Gamechanger: How gamification revolutionizes employee engagement

Keeping employees motivated is critical to a company's success. Yet many producing organizations struggle with a lack of engagement, resulting in lower productivity and substantial financial losses in the long term. Gamification can influence these trends in a positive way, and Körber's venture vaibe provides just the right software solutions.

We all love the thrill and excitement of a good game. However, while games may inspire gamification in the workplace, their primary purpose is to motivate and engage employees in non-game activities to increase engagement, motivation, and desired behaviors. Nick Retzmann, Chief Growth and Product Officer, and Tiago Sottomayor, Chief Technology Officer at Körber's venture vaibe are convinced that gamification is ideally suited to make mundane responsibilities more fun and substantially increase employee engagement. 

This is important because the lack of motivation and commitment has become a real concern for many companies in a number of industries. Disengaged employees show lower productivity and exhibit higher absenteeism. A decline in the quality of services and products is just as much a consequence as a high rate of employee turnover when employees are mentally "checking out".

According to the renowned research institute Gallup, only 23 percent of employees worldwide are engaged in both their work and workplace. Their “State of the Global Workplace Report 2024”¹ also concludes that 62 percent of employees are not engaged at all, and as many as 15 percent are actively disengaged.

There are two sides to this issue: on the one hand, it is about the satisfaction and well-being of workers and employees. They often feel overworked, unappreciated, and left alone with their worries. The result is stress, anxiety, and loneliness, which can lead to health problems and withdrawal from colleagues and employers. On the other hand, employees who are highly motivated, engaged, and enjoy their work environment increase the performance and productivity of any organization. 

Again, the Gallup study shows convincing results, for example: 

So, what does this mean for critical sectors like supply chain and logistics for industries with many repetitive tasks? And, more to the point, what can be done about it?

"This is precisely what we asked ourselves," says Nick Retzmann. "With these alarming figures for 'quiet quitting' in mind and Körber’s deep experience in process handling in these industries, the obvious solution was to do something for its employees." The challenge now is increasing employee engagement, motivation, and operational efficiency. 

Advances in gamification 

"And we've found it by including a gamification layer," says Tiago Sottomayor. "The idea behind it is to combine top-notch warehouse management software with a concept like gamification, bringing together the best of both worlds." Thus, a new business was born at Körber. Combining the established, successful supply chain software with gamification technology and its rapid further development led to the corporate venture vaibe.

However, gamification itself is nothing new. Ultimately, it's about people's desire for rewards, recognition, the opportunity to learn and grow – and yes, a bit of healthy competition. Gamified features have been around in the consumer market for ages, starting with loyalty programs collecting stamps for example. Nowadays, in the digital era, it is well-known from fitness or language learning apps, where you can receive awards or kudos or get on a high score list. "What's new is applying this concept to the B2B sector," says Sottomayor. "The overall approach is that it has to be something that people actually want to participate in without feeling pressured to do so. It has to be fun."

Gamification is a layer that is adaptable to any industry and can be applied to any dimension within an industry. It can be used for job performance, education, learning, or collaboration with colleagues. "Although gamification is applicable to any industry, with Körber, our core market is the supply chain sector. That's how we started, in warehousing, but we realized it can be applied in other industries. If they have goals to measure and data to track, we can gamify it" says Retzmann.

Bringing behavioral science to the table 

By making tasks fun and challenging, employees are more likely to be motivated and willing to put in the effort required to achieve the desired results. While gamification is about applying gaming principles, behavioral science is the study of people's patterns and reactions and their effects on positive outcomes. "The combination of these two disciplines allows for a better understanding of how people are motivated, how they make decisions, and change their behavior", says Retzmann. "And we harness this knowledge to develop and deliver more attractive game-based activities". 

Behavioral science can reveal valuable insights about what drives our actions and our choices. "With an understanding of intrinsic motivation, we can design game components that enhance people's awareness of their personal responsibility, ability, and belonging, all of which are vital factors in boosting engagement and productivity."

Getting started  

Clear goals and objectives about what to achieve are key to success. It usually starts with identifying the customer's pain points, which can be for example a dip in productivity or the quality of work, a failure to comply with health and safety issues, or how to transform the learning experience of workers and employees. 

Prior to incorporating gamification into the customer's workflow, it is essential to identify areas where gamified elements can improve retention and motivation. "The mechanics of the game must be in line with the workforce's goals and preferences," says Sottomayor. "They need to understand how gamified features work and how to earn rewards or progress. When choosing the appropriate elements, we also consider factors such as simplicity, relevance, and scalability."

Selection of game mechanics

Also, depending on the culture of the customer's company, every challenge or task can be gamified as an individual or as a team challenge. One example: When team spirit is missing, members who have never gone to lunch or had breaks together will be assigned a socializing mission. To win this challenge, they have to team up. Setting specific targets for individuals or teams to achieve can be adapted to an employee's particular needs, abilities, and capabilities or a work shift. "It's always about engaging, and you don't get that by designing challenges or defining goals that only a few can accomplish."

Above all, vaibe provides a tool appreciating the employees. "Our goal is first and foremost to build an engagement and not a performance tracking tool", says Retzmann. This is especially true for warehouse workers, who are fully aware of the target margins they are required to meet. Gamification uses data that already exists in the customer's system and makes it transparent to the worker. "So, they themselves can monitor their performance and how they contribute to the overall outcome of the month. It's valuable to see how one's contribution fit into the bigger picture."

Gamification in different industries 

There are numerous industries that can benefit from gamification and behavioral science. For example, game-based learning makes education more fun and effective in the education sector. In the field of ”Health & Safety”, gamified experiences can inspire people to develop healthier routines, which can improve their well-being. "Also, in the retail industry, where you need to hit high targets, increase sales and keep your customers engaged, and stay loyal to your brand, gamification can do a lot for you," says Retzmann. 

Considering all these opportunities, vaibe offers a white-label solution suitable for any industry. "Basically, we can equip any software with a gamification layer via API and connect it to their system," says Sottomayor. "Similar to how we do it with our supply chain software from Körber." From which the data is retrieved and then gamified. "We want to build and be part of this ecosystem. Therefore, we are in talks with the leading software providers in the industry." The goal is to initiate partnerships to provide each interested party with a gamification powered by vaibe solution.

vaibe's Gamification Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution is tailored to integrate seamlessly with any existing software system. There is no need for complex configuration or hardware.

Partner up: What vaibe can do for you 

A prime example of collaborative ecosystem work is the partnership between Körber, vaibe, and a subsidiary of Indian multinational conglomerate Godrej Körber, which provides automated storage, movement, and inventory handling solutions. Through the gamification of key warehouse KPIs, their customers can achieve measurable improvements in day-to-day operations, with verified outcomes of up to 10 percent performance improvement. vaibe is also an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partner for Zebra, a leading digital solution provider enabling businesses to connect data, assets, and people intelligently. 

"Another example is CIN Coatings, a leading Iberian manufacturer and distributor of paints and varnishes in 15 countries, who were able to increase productivity by five percent in just five months", says Retzmann. Jonny Fresh, a leading mobile laundry service in Germany and Austria, sought a solution to raise driver efficiency during pick-ups and deliveries and improve communication with drivers. "By implementing a gamified strategy, they reached a 96 percent on-time delivery rate and cut delivery delays by 34 percent."

Taking gamification to the next level

The potential for gamification and behavioral science to improve engagement and productivity remains high. New trends and applications arise as technology continually progresses, opening up exciting new ways for organizations to engage their employees and improve performance. The size of the global gamification market has been estimated at 11.6 billion USD in 2023 and is expected to reach 96.2 billion USD by 2033.²

Integrating VR and AR technologies with gamification will make highly engaging and interactive experiences possible. "Gamification and AI integration have huge potential to increase employee engagement," says Sottomayor. Similarly, personalized and adaptive gamification, powered by machine learning algorithms, customizes experiences based on individual ambitions and abilities, maximizing impact and effectiveness. 

Coupling gamification with behavioral research presents a compelling approach to unlocking human productivity and potential. There are multiple ways how to incorporate gamification into an organization:

• Training and development
  Game-based learning tools are effective in helping new and experienced workers learn new skills. Adding gamification to learning platforms improves employee retention and results.
• Revenue growth
  Gamification can be a catalyst for collaboration among sales reps. It rewards not only the final sale but also all the steps leading up to it.
• Company culture
  Corporate culture projects and programs can be gamified to make them more enjoyable. Innovations and changes may be better recognized and understood by employees, ideally leading to more engagement in shaping the corporate culture.
• Customer service
  Gamification can be very helpful in improving customer service and support. Shared successes and rewards motivate and encourage employees to find new solutions and exchange ideas with their colleagues.
• Recruitment and onboarding
  Finding the best and brightest can be difficult. Introducing gamification into HR can effectively attract talent by giving them a sense of what the job entails. Having found a talent, a gamified onboarding process brings a pleasant surprise and delight to the otherwise often grueling and complex undertaking. 

Gamification has proven to be a successful tactic for increasing engagement by making work fun, competitive, and rewarding. Using gamified features such as challenges, leaderboards, and badges to encourage cooperative play and a healthy dose of competitiveness will be integral to employee engagement initiatives through 2025.

"Just think of real-time adaptive learning programs with customized assignments and bonuses tailored to each participant's unique strengths and needs," says Retzmann. With tools that boost knowledge retention, encourage teamwork, and stimulate creativity that conventional methods can't match. "Gamified learning will become more immersive, interactive, and accessible as AI, virtual reality, and augmented reality continue to evolve," adds Sottomayor. And, with more and more companies getting on board, it is now apparent that gamification is more than just hype. It will be a game changer in how employees, workers, and we all learn and grow – personally and professionally.

www.vaibe.com