We found another partner who thinks, like us, that work should be more FUN. London-based Gamification Nation became the latest affiliate this week to sign on to sell our employee engagement software.
Humans are hardwired to play — and derive pleasure — from games. Dating back to ancient civilizations, we’ve assembled teams and played sports. In the modern world, we go outside and play games, like soccer, football, baseball, and tennis. We go inside and play video games. We stroll around town, eyes glued to our phones, playing Pokemon Go.
We do this because it’s fun. Shouldn’t work be more like that?
The millennial generation, currently 50% of the workforce and huge gamers, sure thinks so. We think so, too. So does Gamification Nation, a leading provider of gamification design for government organizations and companies seeking to infuse more fun and energy to the workplace. The firm’s leader, An Coppens, is a frequent speaker at gamification conference around the world and she’s published a book on the subject, Gamification in Business. She recently blogged about our goal management software, MyObjectives, which incorporates game mechanics.
“Studies show that employee engagement is very low, particularly in Europe,” said Gamification Nation leader, An Coppens, whose titled appropriately as Chief Game Changer. “Thanks to games and social media we’ve grown used to having immediate feedback, but that’s not happening with annual appraisal process once or twice a year. We love MyObjectives because employees receive input in real time in a fun way.”
Our company, Alliance Enterprises, developed our MyObjectives software several years ago, and greatly benefited from using it ourselves. The program aligned everyone at the company around the important growth goals our CEO Chris M. Pieper established. Employees rallied around the vision by using the fun and engaging software, which was a big reason we’ve been able to quadruple revenue over the past eight years.
MyObjectives includes game elements to the goal setting and achievement process. It features real-time scorecards, friendly competitions between teams and ongoing rewards (think: going after Pokemon characters in the shape of red, yellow and green circles).
Gamification Nation will market MyObjectives, throughout Europe and the Middle East.
“This is a great partnership because our company and theirs strongly believe that it’s time to blow up the broken system of performance management that centers on annual employee reviews,” said Pieper. “It’s time for more fun, and better communication and collaboration among teams at work. Humans have always loved playing team games, and we offer a science-backed solution that taps into this elemental passion, resulting in higher employee engagement and greater productivity.”
Want to add more fun to your work? Check into it here.