Gamification, defined as the application of gaming concepts to non-game experiences in order to drive desired behavior from audiences, is rapidly becoming a feature of an increasing number of workplaces.
In fact, according to new research by Gartner, it seems gamification has seen much higher rates of corporate adoption than previously thought. Along with the statistic in the title, M2 Research has said that revenue from gamification software, consulting and marketing will grow to $938 million from $100 million by 2014.
It’s a big jump and the article goes into detail on how companies are adopting game dynamics in their business, and to what ends. Real results are being achieved. LiveOps – which runs virtual call centers – used gamification for their call center agents. Since that happened, agents have reduced call times by 15%, and sales have increased by 8%-12%.
It’s important to remember who gamers are: 59% of social gamers are women and 23% are between ages of 45-65. Is your company using gamification for training, HR processes and/or new ideation? What are some drivers to using gamification for your company? Some I see are helping to build a sense of community among telework employees, and adding an element of “fun,” which appeals to all of us.
For more, read the full Wall Street Journal article, available here, or join in to the discussion by posting your thoughts in the comments section below.
This is probably a more effective training approach than sitting in those seminar rooms and splitting up into groups of three to do some artificial role play exercise. To the extent the game is representative of the situations folks will be facing, it should count towards their “10,000″ hours needed to be an expert.