Gamification is not a magical wand that can be waved to suddenlytransform an organization and culture. Those who have embraced gamification knowthat simply introducing points, badges, or leaderboards on an application orplatform does not guarantee success. Here are five situations in which youshould probably say no to gamification.
1. Your system is broken to begin with
If a home lacks a solid foundation, simply putting a newcoat of paint on the walls will not make much of a difference. Similarly, gamifyinga system that is not working has little chance of success.
“If your expenses system is so hard to use that people areoften late or don’t bother using it, consider why before you considergamification,” advises gamification guru Andrzej Marczewski. “Is it because you need 40 video tutorials to understand how itworks? If that is the case, the system probably needs to be simplified.”
Blogger Mairead Quigley of G2G3 agrees. “Gamification will not improve behaviors aroundprojects, processes, or activities which are currently problematic in any way,”she writes. “Address the problem, don’t dress the problem.”
2. You don’t know your audience
In a July 2016 post on eLearningMind.com, Andrew Fayad stresses theimportance of identifying what motivates your learners before diving intogamification. “Dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit will motivate a reactionfrom the rabbit. But you wouldn’t dangle a carrot in front of a frog,” henotes. “The same goes for game mechanics in learning. Rewards and leadershipboards might work well with someone who is highly motivated by achievement andstatus, whereas an avatar feature would better engage someone who is highlymotivated by self-expression.”
3. You are educating about sensitive topics
Since gamification brings an element of lighthearted fun tolearning, it is not a wise choice for topics that are highly sensitive orserious. Subjects such as sexual harassment training or Title VII anti-discriminationlaws are not appropriate fodder for gamification. Likewise, it would be inpoor taste to use gamification to teach employees how to notify the next of kinabout a workplace fatality.
4. You seek a one-size-fits-all solution
There is a myththat the younger generation embraces gamification while older workers eschewit, but the workforce is diverse, and its members can’t be put into neat littleboxes. Although many employees of all ages respond favorably to gamification,others do not. That is why classroom and textbook training are still popular.Gamification must be considered as part of an overall strategy.
