A little fun improves performance and reduces employee turnover

Go ahead and admit it. You’ve been known to play a game or two of computer Solitaire while at work. Maybe so much so that you’re an expert at hitting the “boss button” that brings up that impressive fake spreadsheet on your monitor.

But what if your boss encouraged you to play online games as a reward for performance? And offered prizes – gift cards and refillable debit cards, for example – for doing so.

Not in this lifetime, right?

Don’t be so quick to discount this sneaky tactic that has been proven to improve productivity in the workplace for workers of all ages.

Employers everywhere are discovering that employees playing games as a reward for performance can be a good thing. In fact, a very good thing.

Enhancing metrics

Andy Orr, president of Press One, a call centre located in Old Town Fort Collins, USA said, “we’re always looking for a way to enhance our metrics. Call center metrics are usually cut and dried but not always achievable.”

That changed when one day Brooks Mitchell, professor of management at the University of Wyoming and founder of Snowfly, a company that designs, implements and administers workforce incentive programmes, popped in with some cookies and a demo of his product, Snowfly Capstone.

Orr said he treated it like any other sales call. But before dismissing the product, however, he ran the demo and saw that it aligned with his call-centre metrics and offered a way to keep “service levels right in front of our agents.” That it meant the potential to increase their compensation levels was all the inducement agents needed to give it a try.

The 170 agents, most of whom are part-time employees, can earn an additional amount per hour as a result of playing the games. The size or type of award the player wins is left up to chance, much like playing the slots in Las Vegas.

Snowfly’s approach to employee motivation involves four themes: immediate recognition, relevant incentive rewards, accountability and the behaviour-changing power of intermittent positive reinforcement.

How it works

Program participants are informed of specific goals they need to achieve and/or desired actions they need to demonstrate. Upon meeting these goals, participant accounts are credited with points and/or game tokens. Participants use tokens to play a quick online game that will randomly yield up to 5,000 points.

Gamers redeem points and receive a reward of their choice – a reloadable debit card, Amazon.com merchandise or gift cards to national retailers and restaurants.

Initially about 60% of agents at Press One played Snowfly games and now it’s 100%, Orr said. Rewards are loaded onto debit cards.

“Call-center jobs can be limited in their reward other than pay,” Orr said. “Sometimes they deal with irate customers, and they have to say the same thing over and over. This (the game) helps when you’re sitting for four or five hours – to play a game of chance they can’t lose, but the results are different every time. There’s mystery, intrigue.”

Another benefit has been a 60% reduction in employee turnover. “Especially since we increased what (playing the game) is worth,” Orr noted.

All this from playing a game?

And the best part of these games? Anyone of any age can play. You don’t need a game controller – or a teenager – to help you win.