Have you ever been caught off guard with a colleague you don’t know very well? Perhaps you were alone in an elevator, or standing in the lunch line, having to smalltalk for a while? Perhaps you wish you could have just left your earbuds in and pretended you didn’t notice the person?
It’s actually quite normal, as it takes time to develop personal relations to a point where conversation simply flows naturally. This goes for both introverts and extroverts. The better we get to know one another, the easier it will become to talk about everything, big and small. However, it doesn’t have to be difficult at all: Using Knowie’s smart gamification, you can get to know each other incredibly fast!
What is Gamification
Gamification – also known as game based learning – borrows elements from the gaming world and puts them in a different context. We’re talking storytelling, points-based systems, rewards, rules, social elements, choices, targets, challenges, and a whole lot more.
Gamification has become increasingly popular in the world of digital learning and e-learning. Earlier, these types of learning centered around very long texts, but are now filled with storytelling, built-in progression and rewards. Onboarding processes, as well, now make use of gamification elements more frequently. It’s proven to be a great success, because the fun elements of gamification help balance the more formal elements of onboarding, such as code of conducts, policies, practices, and the likes.
Does gamification Work?
YES! – that’s the easy answer, at least. Studies show that gamification increases the fun factor and improves results and completion rates. People find games fun, and that simple fact means that gamification will almost always add a pleasant element to the process it is being applied to.
By reaching a new high score, unlocking achievements or new levels, the brain releases dopamine. When dopamine is released, you will connect the experience you had to the feeling of winning and succeeding. Naturally, this greatly motivates participants.
When Is Gamification Less Effective?
Gamification can have very little to no effect, if it isn’t used in the right way.
Here is a couple of reasons why gamification may NOT work.
- Overuse of Gamification: By gamifying every single element, it can quickly end up becoming an annoyance rather than a breath of fresh air. Say you got a badge for simply logging in or every time you clicked a button. Gamification – just like everything else – is best used in moderation.
- Superficial Elements: Gamification is a very useful tool, but it can’t fix existing problems by simply being added on top of them. If something is boring or difficult to read, you might want to think about how storytelling can improve those elements. Simply adding a leaderboard or a points-system cannot help to fix the problems coming from the core material.
- The Overjustification-effect: People are good at recognizing patterns. That’s why we’ll quickly get used to being rewarded during returning prompts. By applying random and unexpected rewards, this effect can be minimized.
How Does it Work in Practice?
Since gamification is the core of our business, let’s use Knowie as an example. Knowie is a social tool based on gamification. The platform is based on daily challenges – taking a couple of minutes – which are completed by each participant. The game starts after every participant has filled in a questionnaire regarding themselves and their preferences. Every day, a new set of challenges will be presented to the participants.
By sequenzing events, pointing out roles, and identifying things you have in common with your colleagues, you and your team can get to know each other better, while competing for the top spot and improving the work place. The competitive element and rewarding nature of Knowie helps engage the participants thoughout a 5 day’s round of challenges.
Reviews such as “when the daily results come in, the talk gets going” and “Knowie gets better with each passing day”, lets us know that gamification plays a huge part in bettering the experience of teambuilding in companies.