EXPERT VIEW

Tony Johnson is Chief Experience Officer at global consulting firm, 4xi.

Gamification is a fantastic arrow in the quiver of a robust employee engagement plan, but much like the hierarchy of needs discussed here, there are foundational elements at play that must be achieved before you can find results with this potentially impactful strategy.

Employee Experience (EX) must be a goal, not a means to an end. Certainly, a parallel goal is great customer satisfaction and improved growth and profitability. But people need to matter to your business and your team’s quality of work, needs, and friction points must be a part of the organizational calculus. Treating people well and giving them chances to grow and thrive is a core principle that will serve you well.

You must have developed a community where communication is clear and open. Simply adding another tool or piece of tech isn’t the total solution but must be something that actively enables organization priorities.

Recognition and appreciation need to be a part of your daily strategies. If leaders don’t fundamentally embrace the need for appreciation in the workplace, then they won’t adopt the idea of gamification of those same principles.

Organizations must understand what matters most and where effort drives maximum results. The idea of gamification, at its core, allows for keen focus on priorities that drive desired results. Without an understanding of where to focus, there is a risk of wasted effort and lackluster results.

Finally, the process must overall be inclusive. And by that, I mean it has to be easily accessible and user friendly for everyone.

All of this must be a part of long-term strategy. So often new programs find themselves a “flavor of the month” and they fall off the talking points for the executive teams. Any initiative that doesn’t get adequate airtime, and isn’t a part of performance planning, bonuses, and increases, won’t last very long.