Gamification for companies

Why gamification?

The opinion that computer games are used exclusively by young people is long outdated. The average age of console, online and computer gamers is now 37. In particular, the prejudice that games make people "aggressive" and unproductive has turned out to be the opposite. The gaming instinct can definitely be used productively and integrated into a company. The "how" and "where" gamification can be used is discussed in the following article.

What is gamification?

Gamification refers to the introduction of game-typical elements into non-game areas. Such elements can be, for example, experience points, high scores, ranking lists, progress bars or virtual goods. These are used to increase the motivation and productivity of employees, hereinafter referred to as "players".

Quizzes for sales staff

One company that has implemented gamification very well is SAP. The company engages and motivates their sales people so that they always know about the latest products and services. SAP uses a gamification app called Roadwarrior, which is a kind of "Who wants to be a millionaire" or "Quizduell". It is a multiple-choice game in which a "pre-call planning" session with a customer is simulated. If the questions are answered correctly, the players "level up" and get badges. Similar to Salesforce Motivation, there is a leaderboard which is structured as a zero-sum game. In addition, players can challenge others in a quiz battle and drive the top players from the top. Through this leaderboard, sales reps are motivated in a way that keeps them up-to-the-minute, making it fun to stay on top of the latest deals.

Simplified compliance requirements

Another well-implemented example is a gamification project implemented by Fabula Games for Bayer AG. The goal of this project was to convey abstractly formulated compliance requirements in such a way that they became very vivid for practical application. With the help of a serious game, Bayer employees were able to virtually re-enact everyday situations and practice their application. The players experience ten different game sequences (levels) from a first-person perspective and have to make the right decisions there. If the players make the wrong decisions, the consequences are vividly conveyed.

Lottery-speed camera

The American Kevin Richardson had a clear vision. It should be possible for drivers to reduce their speed through gamification. This vision was realized by Volkswagen, which built a speed camera lottery. The device had not only photographed the traffic offenders, but also took a picture of the drivers who obeyed the speed limit. The money collected from the speeders was collected. Everybody who drove legally had a chance to win by driving adapted. This encouraged most players to stick to the speed limit. This had the effect of reducing the average speed by 22%.