your customers based on their needs.
• Be ready for objections and ask further questions to ensure the best possible outcomes.
• Always be ready to help and maintain a positive relationship with your customers to ensure their loyalty and satisfaction.

Gamification Techniques

The following are some of the most efficient tried-and-tested techniques that have helped businesses in various industries find success:

1. Leaderboards

Leaderboards are a perfect way to list the points employees or learners have earned during their developmental journey. There are, however, some things to keep in mind before setting up a leaderboard. The benefits of healthy competition are dependent on the player’s drive to perform better than others, or if they just want to avoid failure. If they’re competing to improve themselves, their performance will also increase. But they’re in it just to pass, competition can reduce their performance.

The drive to win only boosts performance if the game being played can give them a sense of heightened accomplishment and mastery, but it is not sufficient to protect them from the downsides of competitive social situations. If that is the case, you could set up the leaderboard in a way that makes everyone feel worthy and accomplished, no matter the size of their achievements.

2. Badges

You can set up different types of badges that can be earned through good performance. This could even be used as a substitute for traditional marks. It will make for a more fun learning experience, and the badges will motivate employees or learners to do their best to earn the shiniest badge. Badges should be awarded based on overall performance, timing, and homework completion, among other things.

3. Roleplay

Roleplaying is one of the most exciting aspects of video gaming. By allowing people to step into the shoes of different professionals such as a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, etc. you can unleash their hidden potential as they put their imagination to the test. In the process, they also learn new skills and increase their empathy levels.

For example, through roleplaying, you could train a group of future nurses on how to handle stressful situations in the hospital. Two people could be playing the role of a panicked mother and her son who needs urgent medical care, and the other could be playing the part of the nurse. In this situation, the nurse would be able to test her reaction skills, as well as her ability to remain calm under pressure.

4. Competitions

Creating a competitive environment for learners is a bulletproof gamified solution for increasing motivation. For example, a teacher can set certain rules and standards, and any time a person from the class adheres to the rules and standards, the entire class earns a point. Should one student fail to do so, however, the entire class loses a point. If the class earns enough points to win the game, the teacher can reward the class with a prize of their choosing (e.g., a treat, a fun activity, or a longer break pause).

The most potent strategy is to incrementally introduce a few gamified elements here and there and give it some time to see which ones work best and do most to advance your employees’ or learners’ abilities. Needless to say, if something doesn’t work, you can just take it out and try something else.

5. Visuals

Visually pleasing elements have the power to get people’s attention and make them feel much more engaged with their learning — and when it comes to eye candy, bright colors and graphics provide the most visually-pleasing learning experience.

6. Onboarding Missions

The onboarding process for employees often comes with tons of information about the company, which can be too much for newcomers to handle all at once. Instead of bombarding them with courses to complete and materials to read through, try including all the necessary information into fun onboarding missions for people to complete.

For example, in their first few days in the company, new people can be given a mission of completing an e-Learning course on company basics. On their second mission, they could be encouraged to get to know key company personnel. You can add an element of fun to the process by giving people little rewards for their accomplishments along the way.

7. Tournaments & Competitions

We all enjoy a friendly competition. By giving learners the option to compete against each other, or as a team against others, you can massively increase their motivation. Also, introduce leaderboards/scoreboards so people can keep track of their achievements and do their best to earn a spot among the top performers.

8. Constructive Feedback

Talking to your learners/students about their performance is an amazing way to keep their drive up as it allows them to track their progress while they advance through each level of the game.

Learner Motivation: Turning Fear Into Fun

If you know how to turn mundane activities into fun experiences, and include elements of play, you can get employees and learners to do things they otherwise might not want to do.

Work and study can naturally be accompanied by elements of anxiety and fear, and that’s why aiming to make things fun is crucial if you want your employees or students to perform well.

The process isn’t just about making things more fun, but also to boost productivity. Studies have revealed that making work and studying more fun can boost productivity and skill-building by a staggering 40%.

Increased readiness to take part and engage is supported by dopamine — a chemical released in the brain when we experience pleasure. It also boosts motivation and a desire to keep doing the things that give us pleasure. This lies at the heart of how Gamification works.

Final Words

If done properly – exciting gaming elements applied to relevant situations – employees and students can experience a rise in motivation and engagement with the content. With the help of Gamification, people can find the motivation to fully engage with their work or studies while building skills and improving their memory retention abilities.

So if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution to increase employee satisfaction and productivity, Gamification is an option you should consider, and Smartico is here to help you get started FROM THE TOP.

As a leading Gamification & CRM Automation solution, Smartico offers:

• Various intuitive challenges and gaming techniques.
• High-value incentives that encourage long-term loyalty and retention, elevate player value, strengthen engagement, and boost user acquisition.
• Multi-Currency/Language/Deep Brand Support.
• Missions – Engage players with fun real-time solo or multiplayer tasks.
• Points – Encourage players to keep coming back through point-based incentives and unlockables.
• Badges – Stand out from the rest with sleek badges and earn free spins for each earned badge.
• Levels – Players gain experience and special perks after each successful level or tournament completion.
• Incentives – Motivate players to come back for more with unique rewards and bonuses.
• Marketplace – Players can actualize their points by cashing them in for free game spins or other awards such as online shopping vouchers.
• Mini-Games – Players can reset their senses through short, award-earning games.
• Tournaments – Set your own qualification rules and offer your customers a powerful endorphin rush with Smartico’s special tournament system.
• Leaderboards – Set daily, weekly, and monthly prizes and watch your user engagement skyrocket.
• Bonus Engine Integration – Cash bonuses, free spin bonuses, and more.

And that’s just a small sample of what’s on offer. Smartico can help your business grow exponentially by supplying the solutions needed to bring the motivation in your company to a whole new level. To start your journey to success, book your free in-depth demo today at: https://smartico.ai/request-a-demo