Gamification for employee engagement and motivation: CII summit explores strategies for the knowledge era

CII is hosting a three-day event next month, held online across three afternoons on July 6-8. Titled, CII Global Knowledge Virtual Summit 2020: Knowledge in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, it will feature industry leaders, CKOs/CIOs/CTOs, knowledge analysts, architects, domain experts, business strategists, talent experts, management consultants, and communication managers.

YourStory is the media partner for the Summit this year as well. See Part I, Part II, and Part III of our 2020 coverage, as well as Part I and Part II of our 2019 series. The annual summits promote the harnessing of knowledge via learning cultures, collaborative ecosystems, frameworks like gamification, and leadership commitment.

Gamification in Action

Notable impacts of gamification and its impact have been observed in areas like learning, business operations, and marketing, explains Zeba Khan, Managing Partner, Xenvis Solutions, in a chat with YourStory. For example, manufacturers leverage technology such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) combined with game elements in training employees on new equipment and procedures.

“This helps prevent errors, accidents, or equipment damage. Using visual gaming elements, businesses can combine classroom and on-the-job training, thereby offering an engaging environment for employees to learn, acquire, and safely practice new skills,” she adds. This allows for quick and effective training, which can also be imparted remotely.

Businesses can use gamification to increase the operational productivity of their employees. “By combining AR, AI, and game elements, employees can be visually guided while performing routine and repetitive tasks,” Zeba says.

“As for marketing, gamification of fitness by sports brands has helped achieve increased customer engagement and brand awareness,” she explains. Fitness apps of brands have enabled users to track their fitness activity, earn badges, connect, and compete with friends, while performing routine exercises or playing sports. “This extends the customer experience beyond the product, and also helps to collect relevant customer data,” she adds.

Rajib Chowdhury, Founder of The Gamification Company (TGC), shared several gamification examples from L&T, French Postal Service, Marriott Hotel, and Google. They span recruitment, employee performance, and broader social engagement.

Formaposte, the French postal service, used gamification to address employee retention and reduce churn. It launched the Jeu Facteur Academy, where potential candidates could live the life of a postal delivery employee for a week. 

He points to another successful recruitment-based game called ‘My Marriott Hotel,’ which runs on the hotel chain’s Facebook career page. “Players get a virtual experience of running a hotel, and are redirected to a job application when they click the Do it for real button,” he says.

Rajib also cites Google’s famous billboard mathematical riddle as a sensational example of how useful gamification can be in recruiting. “In 2004, Google invited people to solve a series of equations thinking – correctly – that those who had the brains and the motivation to reach the end would make great candidates,” he explains.

At L&T, a gamification initiative helped drive employee engagement and performance even in a traditional sector like engineering and construction. L&T began its digital transformation journey in 2016, and gamification was used for behaviour transformation, Rajib explains.

His company is developing a gamification initiative to help school students understand and implement the concepts of urban waste management. “Using an innovative ‘Wisdom of the Crowd’ model, the game is designed to engage the broader influencer ecosystem of parents, teachers, and communities. This helps ensure that the behaviour transformations are encouraged and sustained,” Rajib explains.