Research has found that we make thousands of decisions in a day (Sahakian & Labuzeta, 2013). How is that even possible? It’s not possible, because our brain will overload & shut down. However the brain has a secret weapon – it’s called habits. Up to 40% of decisions made by the brain are using habits (Verplanken & Wood, 2006), which greatly reduces the amount of active processing power the brain requires.
How Do Habits Work?
Habits work in loops. So each habit loop starts with a trigger/event. The brain then decides if this requires active thinking or recalling a habit that is stored. Once decided, an action is executed and the brain waits for feedback. If the feedback is good (reward)- it reinforces the habit, if the feedback is bad (pain/negativity), it starts to diminish the habit in the brain. In gamification, game designers use game mechanics that apply habit loops to reinforce the type of behaviours they want to see. If designed properly, gamification can help to enhance positive and constructive behaviours.
Now that we know how habits work, the next question is, what type of decisions and actions are hard coded into habits by our brain? Most of us have this idea that habits are for actions like which hand we use to hold our toothbrush or which route we take to work. We think that habits are formed for the mundane and low level decisions or actions. However, habits are formed based on which decisions or actions that is the most frequently used. The more times we repeat a decision/action, the more likely it will form habits. As such, for a sales professional, the habits that will form are; pitching to clients, handling objections, making cold calls, etc. This means habits often take over the core functions of a person’s job.
Habits In Business Context
Here’s the all important question. Why does a lot of business growth or culture change fail in organisations? It’s because habits overpower any external effort to change the default mode of habits – often known as comfort zones. As such, unless we focus on the behavioural components of habits, any transformation programme will yield little results.
Why does training/e-learning sessions have a high failure rate of retention and sustainability in the workplace? The main reason is habits overpower any attempt by the person to apply new learning in the workplace. Participants need a space where they can unlearn, relearn and then apply the learnings while building new habits – all done before they go back to the workplace.
So then, what do we do? Habits are very hard to break, so we create new habits instead. By using gamified simulations, habit building models, and iterative techniques – we allow people to practice and rapidly develop the target behaviours and habits.
How effective is gamification in the context of learning? With one of our Fortune 500 client, their finance team reported a sales increase of 266% across the board for 300 staff that attended or sales simulations. The way we did it was by building the right habits so that when an event or trigger happens in the workplace, the brain will access the new habits as opposed to the old habits.
So if you are looking for business or behavioural results, make gamification your top consideration when implementing a solution.
This is an interactive article and I would like to invite you to take part in this – creating behavioural change in yourself.
Everyone longs for change. When I say change, it refers to a desirable change. For instance, John has been overworked doing everything by himself and he needs to learn to delegate his tasks to others. However, not everyone is willing to commit to change, simply because they think it is hard.
Before we talk about creating behavioural change, let us take a step back, how does an individual’s behaviour change occur? According to Fogg’s Behaviour Model, behavioural change occurs when the 3 components, namely Motivation, Ability, and Trigger are present at the same time.
Behavioural change = Motivation x Ability x Trigger
Before we dive into the components separately, here is my first question to you:
“What is the ONE behavioural change you would like to see in yourself?”
Motivational
According to Fogg, there are 3 types of motivations, which are physical, emotional and social motivations. Let’s take John as an example and I will demonstrate how to apply gamification in the journey of delegating tasks. If you are wondering what gamification is, basically it is the use of game elements in non-game applications (in this case, to stop overworking) to keep you motivated and engaged in the task.
Physical
From my point of view, another term for physical motivation is extrinsic motivation. As human beings, we have the tendency to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Hence, we are inclined to do certain actions only if we know we will be rewarded. Tying back to the example, in order to make sure John starts delegating his tasks, we can reward him by offering tangible rewards that act as instant gratifications, such as free vouchers for a romantic getaway with his loved one, lunch opportunities with a CEO, etc.
Emotional
From my point of view, emotional motivation refers to intrinsic motivation. According to Growth Engineering, hope is the most powerful motivator in making sure learners are engaged in the task. For instance, give him an Epic Meaning for delegating tasks. What does it mean to him if John changes his current behaviour? By doing so, it gives him a sense of purpose in taking part in something that is meaningful to him.
On the other hand, we could also use fear as another emotion to make sure that he is on track. For instance, we could leverage his fear of burning out mentally, fear of physical exhaustion, etc. Remember why was it so effective when your parents banned you from watching TV or eating dessert if you did not do what they wanted you to do? They utilised your fear of being deprived of the things that you desire as a “motivation”. It can normally be seen in games like Monopoly. For you to win, you need to keep yourself from falling into bankruptcy.
Social
Social motivation is also known as the motivation for belonging. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a sense of belonging is a basic human need and we cannot survive without it. This explains why prisoners are punished by being placed into solitary confinement as this is against human’s instinct to live alone.
Hence, it is common to see a lot of game developers create games that allow players to compete against or cooperate with one another. Besides that, they also include social elements into their games, such as leaderboards, forums, etc.
If John is motivated by having a sense of belongingness and relatedness, you can invite him to join a focus group where he could connect and share stories with colleagues or peers who have had a similar experience.
Here is another question for you: “What motivates you the most?”
Ability
In this model, the ability doesn’t refer to someone’s competency for a particular task. Fogg defines ability as to how simple it is to do a certain task. Simplicity is the key here as the more complicated a task is, the more motivation is required. Here are the 6 key elements that you should take note of when you are minimising your task. Before you proceed to the next question, do check out Fogg’s “Six Elements of Simplicity”.
If John was told to delegate all of his tasks on the very first day, it would seem almost impossible for him. As a result, he might not even start to change as the stakes are too high. It would be so much easier if the task is broken down into parts. Firstly, start with delegating 20% of his tasks, followed with 40%, 60% and so on.
“How would you make your task simpler?”
You’re almost there……
Trigger/Prompts
One last step. If we want to break out from our old lifestyles and achieve something new, we will need a reminder as a trigger. For instance, place post-it notes on your desktop or ask someone to be accountable for your change. As for John’s example, we could ask him to declare the changes he is going to make in front of his colleagues so that they can hold him accountable of his actions by reminding him from time to time.
Here is my last question for you: “What will you be using as your trigger?”
Or, “Who will hold you accountable?”
In a nutshell, make sure that the changes you want to implement really matters to you (motivation), the behaviours are as simple as possible (ability) and prompt yourself to take action in the right way (motivation). Most importantly, find out what keeps you engaged and gamify your process, I can assure you the path towards change is not as hard as it seems anymore.
Written by: Kerry Wong, Head of Gamification Design
The use of “Gamification” is becoming more widespread, as many organisations around the world are adopting the methodology to create positive behavioural change, strong organisational culture, better education and training. Gamification is here to stay but the job is still half done as it is still undergoing massive innovation. Here are 3 trends you need to look out for in gamification.
In the recent 2018 mid-term US elections, Gabe Zichermann collaborated with TBS’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, a late-night talk and news satire programme,and launched a smartphone app called This Is Not a Game: The Game. The purpose of the app was to educate US citizens about the political sphere, test the electorate’s knowledge, and encourage players to vote.
Leading up to the big day, the app offered a daily trivia game, where players answer questions centred on the midterm elections, after which an inaugural pot of $5,000 will then be split among the winners. When players were knocked out, they could earn second chances by completing challenges such as registering as a voter and signing up for election reminders.
As the industry becomes more mature, gamification designs centred on rewards and incentives (extrinsic motivation) will give way to designs centred on making behaviours or tasks actually enjoyable for the participant to carry out (intrinsic motivation). While extrinsic motivation design is very helpful in getting a person to start performing a specific behaviour or task, it has been found that the moment extrinsic motivation is eliminated from the equation, the person will lose interest in continuing to carry out that particular behaviour or task.
For instance, if you want a child to perform well in school, an external incentive will only get you so far. Speaking from my own personal experience, I used to really like studying, I found the whole experience fun and engaging. Then, in my last year of primary education, I got my parents to agree to get me a present if I got good grades. The incentive worked, I was excited and driven, and I eventually got the grades to back it up.
However, once I entered my secondary education, the external incentive was no longer there and I ended up losing my initial motivation to study. The experience was no longer as fun or as engaging as before. I never really understood why until I found out about the impact of extrinsic motivation.
Perhaps a better way my parents could have done to tackle this would be to ignore my request and reassure my effort to foster my sense of self-achievement (PS: I love my parents, mind you). After all, someone who is intrinsically motivated is more likely to continue working on it despite the challenges they may face.
Source: Yu-Kai Chou’s Octalysis Framework – Left Brain (Extrinsic) vs Right Brain (Intrinsic)
In the new age of gamification, a strong and emotionally engaging narrative will be important. For example, Judy Willis, a neurologist wrote in her book that fun experiences increase levels of dopamine, endorphins, and oxygen in the human body – all things that promote learning. So, it is important to incorporate happy and fun experiences when designing a learning programme to nurture these positive emotions, which subsequently leads to a higher retention rate.
Source: iStock
It is interesting to see how gamification has matured as an industry, as well as the shift towards a more intrinsically motivated approach. Can’t wait to see how it would evolve in 2019!
Written by: Sufiz Suffian, Head of Business Development
Gamification is quickly gaining traction all over the world, including Malaysia and can be seen just about anywhere.
In fact, you may have already interacted with elements of gamification numerous times over the past couple of hours, whether it was through social media, e-commerce sites, or while purchasing groceries at your local supermarket.
So before we dive deeper into how gamification has invaded our lives, it is best to first understand what gamification even is.
What Is Gamification?
In my career, I have come across many misinterpretations of gamification. Although the name does include the word “game”, it is often not as simple as that.
Gamification is the concept of using game design elements in non-game applications to make it more fun and engaging. In short, it is essentially behavioural psychology in human-centric design that you can interact with just about anywhere.
Gamification has the capability to motivate an individual to display a particular behaviour or undertake a series of actions for a specific goal or purpose. This is accomplished by encouraging users to engage in these behaviours by showing them a scaffolded path to mastery, and by taking advantage of our human psychological predisposition to engage in gaming.
Gamification involves identifying “player types” and their corresponding motivational drives.
By understanding who your target audience is, you are able to include motivational elements to spur your audience to act in a particular manner that would benefit you and possibly your business.
Moreover, if these motivational elements and desired behaviours occur frequently enough and in the right order, users will begin to develop habits that will keep them coming back for more.
After all, everyone loves games, so why not turn everything into one?
Why Gamification?
Whether it’s collecting points to unlock discounts or prizes during your next purchase, or to earn higher cashback rates by making a transaction at certain business establishments, with the right motivation and the right “reward” (be it intrinsic or extrinsic), businesses have got you right where they want you.
For instance, Facebook alone uses endless elements of gamification, from collecting likes on your recent status update, or having your friends share an article you posted on your page. As of 2017, daily social media usage of global internet users amounted to 135 minutes per day, up from 126 daily minutes in the previous year!
Unsurprisingly, the world has also taken notice of gamification.In 2014, the global gamification market size was approximately USD 960.5 million and is expected to reach USD 22,913.0 million by 2022, at a CAGR of 41.8%.
There is even an increased interest in gamification globally as shown by significantly improved Google search trends for gamification over the years, including in Malaysia.
Google Trends for gamification worldwide.
So what sort of gamification is already out there and what can you learn from them to potentially inject some of it into your own business?
Examples of Gamification
The e-commerce giant Lazada is among many businesses that frequently uses gamification to drive their sales revenue. By shopping via their mobile application, you can access an array of gamified promotions and vouchers. Most have elements of scarcity and/or time limitations to spur users to quickly take action on their purchases.
Example of Lazada’s gamified promotions and vouchers.
What’s more, after getting your first good deal via Lazada, you’ll be motivated to open the app again and again just to chase the next great deal.
Lazada also has “shake rewards” which has become a growing trend among businesses in Malaysia. This includes implementation by mobile wallet Boost, and multinational banking and financial services company Standard Chartered. By using your mobile device’s motion sensors, users can shake their device to gain random rewards or vouchers which they can then redeem during their next purchase.
Example of Lazada’s Shake-It Campaign.Example of Standard Chartered’s Shake & Win Campaign
Another example is DooIt, an online live trivia game show where participants log into their mobile application at certain times of the day to answer a series of questions to win a share of the daily prize money. Yes, actual money.
Advertisements are peppered in between questions and pleasantries by the game show “hosts” while the participants are concentrating hard on their screens to quickly select the correct answers to each question within the limited time. What you have here is a fully engaged audience that have made time in their busy schedules to participate in a game with other like-minded participants (which normally number in the thousands at least) just to win a small share of the prize money.
This creates a unique platform for businesses to advertise their products and services to an audience that is fully listening during an age when advertisements have cluttered every public and virtual space available (think advertisements on billboards, television, radio, websites, etc.).
Gamification has also been used in fields of medical research, particularly AIDS.
For 15 years, many experts in the world were hard at work trying to decipher a crystal structure for one of the AIDS-causing viruses known as the Mason-Pfizer Monkey virus (M-PMV), but were unsuccessful.
The University of Washington’s Center for Game Science collaborated with the Biochemistry department and FoldIt, an online puzzle game about protein folding, was developed. Over 240,000 players all over the world registered for the game and competed against each other. As a result, a solution to the structure of the M-PMV was found in merely 10 days!
This was a major breakthrough in the AIDS research field which these experts could not accomplish in 15 years, while a game did it in a fraction of that time with the help of many competitive gamers.
Image of FoldIt online puzzle game for AIDS research
The simple act of shaking your device, opening a mobile application at specific times of the day, answering trivia questions, or competing against strangers to solve complex puzzles for any kind of reward, be it big or small, creates a feeling of satisfaction, success, achievement or victory for the user which can trigger the release of endorphins (the feel good hormone) in the brain, which makes the user feel better about themselves. It’s no surprise how this can quickly turn into a habit for the user.
It is clear that gamification is nothing to sneeze at and it will continue to grow in relevance throughout the world, including the business world.
Business owners have often been stumped with the problem of generating more revenue, customers, and market share. Just as these PHD-wielding scientists had spent 15 years of their lives trying to solve an equation to the Mason-Pfizer Monkey virus. Perhaps the formula they have been seeking all this time was right under their noses.
The formula was most likely, the often underestimated: gamification.
3 Business Examples Of Deep Gamification In The Workplace
Here are 3 urgent examples to show upper management that team games get teams motivated to work harder and more frequently, and are not just for catchy terms like “team-building” or “team spirit”
By Lex Tan
Current examples get their attention.
When introducing gamification to corporate environments, whether its to a Small Medium Enterprise (SME) or a Multinational Corporation (MNC), there’s always a scramble for solid examples to help overcome skepticism. Here are three concrete examples with hard-hitting facts that will help you shoot down common objections from skeptical colleagues or management.
After all, if you can’t use effective Return On Investment (ROI) stories from companies who invested in gamification and made work enjoyable, what ammunition can you use?
Google – Gamified Travel Policy
Google, the tech behemoth itself, utilizes gamification in its pioneer’s stance towards their open booking approach. This travel policy offers travelers the chance to budget for their itineraries, arrange travel and, if they come in under budget, reserve the difference for future trips.
This appeals to Gamification Guru Yu Kai Chou’s core drives of Ownership and Accomplishment, where these travelers feel like they know better than anyone else how to get the “best deal” for their travel. They are also rewarded indirectly, as they can spend the credit they save on better travel options, like a nicer hotel or a business class flight.
Google has even consolidated its program globally through Carlson Wagonlit Travel and maintains preferred supplier perks and upgrades that employees can bid on with those surplus credits.
Mike Tangney, the global travel manager responsible for this innovative new policy shares, “One guy staying at Mountain View [Google’s global headquarters in California], where the hotel cost on average is $200 a night, was spending $6 a night,” he said. “I called him to ask what he was doing. He said, ‘I love camping, so I’m staying in a campsite in the summer and earning $100 a night in credits so that maybe I can stay in the Four Seasons in the winter.’ “
Clearly, this system has been an effective way to run their travel bookings, while teaching employees how to ‘Spend when you can, save when you need to.’
The instant feedback that employees get of their everyday performance creates an intrinsic drive to constantly improve, even while they’re executing a presentation, chairing a discussion, or participating in work processes.
Their “cards” also help lend their opinions weight, so when it came to voting on decisions in real time, they were able to move execution along faster by going with a majority vote – though not just based on how many hands were in the air, but whose hands they were. This gamified system allowed for the company to realistically implement an “idea meritocracy”.
After running multiple sessions of Think Codex’s off-the-shelf sales acceleration training across 40 branches and 300 employees, our clients internal evaluation system reported a 266% increase in monthly branch revenue after only two months.
Based on Think Codex’s simulation evaluation results, most employees attributed it to higher interest and engagement during the simulation, as well as having “real” examples to anchor their understanding to.
After 3 months, monthly branch revenue reportedly crossed the 300% mark, to the delight of our clients, as well as our designers who redoubled their efforts to improve our simulations.
APEX was built around a concept similar to what is found in Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers”, that to be a master at anything, you would need to put in 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. So we’ve designed an accelerated simulation that allows participants to practice selling a product utilizing Features, Advantages and Benefits (FABs) & Unique Selling Propositions (USPs). Not to mention pitting their upselling skills against some of their biggest competitors and potential buyers – their own colleagues.
To get more information on gamification or our solutions, please contact us so that we can reach out and have a talk with you!
Social Influence & Relatedness refers to a core drive in Yu-Kai Chou’s Octalysis Framework. Simulation Designer Bryan Woo talks about his experience with this core drive and how it guided him to undergo behavioural change in a natural way.
The year was 2012 and I was walking towards campus for my first day at college. It was orientation day and campus was packed with people, mostly parents dropping their children off, and other students making their way from one place to another.
I would be lying to you if I said that I wasn’t nervous. It was a lot to take in, especially when you’re trying to keep up with a pace that you aren’t used to. Growing up in a small town in Perak, Malaysia was rather slow paced as compared to the hustle and bustle of a capital city like Kuala Lumpur.
Photo by Zukiman Mohamad from Pexels
Eventually, my day went on with icebreakers and speeches. I made a few new acquaintances with some of my peers during those activities, but nothing beyond your typical “Hi, nice to meet you, bye” interactions, since most were already part of their own social circles.
So ended my first day of college.
As I walked back to my dorm, I was beginning to worry that I would struggle to make new friends and cope with living away from home. Well, at least until my roommate moved in a few days later. Which to my surprise, was my old high school mate from back home!
Long story short, the next few days got a lot easier after that, especially when socializing with others. I would like to think that having a familiar face around and seeing him enjoy his time here was the catalyst I needed to get out of my shell, and explore my new surroundings.
Bryan breaking out of his shell
Looking back, my experience back in college demonstrated Social Influence and Relatedness – one of the core drives within Yu-Kai Chou’s Octalysis Framework in Gamification. This core drive incorporates social elements that drive people to do activities, when inspired by what other people think, do, or say.
Social Influence refers to activities such as competition, mentorship, collaboration or group quests, companionship, and social treasures. Relatedness, on the other hand, takes about nostalgia and emotional associations, much like how storylines are crafted to appeal to certain audiences.
Shared experiences forge bonds with an institute or group
Tying it back to my time in college, I experienced Relatedness in the form of my old roommate moving in and having a familiar face around from back home. Seeing him interact with new people and experiences has driven me to do the same, hence my being driven by Social Influence.
Humans are considered social beings, and in a majority of our everyday activities we involve at least one or more other people. Activities like team sports, business meetings, working in an office space, church services, or other religious gatherings, etc..
Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels
It is true that we also engage in these activities for other reasons, but there’s no denying that social influence is an equally important drive for each of them.
Hence why gamification initiatives can benefit from tapping into this core drive. A well-designed program can foster genuine motivation and performance in regards to working in collaborative and competitive environments, thus allowing users to embrace new challenges and experiences together with others.
As many organizations start to diversify themselves with more and more millennials, who will soon grow to dominate the workplace, it brings about an interesting challenge: how do you develop and keep your best millennials engaged at work?
2016: Deloitte found that Millennials hold 20% of leadership roles
Interestingly enough, a fun fact about the average millennial is that they spent a staggering 2,000 – 3,000 hours reading books, and 3x that amount playing games before turning 21. Based on those numbers, we can be certain that millennials are very familiar to gameplay & game mechanics. Which brings me to my next point: What if you can tap into a millennial’s familiarity with games and carry that over into his or her learning and development, while at the same time, keeping them engaged at work?
What makes gamification a unique learning approach. is that it is considered a form of “Human-Focused Design”, defined by Yu-kai Chou, an expert in gamification, as a design process specifically revolving around the learner in mind. This process places emphasis especially on the learner’s feelings, motivations, as well as engagement.
Recapture the joy of learning as a kid. – Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
Having said that, organizations can expect increased engagement and retention from their millennial employees, so long as gamification efforts are done with a clear focus of having their millennial employees’ engagement and learning needs in mind.
As a Benjamin Franklin quote goes “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn”. Gamification in learning works best when learners are involved, it doesn’t matter if they are not doing well in the game. It’s the process that matters, meaning games aren’t only meant for the pros.
2. Games are not meant for learning
Growing up, most of us have been told by our parents that games are bad for you, it hinders your learning and you’re better off hitting the books the old-fashioned way. This simply isn’t true.
Depending on the learning outcome you want to achieve and proper game-design, gamification can be a very conducive way for people to simulate real life experiences that prepare them to deal with scenarios they might face later in life. This is done by offering them a chance to roleplay and test their possible responses in a safe environment.
3. Games are for nerds
Gaming is often seen as too complex, and only for the nerds. While we are definitely in the age of the geeks, gamification in learning is often made simple to encourage understanding and engagement.
Older generations tend to be a bit hesitant about gaming, as they didn’t grow up with as much video game exposure as the younger generation today. But saying it’s only for young people is a myth of course, some of the oldest games include chess, go, checkers, poker, etc.
We believe that gamification can be used to target any age group by focusing on different kinds of behaviours and motivators, that align with different types of intelligence, motor skills and preferences. For example, a survey conducted based on Marczewski’s Player and User Types Hexad found that people within the age of 40-50 tend to be philanthropist; Philanthropist prefers collaborating with people and tend to learn through reflective observation. You can find out your own player type here!
5. Gamification is just hype
Some people have written off the rise of gamification as just a “phase”, but we think that gamification is here to stay, as we at Think Codex have seen how gamification has fostered better understanding and synergy in the workplace.
With such incredible results and great feedback from our clients, we are sure that gamification’s growth in Malaysia and around the world will continue.
