Using Gamification for Recruiting, Career Development, and Health and Wellness

Using gaming to engage employees has been proven effective in a number of different scenarios. Here are three stages of the employment process where gamification has been successful. How does your company use gamification to engage employees?  

Professional Development: Using gamification to both teach employees lessons and create simulated real life situationscan be the most effective and lowest-risk solution to training employees. Using gaming allows employees to encounter uniqueand difficult workplace situations. This is effective both for the organization to communicat
e the training, and for the employee to feel they are encountering the training point in a close to real simulation . Giving small rewards, such as gift cards, at the end of this type of often long, intense training game can reinforce the importance of learning and growing in the workplace.
Health and Wellness: Traditionally we have seen this tactic used as a health and wellness program motivator, using the game to either create friendly competition within the office, or track individual health goals. According to a survey released in March by Towers Watson, 60% of employees (of a 500 person sample) indicated they would engage in some type of gaming along with other types of competition against other individual employees or other employee groups. Using small rewards for "winning" employees or employee teams, such as gift cards, can show both appreciation for effort, and organizational support for the employees' achievement in their quest to live a healthier lifestyle.

For more information about using gamification at any point in the employment process check out this Forbes article.