Why Organisational Gamification was Inevitable and Not a Fad

I believe that there are several factors which made Gamification of organisations inevitable.  It is often
criticised for being a fad.  I think that there are some aspects of it which could be.  For example, the dreaded ‘badges and leader boards’ definition of Gamification is unbelievably limiting and that aspect might be short-lived.  However, there are elements of Gamification which represent the larger economy, general opinion and the direction for organisations into the future.  It is something much deeper than superficial badges (although they have their merits too).  This is what Gamification should be understood as, what should be taken from games and it is happening right now.

First, the power of gaming as a medium is growing.  The ‘games cause violence’ pack is dwindling, just as it did for every new entertainment medium before (television, radio etc.).  Gamers are not geeky, social outcasts; everyone can be a gamer and many are.  Games are going mobile, casual and social.  Games are big business and on the rise.  If you are interested in the stats, get your fill from PWC here.  I am sure you are all aware of the huge success of Grand Theft Auto Five.  The game made $1 billion in the first three days of being sold.  The fastest film to reach the $1 billion mark was The Avengers, in 19 days.  Games are big news and it is inevitable that they would have an influence over other aspects of our lives.

Second, Gamification has evolved from 21st century organisational needs.  In some cases it has slipped in unnoticed, in other cases it as added an extra twist to an existing management trend.  There are ways that Gamification is relevant today, inevitable and not a fad and the points below show why this is the case and what organisations should be taking from games and translating into Gamification:

• Feedback – games allow constant feedback and Gamification can be used in this way.  This fits with other organisational trends, such as the breaking down of communication barriers across the organisation, at different levels.  It also allows the organisation to exert control and monitor, but in a constructive way that is more carrot than stick.  It also marries up with Generation Y’s need for constant feedback as they move into organisations (see ‘Motivating Generation X and Y with Gamfication’).
• Competition – games can promote competition, against others but also yourself.  Players are able to see feedback about how they performed and strive to better this performance.  This can be a powerful use of Gamification.  Businesses need to remain competitive.  Especially in a recession and when innovation and market dynamism are so powerful.  Encouraging competition within the workforce, giving employees more autonomy and allowing them to self-monitor can help this process along.  Gamification is therefore, a natural and fun progression of this.
• Teamwork – A lot of games and Gamification promote and facilitate teamwork.  There has been a huge move to making use of teams in organisations due to their self-management, innovation and so on.  Teams are a part of the ‘Japanisation’ of the Western organisation.  Gamification, therefore, can be seen as an extension of this, a means to promote collaboration and cooperation.
• Learning and Development – Organisations have come to appreciate the power of their human resources, especially in terms of their capacity for good ideas, creativity and innovation.  They, therefore, want their employees to be lifelong learners and to constantly develop their skills and expertise.  Organisations can no longer promise to offer a ‘job for life’, so they have moved to support employees’ employability.  Games require constant learning and development of skills and Gamification could be the next frontier for this in organisations.
• Creativity – Games are fantastic for generating creative problem-solving and innovative thinking.  They require it and reward it.  These skills are needed for 21st Century businesses to survive and thrive.  Therefore, Gamification should be used to reflect and encourage this.  See our post, '21st Century Skills and Games Based Learning'.
• Change and Flexibility – Games often require the player to be adaptable to change.  The current economic climate and dog eat dog nature of capitalism means that the business world is extremely chaotic and dynamic.  Employees and organisations need to be responsive, flexible and welcoming of change.  Gamification could be great at encouraging this outlook and culture amongst organisations.
• Fun – There is a move to make work more fun.  Organisations are now more aware of the benefits of a ‘carrot’ approach to motivation, as well as the creative benefits of having a fun office.  For example, Google offices have slides, scooters, lava lamps, pianos and so on, all designed to promote creativity, collaboration and innovation (as well as keeping people at work longer and feeling they owe the organisation).  Generation Y also work to fund their lifestyle as this is the most important motivator for them.  So organisations try to bring this ‘lifestyle’ into work.  They are motivated by something more than the money itself.  These things also represent youth and dynamism, which are championed by many organisations.  The Gamification of spaces and processes at work is probably the most apparent usage.

I study management and organisations, so this area as well as GBL and Gamification interest me greatly.  It strikes me that Gamification embodies many of the directions that management is taking in the 21st Century.  The fact that we now have a name for it doesn’t make it a fad.  The term Gamification has more scope than badges and leaderboards and many game-like elements have been translated into management.  Organisations might not see how games can help them yet.  But, with the growing strength and following of games as an entertainment and learning medium, I don’t think it will be too long until they catch on.  This could be just the beginning for Gamification.

Please follow @paulladley on Twitter, games-ED on Pinterest and like games-ED’sFacebook and Google+ pages for blog updates and interesting games based learning findings.

Badges, Gamification, Employment & Lifelong Learning

Image courtesy of kerolic on Flickr.

We often talk of gamification and have even won an award for doing so (click here).  But we (and many others) usually talk about how badges are engaging and motivating for the learner or even how they can essentially coerce people to do things that an organisation/individual wants (e.g. good behaviour in class, sharing promotional content on social media sites, reviewing products etc).  Badges and other gamification strategies have been used very successfully in this way.  However, the report, ‘Expanding Education and Workforce Opportunities Through Digital Badges’ takes a slightly different look at the phenomenon.

This new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education and Mozilla has looked at how badges can be used as a way of showing and verifying to employers the skills that individuals have amassed.  These can be formal education, knowledge based skills, 21st century skills as well as skills gained through hobbies and other ‘extracurricular’ activities.  “A digital badge system can bring resumes into the twenty-first century,” says Gov. Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia.  “Digital badges are making anytime, anywhere learning a reality for learners of all ages who want to pursue their interests with tangible results in real time… Badges bridge the divide between formal and informal education, and they have the power to transform competency-based learning and hiring practices.”

The report does explore how digital badges can be used to improve student learning and outcomes, but also how they can expand vocational and interest-based skills for learners of all ages.  And importantly, what this can mean for employment.  “The way we learn and the way we work have radically changed in today’s digital age, and we need the credentials that make sense for the way we live our lives today,” argued Erin Knight, senior director of learning and badges at Mozilla.  “Open Badges can connect learners to better jobs and opportunities, allowing them to increase skillsets and marketability. In return, employers can look beyond abstract credentials or self-reported resumes and get credible information on candidates—finding a better match, and unlocking a better future for all involved.”

Expanding Education and Workforce Opportunities Through Digital Badges defined badges as ‘credentials that represent skills, interests, and achievements earned by an individual through specific projects, programs, courses, or other activities.’  The report argued that it is important that badges are defined accordingly and are measured against a specific set of standards so that they could be used by employers in a meaningful way.  The report suggests that for this to happen, there must be an open badge standard that ensures all badges contain the same level of criteria and evidence, which allows people to earn badges from different issuers, manage and collect them, and display them on websites as they see fit.  Mozilla has created this “Open Badges” standard that ensures the credibility of verifiable skills involved with the badges.  They aim to make the badges credible by making them store information through hyperlinks about what tasks, projects etc. were completed to earn the badge.

Schools can use the system to connect their pupils’ curricular and extracurricular learning as well as rewarding them for developing their 21st century skills.  The schools and colleges that have adopted the system so far have also done so to make learning more engaging and innovative.  “Learning pathways differ from student to student, but badges can bridge those differences and provide students with opportunities to follow their interests, and connect what they have learned—at any time and place—to academic achievement, career success, and civic engagement,” Wise said.

But what interests me most is what the badges could mean for employment.  It is unlikely that this system would completely become the norm, but it does make one wonder.  It could encourage children from a younger age to think about their careers.  It could encourage a closer relationship between students and employers, giving both valuable experiences.  Employers could tailor more what is being taught in schools.  They might put emphasis on different elements of a person than their grades.  The system also has interesting implications for lifelong learning.  It could foster a more positive relationship with learning as a whole.  It may make people think of and approach learning differently.  People could become inspired by the badges of others.  The intrinsic reward of a badge along with the ability to ‘show off’ to others could generate an impressive level of learning.

Obviously, these are all big ‘what if’s and this one system is unlikely to do everything (if any of these).  However, I do think it highlights something interesting and very positive about society and it would be great if it took off.  The popularisation of geek-chic (which I thoroughly approve of) along with the acceptance and popularity of video games may just have amalgamated to create something that could be great for learning and learners.  One thing I would like to see being emphasised though, in a system like this, would be badges for good deeds, charitable giving and so on, and then we could really be on to something great!

Click here for the full report.

Click here for more about Open Badges.

Please follow @paulladley on Twitter, games-ED on Pinterest and like games-ED’s Facebook and Google+ pages for blog updates and interesting games based learning findings.