Customizing Gamification
By 2014, over 70 percent of the Forbes
Global 2000 will have at least one
gamified application13, according to
Gartner. But, Gartner cautions that 80
percent of gamified applications will fail
to meet business objectives by 2014,
primarily due to poor design.13 It is critical
to design a gamification solution that is
tailored to your organization’s culture.
Companies should build gamification
solutions around four considerations:
people, process, technology and
organization (see Figure 8).
People—Appealing to
your employees
Imagine employees receiving automatic,
location-based alerts providing policy
guidance on their smart phones, instead
of having to search through email archives
for booking procedures. With the demographic makeup of the workforce changing,
that’s the kind of communication that
employees expect and appreciate. Savvy
utilization of the mobile channel, such as
sending real-time reminders, can initiate a
more interactive and pointed dialogue with
employees about expense management.
Figure 8 | Incorporating gamification
People
Assess DEMOGRAPHIC characteristics of the
workforce that may influence adoption.
Example
• What percentage of the workforce is
either Generation x or Generation Y?
Technology
Identify and integrate with SYSTEMS and
TECHNOLOGIES that are already in place.
Example
• How will any gamification solution
integrate with existing tracking and
measurement systems?
Source: Accenture
Process—Integrating at
the right point
Identifying the most common points of
program non-compliance—such as booking
outside of the company’s travel booking
tool—is a starting point for designing an
effective gamification solution. The key to
truly changing behavior, however, will be
to influence or remind employees at the
moment when they are making decisions
and reward desired behaviors. Then,
understanding what drives employees to
use other tools—loyalty to a specific hotel
chain or lack of familiarity with policies—
will be the next consideration.
Technology—Integrating
travel and expense data
For several large corporations that are in
the process of designing gamification
solutions, a key success factor is having
access to accurate and consistent travel
and expense data. One company we spoke
with mentioned the importance of having
a single global platform from which to
source this data. The benefits are two-fold:
simplification, since information comes
from a common source, and streamlining,
since fewer system integrations may be
needed. Other companies manage multiple
platforms by engaging a third party
technology provider to consolidate and
reconcile data across the organization.
Gamification applications should be
capable of integrating with existing
systems and data sources. Data accuracy
is important when using a solution that
monitors and tracks behavior. Employees
are unlikely to embrace gamification if
they feel that the information used to
evaluate behavior is unreliable, or that
their efforts to participate are not
adequately recognized.
Organization—Fitting
the culture
Perhaps the most important consideration
for designing a gamification solution is to
monitor alignment with the organizational
culture. A highly motivated sales force,
accustomed to posting and rewarding
sales performance, may be receptive to
competitions or leader boards. Conversely,
a collaborative team-based culture may
respond less positively to individual
competitions because they may create a
“winners vs. losers” dynamic. Creative
ways of appealing to collaborative
environments may include awarding points
for sharing knowledge or recommended
practices. Different game mechanics and
constructions will be appropriate for
different organizations.
Process
Consider PROCESSES that are already in place
to ensure consistency and transparency.
Example
• How will this integrate into existing
travel booking and expense submission
processes?
Organization
Incorporate any CULTURAL considerations that
could influence game design or mechanics used.
Example
• Is the culture competitive or collaborative
in nature?