How do I design a business gamification to make it fun for users or employees?
This is a question that comes up a lot in my world. In this case, what follows is my answer on Quora when I saw this. It repeats some of the stuff I have said here before, but I think a little more concisely as I had to write it on my phone!!!
My Answer
I would want a lot more information.
First, What is the goal? The goal isn’t fun, it will be something like productivity increase or training compliance.
Once you really know the goal, explore why it isn’t already happening. Understand who the potential users are and what is stopping them doing the things you want them engaged with.
Next work out if the core problem is something that can actually be improved by gamification. So if they don’t take the training because it is dull, then yes. If it is demotivation because their families are going hungry due to lack of good pay, then no – gamification is unlikely to have much of a long term effect.
Then, start to look at potential solutions. Understand what your people enjoy and start analysing game elements that could replicate some of those things in your solution.
So if the populous likes RPG style games, see what questing and levelling up style elements and narratives you can add. If they all like shooters, think about challenges, collectable upgrades and faster paced activities.
Don’t just go online, find a picture of a framework and think that will do. There are many out there and they all need an understanding of the core principles of behaviour and motivation to use as the basis of sustained solutions.
All to often the goal is to add gamificaiton or worse still, fun. That is almost never the actual goal, it is merely the outcome of the strategies employed to get people to the real goal!
