The Biggest Gamification Mistakes Most Businesses Make

Gamification is one of the most popular methods businesses use to encourage employee engagement and motivate them to take specific actions. However, it can be difficult to get the balance right – too much gamification can actually deter employees, while too little can leave them feeling disinterested.

In this article, we’ll outline the biggest gamification mistakes most businesses make, and offer some tips on how to avoid them.

1) Overusing Points and Rewards

One of the quickest ways employees lose motivation is by providing them with points or rewards that have little to no value. While it may seem like a good idea at first, over time these systems can start to feel irrelevant and boring, leading workers to give up on them entirely.

Instead, make sure your rewards are meaningful and relevant – something that will actually help employees achieve their goals.

This might mean giving them bonuses for hitting specific targets, increasing their salary based on performance, or even offering new benefits as a reward for reaching certain milestones.

2) Making Too Many Demands

Another common problem with gamification is making too many demands from employees. Rather than giving them the freedom to try new things and take risks, businesses can quickly become restrictive – insisting that employees play by certain rules or abide by specific guidelines.

This type of environment can be frustrating and useless – it’s much more effective to give workers a range of options rather than forcing them into set boxes.

This way, they have some control over their own lives but are still motivated to achieve goals.

3) Overcomplicating Things

Many businesses make the mistake of overcomplicating things. Rather than making gamification easy to understand and follow, they build systems that are too confusing and intimidating for employees to use properly.

This can quickly drive them away – instead of being excited about working towards a common goal, they’ll start feeling frustrated and lost.

Keep things simple – focus on providing clear instruction with the help of a learning management system while also allowing employees some freedom and flexibility. This way, everyone can feel involved in the process while still achieving their goals.

4) Ignoring the Basics

While it’s understandable to want to spice things up a bit, businesses need to make sure that their efforts don’t go too overboard.

Too much change can be confusing and overwhelming for employees – instead of trying new things, they’ll likely just give up on the whole project.

Keep your goals clear and concise – this way, everyone knows what they’re working towards while also making it easy for them to follow along.

5) Not Supporting Employees When They Need It

Sometimes, businesses take their eye off the ball when it comes to supporting their employees.

Rather than providing a safe and comfortable gamification experience, they might neglect to provide any assistance when things get tough.

This can be incredibly frustrating – not only are employees struggling with their work, but they also don’t have any support available when they need it.

Specialists within the company should be assigned to help out whenever needed – this way, everyone is supported and able to achieve their goals.

Conclusion

Now that you have seen what gamification mistakes can do, be sure to avoid them in your business! Instead, reward your employees for their hard work with a fun game that both pays off and gives them the thrill they are looking for.

In addition, it is important to remember the basics when using gamification. For example, if people start getting sick of playing certain games or demanding more points or rewards, then switch things up and make new experiences available instead.