GETTING GAMIFICATION RIGHT: 22 BEST PRACTICES

GETTING GAMIFICATION RIGHT: 22 BEST PRACTICES

1. Clearly identify goals before diving in

   • If success is not defined before the initiative
     • it is hard to know when success is achieved

2. Tie gamification to business needs

   • consider the types of behavioral change they want to elicit
     • and then leverage gamification to help achieve those goals

3. Understand the psychology

   • it can significantly improve long-term learning and drive behavior change

4. Keep the game design simple

   • The process of scoring and winning should be transparent
     • make sure learners are aware of what they need to do in order

5. Leaderboards play an important role

   • Leaderboards bestow a sense of status
     • allow users to compare themselves to other players

6. But beware of leaderboard limitations

   • We have to structuring the leaderboard by department or territory in order
     • to allow individuals to contribute to company goals as part of a team

7. Permit personalization

   • Many employees today enjoy putting a personal stamp on their virtual selves
     • permitting learners to create their own avatars or digital characters

8. Encourage the freedom to fail

   • Repeatedly failing at a game allows a player
     • to continually review information and reinforce their knowledge

9. Build in continuous feedback

   • Instructional designers should provide players with continuous feedback
     • and the message that they are heading in the correct direction

10. Add elements to delight or surprise users

    • Prevent boredom by varying the length, difficulty, and completion time of the challenges
      • add unexpected elements to the game design in the form of unannounced rewards.

11. Distinguish between levels and badges

    • Badges can acknowledge nonlinear progress
      • Levels define the learning journey and are ideal for building a training curriculum

12. Create an initial buzz

    • Promote the launch in the corporate newsletter, through social media, and with personalized email or text notifications
      • Grab the attention of users who log in, curious to explore the new offering

13. Monitor the system for abuse

    • To prevent abuse, use the backend dashboards to monitor the system
      • The system should also be monitored to identify employees who are disengaged

14. Extrinsic versus intrinsic

    • Extrinsic rewards generally come in the form of cash or merchandise
      • Intrinsic rewards are internal—they drive individuals to take personal pride in their work

15. Different strokes for different folks

    • This knowledge can help developers personalize their designs with game elements
      • They can be Socializers, Free Spirits, Achievers, Players, Philanthropists, Disruptors

16. Be on point with points

    • Always be mindful that points are supposed to mean something
      • Make sure that tasks that require effort receive a compensatory amount of points

17. Get social

    • Build a community around the company’s gamified solution
      • Encourage users to exchange experiences on a dedicated social platform where they can interact

18. Keep it fresh

    • Keep learners engaged by regularly refreshing and updating gamification content
      • Add levels and badges so they continually have something new to strive for

19. Require participation

    • They hope the games or extrinsic prizes will be so enticing that the majority of the workforce will participate
      • The organizations that are most successful with serious games require play

20. Leverage it throughout the employee life cycle

    • Firms are turning to gamification for everything from corporate branding to employee recruitment, onboarding, job mastery, and feedback.
      • to reinforce learning, performance, and career management

21. Use it as a management tool

    • GamEffective tracks relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) from enterprise apps
      • Gamification offers a new way of managing employees

22. It is just one part of the L&D toolkit

    • Organizations have the most success when games are part of a larger, blended curriculum or strategy
      • Starting small and pick two or three games that are easy to implement, and test out their impact