Games are not just kid’s play anymore.
The application of gaming technology in everyday business has become so popular we now have a name for it- gamification.
Gamification is an opportunity to enhance normally mundane learning
experiences and operational functions for increased motivation and
increased performance. At the most rudimentary level consider the
frequent flier programs. They are really 21st century scavenger hunts
where customers are rewarded for “finding” items with different points.
To the winner goes the spoils. Customers begin to make buying decisions
based on points to get that brass ring. One of the newest entries in
the gaming of business are the location networking services like
Foursquare and Facebook Places where frequent visitors are rewarded with
badges like “mayor.” The mayor then may receive special benefits or
perks from the company they favor.
At this point you might be
wondering how the heck your business could use games for improved
performance and not more playtime for your employees.
Natron Baxtor Applied Gaming
offers one solution. They call it “The Garden.”. The Garden motivates
employees toward higher levels of productivity through its integrated
desktop interface. Response times and activities directed toward
customers and team members are monitored. Player response times provide
the flora with water, sunlight, and fertilizer. Failure to respond
quickly – or at all – causes the garden to wilt and makes it susceptible
to pests. The garden responds to attention: the faster and more
frequent response, the more new plants and animals arrive.
Now
consider how a game like this might increase referrals and leads. Or
what it might do to meet or beat a project deadline and increase
collaboration, especially as more workers find themselves telecommuting and working virtual.
Games like this are now being used to onboard new employees, immersing
both the recent hire and the existing workforce in the process. The
Garden unifies employee behavior with corporate objectives.
Increasing
the use of games in your business might also be the perfect
prescription for the organization that finds itself facing a Baby Boomer
brain drain, high turnover in the Generation Y workforce, or a
disruptive rift between old and young workers. 55 and older is the
fastest growing demographic using social networking sites on Facebook
and Gen Y grew up with gaming devices, and now mobile devices, as
extensions of their fingers. What better way to connect multiple
genertions in the workforce.
Game technology comes in all shapes
and sizes from social games like Farmville and Mafia Wars on Facebook to
the virtual 3-D world of Second Life. Multiplayer online games like
IBM’s Innov8 are being used to improve collaboration, productivity, and
engagement. Games are being used to inform, reinforce, and embed
business strategy, to drive motivation, and stimulate innovation. As the
benefits of using game technology for business performance becomes more
mainstream, you can’t resist asking if an organization’s next hire
might not be a Chief Gaming Officer?
What do you think? How is your organization using gaming technology?
Do you see any drawbacks?
