Get 80% of your employees learning. This is how you do it! (Part 3)
Author
Annet Nimeijer
Get 80% of your employees learning. This is how you do it! (Part 3)
In a series of blogs I will share with you my advice for getting at least 80% of your employees learning by the means of gamification. In my previous blogs, you’ve read about the different types of players and how to set up a competition. In this blog, I will share some tips on the secret of motivating employees.
Who will take the lead?
Just like in sports, during which a coach and a referee are indispensable, it is not at all different when it comes to a learning competition. Having a supervisor who monitors the competition and makes adjustments where needed. This supervisor carries out four tasks:
Motivating contestants
Teams perform better when they have a coach who encourages them. The coach is someone who helps the team perform at their upmost best. A team simply needs someone to motivate each player and who makes them aware of their goals. How, you ask? This can be done in several ways. For instance, mailing an updated interim score to all participants. This action cuts both ways, for it is also a great one to stimulate competitors on developing themselves further. They are motivated and on top of that, the competition is paid attention to too.
Specifically by approaching learning as something positive, you’ll see people are inclined to get going. Therefore, when sending emails, don’t pay attention to people who are not doing so ‘great’ (not getting that many points / inactive participants). Everyone learns differently and at their own pace.
A positive message contains, for instance, the following information:
Teams that have caught up with the rest
Teams with the highest level of motivation
Top scores
High activation percentages
However, this does not mean some participants won’t need the big stick every now and then. So if in general, things are running a bit slow, it’s okay to pay attention to that.
Keep up with the course of the competition, but don’t be too strict.
As in any competition, there will be cheaters. This is an undesired element of your organized competition of course. The supervisor should therefore watch the course of the competition. Emphasize the added value of learning for each participant’s personal growth. Don’t be too strict though. Through showing the competitors the competition’s loopholes, you apply to the ‘explorer’s’ desires.
Give learning the attention it deserves.
The more attention you pay to the competition being the supervisor, the more all of the teams will get going. If you launch your competition just casually, then the chances of it coming to life are very small. If you want your competition to be a succes, then you have to be enthusiastic about it yourself as well. A short introduction clip always does the trick. Another example is an official prize-giving ceremony or placing a scoreboard against the wall. The latter is a must for all ‘achievers’, they are specifically triggered to put in some extra effort when they see a scoreboard.
Gain support from your managers.
Not unimportant either: Involve the supervisors or managers with the competition. When the managers are included in the competition, and are part of a team, it will have a positive result on the activation numbers. For on one hand, the manager carries out an exemplary turd: ‘’If the manager takes part in the competition, then the competition itself must be important’’. On the other hand, the managers are able to encourage their teams as being their ambassador.
Third half
Time for reflection and evaluation. After the competition, the level of activation on the platform will go down again, which is fine; it comes with the territory. It’s impossible to stay focused the whole entire time. The tension curve should be given a chance to gain its, well, tension back! Therefore, regard the third half of the competition as time to reflect, evaluate and re-energize for the next learning journey.
The manager’s task(s) have been written down in this blog. Now it’s time to start motivating the employees. In the next and final blog, you can find the indispensable tips for creating a successful learning journey. Continue reading here!
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Get 80% of your employees learning. This is how you do it! (Part 3)
In a series of blogs I will share with you my advice for getting at least 80% of your employees learning by the means of gamification. In my previous blogs, you’ve read about the different types of players and how to set up a competition. In this blog, I will share some tips on the secret of motivating employees.
Who will take the lead?
Just like in sports, during which a coach and a referee are indispensable, it is not at all different when it comes to a learning competition. Having a supervisor who monitors the competition and makes adjustments where needed. This supervisor carries out four tasks:
Teams perform better when they have a coach who encourages them. The coach is someone who helps the team perform at their upmost best. A team simply needs someone to motivate each player and who makes them aware of their goals. How, you ask? This can be done in several ways. For instance, mailing an updated interim score to all participants. This action cuts both ways, for it is also a great one to stimulate competitors on developing themselves further. They are motivated and on top of that, the competition is paid attention to too.
Specifically by approaching learning as something positive, you’ll see people are inclined to get going. Therefore, when sending emails, don’t pay attention to people who are not doing so ‘great’ (not getting that many points / inactive participants). Everyone learns differently and at their own pace.
A positive message contains, for instance, the following information:
However, this does not mean some participants won’t need the big stick every now and then. So if in general, things are running a bit slow, it’s okay to pay attention to that.
As in any competition, there will be cheaters. This is an undesired element of your organized competition of course. The supervisor should therefore watch the course of the competition. Emphasize the added value of learning for each participant’s personal growth. Don’t be too strict though. Through showing the competitors the competition’s loopholes, you apply to the ‘explorer’s’ desires.
The more attention you pay to the competition being the supervisor, the more all of the teams will get going. If you launch your competition just casually, then the chances of it coming to life are very small. If you want your competition to be a succes, then you have to be enthusiastic about it yourself as well. A short introduction clip always does the trick. Another example is an official prize-giving ceremony or placing a scoreboard against the wall. The latter is a must for all ‘achievers’, they are specifically triggered to put in some extra effort when they see a scoreboard.
Not unimportant either: Involve the supervisors or managers with the competition. When the managers are included in the competition, and are part of a team, it will have a positive result on the activation numbers. For on one hand, the manager carries out an exemplary turd: ‘’If the manager takes part in the competition, then the competition itself must be important’’. On the other hand, the managers are able to encourage their teams as being their ambassador.
Third half
Time for reflection and evaluation. After the competition, the level of activation on the platform will go down again, which is fine; it comes with the territory. It’s impossible to stay focused the whole entire time. The tension curve should be given a chance to gain its, well, tension back! Therefore, regard the third half of the competition as time to reflect, evaluate and re-energize for the next learning journey.
The manager’s task(s) have been written down in this blog. Now it’s time to start motivating the employees. In the next and final blog, you can find the indispensable tips for creating a successful learning journey. Continue reading here!