If you're unfamiliar with the term, 'Gamification' is the use of game mechanics -- e.g. status, leader-boards, currency, and badges -- to accelerate or enhance things that aren't games. The term 'Gamification' itself is a bit controversial. Some critics claim the the term implies that employees are playing games at work and that is not the image that executives want for their companies. For me, I don't care what anyone calls the premise. What I care about is finding fun and engaging ways to motivate people to complete certain tasks or processes that they normally wouldn't.
Is having some fun at work a bad thing? I don't think so! As a matter of fact, I would be comfortable saying that since incentives, in one form or another, drive the majority of the workforce, only good can come in having some that are not only rewarding, but fun to attain!
I'm driving a project right now to introduce game mechanics to a very cool internal application that, in my opinion, will have an immediate impact on the way people interact and collaborate internally at SAP. I will share more about this project in future posts. In the meantime, I'm dying to know what everyone thinks of Gamification as a way to enhance business. I can't wait to hear your thoughts!!
I'll check back to reply to comments soon. In the meantime, excuse me as I continue my journey into the Great Unknown!
