Gamification for Arresting AttritionMadhusudan RaoResearch Scholar

@madhugr

Gamification

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Gamification is soon moving into trough of disillusionment

Analysts say that only 20% of gamification implementations will succeed by 2014

Is it true? If so, why do you think so?

• Failure to design use-cases applicable within enterprise• Force-fitting gamification does not help• Understanding psychology of people involved will

increase chances of success

My talk today

• Deals with one of the top issues within Indian IT Organization – attrition

• Faced by all, irrespective of size, scale, location – any guesses on the attrition % in organizations?

• Gamification has an inherent advantage – Motivation factor

• Target audience is Next-Gen (One in every five Facebook users play games each month – half billion global FB users)

• Corpville fills this space in the organization – let us see how?

Teams

• They are the same across different fields – whether it is Information Technology, Cricket, football or even Bollywood

• Team-work is essential in our daily lives but heavily under-rated

It is all about teams

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Picture courtesy: fans.fcbarcelona.com

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Teams

• For effective teams, very important pre-requisite is a good Manager

• Teams have their own complexities and the Manager is expected to overcome all!

• Let us look at some examples

'Superstar' players

Picture courtesy: indianexpress.com

Managing Super 'egos'

Picture courtesy: indianexpress.com

Picture courtesy: flickr.com

Picture courtesy : cdn.dravenstales.ch

Troubled relationships from past

Picture courtesy: indiatimes.com

Picture courtesy: foxsports.com.au

Multi-national team composition

Picture courtesy: smh.com.au

Are we asking for too much?

• Is the Manager equipped to carry out these expectations?

• Does the Manager know what the team needs are?• Do certifications (e.g. PMP, CSM) help him in the

people aspect?• Does he/she have the tools to help the team

perform?• Is the team performing to its fullest potential?

What is the major impact when a Manager does not perform?

Attrition

Causes for attrition

Impact of attrition

• Organization loses a valuable asset• Project loses knowledge• Manager faces customer pressure• Next steps – the team then has to

– Identify replacement– Incur additional re-training costs– Realign team spirit

Is the Manager tuned in to his team's mood swings?

Is it possible at all ?

How do we reduce attrition?

Let us try to change the way we work!

How?

Increase motivationEquip the manager

Identify behavioral trends

INCREASE MOTIVATIONReducing Attrition

New Motivational Hierarchy

Source – "Management Guru" Gary Hamel’s interpretation of Maslow’s Hierarchy for the info-age

Passion and zeal: for whom their job is not only intellectually meaningful it is indeed spiritually meaningful to them. Enormous meaning comes out of their work.

Human creativity: brought by people who would ask how to do this in a fundamental different way? What is there to learn from other industries? Where are the chances for radical innovation in this product/service?

Initiative: take ownership for a problem, an opportunity before you ask them, not bound by a definition of their job

Intellect: take responsibility for their own skills, bring best practices to the work place

Diligence: work hard, stay focus, long hours etc.

Obedience: show up, do the job

Case Study – Brand Velocity

• Founded by Jack Bergstrand inspired by Peter Drucker's Post Capitalist Society

• Jack developed a points system instead of a hierarchical-based compensation system

• Points are awarded for – selling great work, – delivering great work, – recruiting and developing a diverse group of people

• E.g. $500,000 gross margin equals 500,000 points– $125,000 for leading the sale– $ 75,000 distributed for assisting the sale– $ 150,000 for leading the delivery,– $ 150,000 distributed for assisting the delivery

EQUIP THE MANAGER,IDENTIFY BEHAVIORAL TRENDS

Reducing Attrition

Introducing CorpVille

Corpville

Components

Tasks

PBL

Rewards for work done, celebrations, support themes, events

Time-sensitive – special tasks if they are qualified

Tasks are selected by employees but few tasks are suggested by Managers

Points (WS coins), Badges, Leaderboards

Gain real insights into employee behavior; align with rewards platform; insights into strategic plans

For awarding, redeeming, trading, gifting, and exchanging “WS coins”

ExchangeChallenges

DecorationsAnalytics

Use-cases

Benefits

To summarize

• If implemented properly, Corpville can become the eyes and ears of the Manager

• Metrics gleaned can provide valuable insights into his/her team

• Corpville helps organizations – reduce attrition, – increase productivity, – improve morale

Happy teams

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