Encouraging your people to play games at work may not sound like a good idea .
But when it can measurably increase performance – as well as engagement, teamwork and mental resilience it’s a great idea!
Here’s why, how and top tips to effectively gamify based on 7 years of compelling data…
Why gamify?
To engage!
“The greatest challenge with online programs, as with any health and wellness program is to maintain your employees engagement and the ongoing use of available tools”1 .
Programs must be designed for high engagement first if they are to activate cultural or behavioural change. People have to want to come on the change journey with you and it has to benefit them in the long term AND short term. Games can provide instant and frequent rewards to keep people engaged and active as you work towards longer term goals.
Effective Games also provide ‘in-time’ and ‘peer to peer’ learning with the motivation to take the leap from ‘knowing’ to ‘doing’. On-line Games can activate sustainable change in a cost effective, scalable and measurable way.
What sort of results can you achieve?
Here’s some of the results achieved through the HealthChase game framework with over 25,000 Game ‘starts’
- 92% participation of multi-site teams
- 91% Game completion
- 80% continuance on a multi-game journey
- 96% of participants achieve an improved sense of wellbeing
How Games can help your business
Once you have a proven game platform that engages and motivates positive change, you can apply it beyond wellbeing to boost other core business needs.
As an example, The Australia Post Retail Team achieved the following via a 5 Game journey:
- Connected over 737 corporate Post Office Teams
- Opened conversations within and between teams around mental health
- Improved team mental and physical wellbeing through activating core behaviours
- Boosted team resilience to optimise productivity during the Xmas rush
- Launched, communicated and activated new team business Values
- Expanded the program to 3500 licensed and corporate PO’s to communicate and activate Australia Post’s commitment to the UN Sustainability Goals
- Demonstrated the HealthChase program directly improved sales
The full Case Study can be found here
“It’s been fantastic! It has opened up opportunities we didn’t even think were possible. It’s easy to use and very interactive.” Chris Roach, Manager Retail Performance, Australia Post
Top Tips for Effective Games
Gamification is more than a Scoreboard and allocating points and badges. In fact, these don’t even rate in the top 2 engagement and change drivers (Scoreboard is 3rd). In fact, if our Teams are going through a period of high stress or we’re targeting mental wellbeing, we reduce the competition and increase the social motivators with little impact on engagement and with greater impact on meeting our goals.
Choice and Teamwork lead when it comes to engagement and positive change.
Choice
Don’t tell me what to do!
To be truly inclusive you need to offer choice within the Games. Not big choices, small everyday choices. Life is busy so let’s not make it busier.
Choice is essential to keep participation levels high and allows people to achieve and thrive in a way that respects lifestyle and cultural choices. It’s inclusive.
We might reward exercise or raising your heart rate but we don’t mind if you run a marathon or walk quickly with the dog for 30mins. We’ll reward you equally for both…just do it! And do it in a way you enjoy.
Teamwork
You’re more likely to change your behaviours if your team benefits as well.
Most of us like to be an included and valuable member of a team. Shared goals are also easier to achieve as you’re all doing it together. It’s also creates a great platform for peer to peer sharing, one of the most engaging ways to learn.
You might find different ways to achieve stress reduction by seeing other techniques your team are using.
Keep it social
With over 1 million interactions on our platform, more than 120,000 Photos/Videos and Banter Chats these are absolutely the leading way our teams engage, stay connected, learn, share and motivate each other to achieve through the Games. And it’s fun!
“HealthChase has given us a major improvement in staff wellbeing and team resilience.” Di Andrews, Wellbeing Advisor, BP
What about Game Fatigue?
It’s a real thing!
Over the years we’ve developed, tested and pivoted to identify the ideal ‘Game time’ in order to avoid Game fatigue and maximise sustainable change outcomes. If you get this right your teams will want to stay on the journey that builds on team goals over time.
We found shorter games of high engagement work best. Our findings show that anything over 6 weeks is too long. Our perfect journey is a series of 4 and 2 week Games. Between Games you are implementing change and embedding it as part of your everyday lives. We do however keep the social platforms open to keep the team connected and sustainability high.
In summary
Gamification is an effective way to engage and activate change.
Not all games are equal, so unless they are delivering consistent, measurable and repeatable results you may need to review and include some of the tips above.
If you are looking for an easy way to get started on your game-based journey go to healthchase.com or feel free to email Kyla at kyla@healthchase.com with any questions.
