How to Use Gamification in Your Onboarding Strategy
Gamification (game-ification) is just like it sounds. It is all about turning something into a game, but not just any game. Played right, introducing ‘game-like’ activities and recognition can be a winning strategy in the first stages of an onboarding plan for your new employees.
Most game-based training includes scenarios and challenges that grab the employee’s attention, improving both engagement and retention of information. It can even improve engagement by 48% according to a 2013 Aberdeen Group Study, but the true advantages come from the environment.
Turning aspects of onboarding into a game puts newcomers at ease in a new environment and opens up the opportunities for shared experiences, creating conversation, and building relationships.
To be truly successful, gamification must be well planned and fit with the workplace environment. A highly formal work environment is not the right place to introduce a system that mimics video games, but work environments such as technology offices might benefit from games that allow you to create your own avatars. These games can then challenge you to identify your coworkers by their avatars and create opportunities to learn what you do or do not know about your colleagues. Don’t have a tech-focused audience? Set up a Bingo lunch with the key players on your team or create compliance/ethics board games. It might even make more sense to create a game board that has new employees filling in trivia information in order to help them learn about key team members. There are a number of solutions like these available on the market today.
The possibilities are endless and only 17% of companies are currently using these methods. Stand out from the crowd and make a unique first impression with your new hires by getting them involved in gamification activities. Not every aspect of work has to be serious, in fact understanding the importance of keeping your employees happy is critical to their work performance. With our expertise, we will help you find those new employees and create that perfect balance between keeping your head in the game and encouraging a fun work environment, contact us today!