Sunday, August 5, 2012

Gamification for enterprise 2.0







Enterprise 2.0 is a tool that can help workers in the company, customers of the company and suppliers for the companies collaborate, share, and exchange information and ideas via Web 2.0 technologies. Andrew McAfee, who is a Professor of Harvard Business School and runs a business Impact of IT blog, says Enterprise 2.0 is something like “the use of emergent social software platforms within companies, or between companies and their partners or customers” (McAfee, Andrew-“Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization’s Toughest Challenges” HBR, 2009).

Enterprise 2.0 has a four-sided description:


  • It is an application of Web 2.0.
  • It is a technology that can connect people together from online communities.
  • It is a quick social software platform within companies, between companies and the customers and associates.
  • It will be the next generation of Enterprise Content Management
Following is an example:

Avery Dennison had sales of $6.3 billion in 2007, and is ranked 382 on the 2007 Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations. Combined with Paxar, the Company's latest acquisition, the Company now employs more than 30,000 individuals in over 60 countries worldwide who develop, manufacture and market a wide range of products for both consumer and industrial markets. The company wants to help employees determine strategy more quickly and find different knowledge in different departments so that they can simplify their work and improve their productivity. Social media technology provided an open communication platform to complete this target—excellent example of Enterprise 2.0.

In the first 18 months’ experimenting, the use of Enterprise 2.0 made a huge impact. There were 8,000 of 12,000 full-time non-contractual employees who took part in the platform. They made more than 500 communities. The company then extended it to all of the contract employees, temporary employees and interns. Enterprise 2.0 provided a quick, accurate, inspirational platform to the company to connect all the employees together and make them contribute with maximum efficiency.




Gamification is the process of transferring game mechanics to other areas, for example learning situations, work situations or social networks. Its purpose is to increase the acceptability and interest of these applications based on the human predisposition to games.

It has recently allowed companies to encourage behaviors that could be considered irrelevant or out of the ordinary, i.e. fill out a survey, buy a product, look at advertisements or assimilate information. It improves the user experience by offering psychological and emotional rewards developing a real game.

Enterprise gamification is growing quickly: 197% growth in 2012. The market will grow from $100M in 2011 to over $2.8B in 2016.

To be successful a game has to respect the game mechanics, that is to say some key aspects that are commonly identified to games. The report “Gamification101: An Introduction to the Use of Game Dynamics to Influence Behavior” identify the following key mechanics:
  • Points
  • Levels
  • Challenges
  • Virtual goods and spaces
  • Leaderboards
  • Gifts and charity
A successful game will also provide the players a sense of achievement and competition, a space of self-expression and some rewards.

Here are a few examples of applications of the concept in business functions:

Marketing / Community Management
  • Offer a consumer-immersive experience through game
  • Build loyalty by rewarding the act of purchasing
  • Create a community of consumers closer to you
  • Animate your community by the game
  • Learn more about your customers
  • Be more viral
  • Create a whole brand universe
  • Observe the reaction of the public in a “gamified” universe
  • Positively influence a consumer behavior 
 
Hiring :

  • Place the candidate in real situation without the stress of the real word
  • Get a wider reach of prospective candidates
  • Have an easy first evaluation of candidates
  • Get a reliable overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates
  • Decrease recruitment costs
Example :
L’Oreal has created a recruitment campaign named “Reveal”. Participants in the game score points based on their behavior and responses they offer to different situations. Players evolve in a real, and dynamic environment. The profiles of the candidates are then selected based on their score.


 
Teaching / Learning:
  • Make the learning process more entertaining
  • People are more active in the learning process and thus they get more from the learning experience
  • Allow to create crisis or unusual situations
  • Play with complexity and introduce more fortuity in the experience
  • Track and improve performance based on accurate feedback 
It is especially useful to teach management best practices, risk management and everything that needs the appropriate action of a group because of its “social” features.


SAP internal sales training

Gamification for Enterprise 2.0 (Internal)

The idea of “gameplay” in the office during office hours is almost preposterous. More collaborative efforts, real time co-operation and work, faster communications and a generally more enjoyable work environment has already been realized using Enterprise 2.0 / Social media in work related activities.

In addition, businesses should try fusing gamification into enterprise 2.0. Games fused with the enterprise 2.0 would be games requiring skills, understanding, thought process, etc...,to encourage friendly rivalry, competitions and the concept of remunerations / awards for the workers that excel in said games. The focus should be on making enterprise 2.0 applications social and fun, while still focusing on business productivity.


Advantages of Gamification in Enterprise 2.0

  • Participation of employees in said games in the enterprise 2.0 platform fosters relationships in the workplace which drives productivity and business
  • Drives motivation of the employees. With games pitting departments and even workers against each other for specific prizes (monetary, gifts or just bragging rights) workers are more motivated and encouraged to put in more effort….business performance and productivity is therefore is increased
  • Makes feedback loops more rapid and decentralized
  • Easier and faster means of communication between employees
  • Collaborative efforts among employees in the same/different departments become easier, and less stressful.

Risks of Enterprise 2.0
  • The fear of 3rd party applications through api’s on the enterprise 2.0 may allow the use of less business related games and therefore, not maintaining the business focus of gamification.
  • Humans ultimately get tired of things; the novelty of gamification in enterprise 2.0 might wear off
  • Some workers might not understand or be interested in the “gameplay” idea or the mechanics of the games and therefore, not participate as much as required
  • Shift in the focus of the employees from getting the work done to the rewards of the ‘’games’’ 

Some companies that have started using the Gamification concept in enterprise 2.0 are:

The Salesforce software used by marketers and customer relationship management in companies, adopted the actionable software for applying Gamification in the enterprise 2.0 platform;

Nitro for Salesforce; 



Engage for Salesforce




Level Up designed by Bunchball for IBM Connects


IBM for example, gamified their document translation process and awarded points to employees who helped translate documents which translated to earning money for their charities. This Gamification process improved accuracy, reduced internal project time, reduced costs in the tune of millions in translation costs. See full story here.

SAP, Cisco, Dell, Microsoft, Volvo are also businesses using Gamification in the enterprise 2.0 platform, more info here.


Gamification for Enterprise 2.0 (external)

Burberry’s simple game

Burberry, one of the UK’s most recognized high-end fashion retailer’s, has pioneered the use of social media from back office to front sales staff. (Social Whirl, The Economist) The benefits that Enterprise 2.0 has brought to the company’s operations have allowed them to view the benefits of engaging with their customers in a very simple form of gamification and the existing Enterprise 2.0. Alluding to individual’s vanity and propensity to share pictures, Burberry hosts the Art of the Trench website where their customers can upload pictures of themselves in one of Burberry’s classic garments: The Trench Coat. There are more examples in this Forbes article


 “Leaderboards” are then presented by “Most Liked” and “Most Comments” categories; Burberry has leveraged the present need of individuals to be accepted, or “Liked” on social media to find out more about them. All of this by providing a trendy portal where their customers can interact, feel close to the brand, and rank each other; a simple game of ranking; a genius way to tap into your target segment’s thoughts and opinions.


Adidas’ miCRM

Another top international retailer that has combined the power of social media with gamification is Adidas with its micoach Soccer Iphone app.

ITunes Preview

The individual player can track his/her every move on the field with a built-in chip in his/her cleats. This entire information is uploaded to the micoach Soccer App where the player can share, compare and compete with other individuals by displaying their statistics. Adidas incorporates the users Facebook or Twitter accounts to create a profile and validate identities, as well as a place where participants can display the rewards granted in recognition by Adidas. In addition, Adidas provides credit that can be used to purchase footwear and apparel. Micoach Soccer engages the user while allowing Adidas to gather valuable customer information that it can leverage for its future product offerings, in an interactive type of CRM that is basically only bringing existing social media together with a proprietary app. Micoach has also been developed for other disciplines including Tennis, Running, and Basketball.


Businesses use Gamification to capture external audience’s attention and get them engaged; this same concept can be used for employees within a business grasping their full attention at work through the use of Enterprise 2.0 and engage them in work processes and functions through the use of games and activities.


Gamification could even be the future, where workers get paid only for services rendered. This could be achieved from home: as you complete tasks and projects, you get paid. Progress can be monitored through Enterprise 2.0/Game platform; hours/work put in is then paid on the agreed upon rate. The concept of Work Hard, Play Hard can take on a whole new meaning!


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