EMPLOYEE TURNOVER IS AN ISSUE...

60% 33% 33% 17%

Approximately 60-70% of all turnover is voluntary (ADP Research Institute).

33% of surveyed employees quit their job within the first 90 days of employment. Of the 33% who left their jobs within the first 90 days, nearly half stated that they quit because the position didn’t align with the expectations built during the interviewing phase (2018 U.S. Study).

There are many metrics on the expense of turnover but one of the most conservative estimates is that it costs 33% of the employee’s annual salary to replace, retrain, and on board replacement employees (Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM).

According to the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), turnover can cost the equivalent of 33% of an annual wage therefore, it can be a big drag on your profitability.

So, let’s explore some of the ways in which we can engage with our employees, and specifically refer to how gamification may be a tool that you can consider, not only to heighten levels of engagement, but to achieve your business goals in a fun and rewarding way.

SO, WHAT IS GAMIFICATION?

Gamification is both the art and science of using game elements in non-game contexts. Gamification helps to motivate and engage users with products, digital platforms and learning contexts. It is an art because gamification requires a psychological understanding of what makes people tick. However, it is also science as it requires a strategic and scientific process of design and testing for it to work.

However, to create a true gamification experience, it’s important to evaluate the extrinsic and intrinsic needs for each employee throughout their entire journey from job application to a long-term employee. This means that the game elements that are used need to be specific to the company context and the employees that work there.

Gamification can also be used to motivate employees, assist in training, and in team and culture building. The application of gamification at work is most commonly seen in game-based learning. However, gamification can be applied to all areas of work. For gamification to work effectively it must first be aligned with 1.) Your business goals and 2.) Your work culture.

Business Goals

As each business is unique, gamification must be aligned with the direction of growth for that specific business. In other words, gamification follows a business’s North Star metric. If this is to attract and retain the best talent, the gamification elements used must be focused on the main business goal. For example, the game elements used for a business whose North Star metric is to create a collaborative community culture would be very different to those of a business whose focus is purely a financial one.

Work Culture

As part of the gamification process, you also have to understand employee’s personality types as well as the company culture – the integration on both aspects is critical for a good gamification design. For example, finance organizations, and employees in the investment sector might be motivated by competitive game elements, while those organizations in the not-for-profit sector might be more motivated by collaborative game elements.