Gamification in customer experience has been used for several years. The concept of using game mechanics to attract and retain customers in the consumer space is commonplace and many tools have been developed. However the use of gamification tools in employee experience and performance has really just begun to emerge. And it’s rising quickly.
For decades contact centers have explored ways to turn the tide of low employee engagement and low morale. It’s effect on agent productivity can be debilitating. But can game mechanics and adding gamification to the contact center deliver your win?
Watch Brett Brosseau share insight into winning with call center gamification. Click to Tweet
Make Work Fun
We all know that employee burnout and low morale negatively impact agent productivity and costs. Gamification tries to make work more fun by motivating employees through recognition, rewards, and a sense of competition to drive desired behaviors.
Gamification has experienced success as a result of tapping into both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. The success stories are very compelling.
I myself was eager to learn more about gamification when I met with Brett Brosseau of FidoTrack at the PACE Association Conference. And during our interview he mentioned a very intriguing point about transparency that I never considered.
About FidoTrack
FidoTrack is located in (South Burlington) Vermont. FidoTrack’s mission is to empower businesses throughout the globe with high-performance Call Center GamiFication and Productivity Software. Solutions are easily scalable from small boutique call centers to large enterprises with global operations. FidoTrack clients realize Increases in Top Line Revenue, Reduction in Agent Attrition, Greater Appeal to Millennial’s and changing Agent Behavior to reflect an attitude of “ want to “ versus “ have to “. Source: Press Release
Avoid Losing with Gamification
A few years ago a report by Gartner concluded that there are potential hazards in the use of gamification. They stated that 80% of current gamified applications
would fail to meet business objectives, primarily due to poor design.
As with many tools, expert design is required. Making unskilled mistakes with such a valued asset as your workforce can have disastrous results. Increasing agent turnover when you are trying to reduce agent turnover is a realistic outcome.
In their book, For The Win: How Gamification Can Transform Your Business, Wharton professor and gamification expert, Kevin Werbach and New York Law School professor Dan Hunter, share important insight into gamification in business.
They reveal how how a wide range of companies are successfully using game thinking. They also offer an explanation of when gamifying makes the most sense and a 6-step framework to help people avoid being one of the 80% that fail with gamifiction.
Another fantastic resource to leverage when trying to avoid failure with gamification is Susan Fowler. She’s the author of six books, including the bestselling Self Leadership and The One Minute Manager with Ken Blanchard and her newest bestseller Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work… And What Does.
In her book Susan shares how many organizations deploy motivational junk food to engage employees and how to avoid it. People may elect to engage in these and deliver the desired performance for a time but in the long-run their interest levels fall and people begin to feel discouraged, disillusioned, and debilitated by their failures.
Will Gamification Work for You
Is it time for you to try gamification in your call center? Many are using it and will continue to.
One thing is certain, Brett will help you to clearly see what makes sense to start experimenting the right way. If that’s of interest to you then you might want to contact him: brett [at] fidotrack.com.
