Gamification in Human Resources

The gamification is an attractive and expensive way how to increase the visibility of Human Resources in the organization. In addition, it has a positive impact on the employee engagement and retention. Most employees do not like HR processes, but they like to play games. The gamification of HR processes and procedures can turn the boring experience into a funny game that navigates employees to the next level.

On the other hand, it is hard to identify the engaging idea for most HR processes; the training and development, the recruitment, and the referral recruitment are the areas where the gamification works best. On the other hand, it is hard to introduce the gamification to administrative processes. It is dangerous to add competitions to administrative tasks that everyone has to accomplish successfully. In such a case, the company can enjoy enormous damages. Each game or the competition should be purely voluntary.

Today, we believe that social media brought the gamification, but it is not true. Most loyalty programs include the gamification element for many years. The loyalty programs offer extra points if the customer makes the right choice. Many customers spend hours combining different options to get those extra points. They do not consider the cost of the extra point, they just play the game. They like the story, and they want to win the prize. They ignore other annoying factors they would consider without being a part of the match.

The gamification can be used for the HR Visibility because employees talk about the new game or the competition in the business. If HR includes the fun element into a match, the engagement of workers increases. Allowing employees to see results online on the Intranet home page is always a good way to promote and engage them. The same principles can be applied to the Corporate Recruitment Website.

Human Resources can use the traditional gamification principles to enhance the engagement of employees into different HR Processes. The most common techniques are:

competition;
achievement;
status;
altruism;
collaboration.

People like to compete. Employees like to compete. It is a core principle behind the performance management system. Everyone likes to be appraised as the top performer. However, the gamification can add another element to the system that is important for Human Resources. Employees can compete who will be the first employee to finish the entire performance appraisal cycle. Most HR Teams send reminders to complete the assessment. When employees compete, and they can see the progress of others. They can be motivated to speed up and finish the document as soon as possible.

HR Gamification

The achievement and status are closely connected. However, it is not like the competition. Everyone who reaches the threshold is awarded the achievement. However, few selected ones can be also awarded a higher status. They can receive the emotional prize that has a great value to them. It does not need to be the cash prize; it is purely about the status in the organization.

However, the best principles for Human Resources are hidden behind the altruism and collaboration principles. Making people search for others to win as a team is always the best option that supports the team spirit in the organization. The team spirit should be the driving force behind most games and competitions run by the HR Department. The key intention of HR should be to form the group into the efficient team. In such a case, it is a good example of the excellent HR investment. It makes Human Resources visible in the organization and makes employees know each other better.

The HR Gamification is great when HR introduces new technologies. Employees are a diverse group where everyone is not a technical geek. A small game can be a great introduction of the new technology for employees who are worried to use new processes, procedures, and tools. It makes them feel comfortable.

HR should always consider the gamification option when introducing a new process or a procedure. It is always good to make fun and allow to employees to accommodate to the new tool at their pace. A smart game increase the attention and allows to employees to discuss details of the new process and explore new options and possibilities. The impact on the visibility of Human Resources in the business is positive.

HR Marketing Section Contents

HR Marketing:

Basic HR Marketing Principles

Social Media:

Gamification of Human Resources:

Gamification