Choosing the right business gamification platform can take time and effort. You want a tool to engage and motivate your team, but you also need something that's going to be affordable and easy to use. You could be faced with myriad questions, such as what kind of games does the platform offer? How customizable is the platform? What type of reporting tools does it have? How user-friendly is it? Is the pricing right for your budget? What kind of customer support does the company offer?
This article helps you reduce the noise and highlight the most important things to remember when choosing an employee gamification platform.
Gamification tools motivate and encourage participation in specific tasks or behaviors. Making the game or activity engaging and relevant to the audience is essential. The most important features are points, badges, leaderboards, and challenges.
For employees, the essential elements are:
Others include setting goals and creating a sense of competition. Additionally, incorporating feedback and allowing for different levels of success can enhance the gamification experience.
There are a few different types of gamification platforms. Some focus on employee motivation and productivity within a workplace setting. Others are consumer-facing and enhance user experience and engagement in apps or online communities.
Another type is educational gamification, where learning activities are more interactive and engaging for students. This can also apply to training programs for employees. One type is a standalone platform, which can be implemented into a company's existing systems and used for specific purposes, such as employee training or customer loyalty programs. Another type is an integrated platform, where the gamification elements are built into the overall system or software used by the company.
On the sales side, there are three types of gamification platforms:
Nevertheless, it's crucial to understand how to integrate gamification to engage users and see the desired results correctly.
If you’re already using HR and business systems like Salesforce or SAP, any employee gamification platform must integrate smoothly with these systems. This ensures that your employees can receive all their rewards seamlessly. For example, if your HR system is incompatible with the platform, then employees won’t be able to redeem any rewards they earn through gamification activities.
An effective gamification platform should be able to track employee activity and provide personalized metrics based on their performance. In addition, it should also be able to provide information about how each employee performs relative to others within their team or department. If your company has multiple departments or teams working on different projects, each team needs a custom game that reflects its specific goals and objectives.
Your employee gamification platform interface should be simple. Especially if you intend to roll out the program across multiple sites or locations. The best platforms are intuitive and easy to use, even for employees with limited computer skills. In addition, it's essential that the platform is accessible from anywhere —at home or in the office. This way employees can access their points totals and other rewards whenever they want (rather than having to wait until they're at their desks).
One of the features to look out for in a gamification platform is multi-language support. This means that no matter where your users are, they can engage with the game in a comfortable language. It also makes it easier for companies with a global presence to implement gamification strategies across all their offices.
When implementing a new gamification platform, you want to have someone to turn to for support and guidance. Choose a platform with readily available customer support, whether that be through phone, email, or live chat. This way, if any hiccups arise during implementation or ongoing use of the platform, you know you have someone to reach out to for help.
Keep in mind that the things to remember when choosing an employee gamification platform are not one-size-fits-all. It would be best to consider your workplace culture, age groups, and many other repelling factors. Gamification is proven to transform employee engagement, arguably the most adopted strategy in many companies. Happy gamification!