Challenges for managing gamification projects

Gamification It’s been a buzzword in web marketing circles for several years now. Refers to awarding badges, points, perks, or other digital rewards to website visitors who perform desired actions, such as registering an account, leaving a comment, or rating content. With estimates of up to 170 million active players in the US accustomed to “leveling up” by accumulating points, the strategy has proven very successful on customer-facing websites.

With such runaway success, companies have naturally begun to explore how to implement similar systems. inside the company, too. Every organization needs to encourage some behaviors that no one likes to do, or recognize exceptional performance. Why not use gamification to reward them?

In the area of ​​social engagement and learning systems, solutions from Rypple, Yammer and Bunchball have started to find traction in the company. But core productivity apps like office suites and project management apps have been a harder sell.

In our research, we routinely hear the following objections:

• Cheaters always prosper. Often referred to as playing the system, companies are wary of systems that can be easily tricked into awarding prizes you didn’t win. Cheating is less of an issue with customer-facing systems, but within the enterprise, companies must trust the performance data they receive, especially if it is used for important processes like performance reviews. In an ironic indicator of the state of gaming protection in the industry, the Gamification Summit recently had to cancel its Best Gamification Apps contest because they discovered that their voting process had been rigged.
• We have met the enemy and it is not us.. Companies are reluctant to introduce teammate competition into work teams. Again, in public-facing systems, having losers has little negative effect, but in project teams, managers seek to motivate the entire team. Workplace studies have shown that stick/carrot motivators have only short-term positive effects, often resulting in bitterness, feelings of indifference, and accusations of favoritism. We hear again and again “we compete against our competitors, not against ourselves”.
• Farmville Task Management. Businesses are already struggling with the constant distraction of Facebook, YouTube, and PC gaming. Even employees who don’t intentionally game the system can become overly focused on earning badges, raising their profile, and socializing. Companies fear that playful task management can easily become just another distraction from the real work at hand.

However, gamification is too compelling to ignore, and if these objections can be addressed, it can prove to be a powerful boost to business productivity. For example, cheating can be addressed with an investigation process. Universities have dealt with this problem for centuries. Adjusting incentives toward cooperation and away from competition within the team can support team building, and keeping the system stingy enough that a constant stream of rewards doesn’t distract workers is another positive step.