Articles-Thought Leadership Is Healthcare Ready for Gamification? | Page 3

“When people are more informed about what’s happening in
their environment and they know how to progress, learn, or leave
an impact, they’re more committed to their career, and more
satisfied with their job performance and the quality of their life.
With gamification, a healthcare professional doesn’t have to wait
to know how they’re performing or what is next. They’re able
to harness that themselves and impact their own journey,”
Gamification makes the idea of “what’s in it for me” visible
by transforming the thinking around performing a job.
Sorrentino explains, “Usually an employee thinks of a list of
tasks as items that they have to complete. Gamification
changes the employee’s motivation by turning the task into
something that he or she wants to complete. Gamifying the
task allows the employee to understand how the task
applies to the things that he or she cares about.”
Gaining status among a community also motivates people,
and gamification has tapped into this as well. Sorrentino
explains, “It’s a matter of uncovering what is important to
people and applying these concepts of status, earning
points, and community to everyday activities or job
performance. It’s not simply a digital idea—the concept of
status is pervasive in our everyday life and predates digital
concepts. For example, this is why it’s important for a
doctor to have letters behind his or her name.”
With some gamified programs, the participants do not get
anything in exchange for their participation except knowing
that they are learning or contributing to the community.
Bunchball has found that intrinsic motivation is much more
powerful than receiving a reward for participating.
Sorrentino says that most often users would rather know
that they’ve made an impact on themselves or others
rather than receive a prize.
Is Gamification Only for Millennials?
There are generational diversities across every workforce,
but in the healthcare industry the average age of the
nursing population is over fifty. In discussing whether
gamification draws pushback from the older generations,
Sorrentino suggests that this is where illuminating the
differences between gamification and a game is
exceptionally helpful. “With gamification we are not asking
the community to learn something new. It just makes
visible the work that people are already doing and reveals
how they can do it better. No matter the age, most
people want to know where they stand, how they
compare to others, and what’s next in their career. That is
not generational—that is an intrinsic attribute of all
workers,” Sorrentino explains.
Another major benefit for tenured employees is the
immediate status that gamification can provide them
within their community. As nurses move through their
clinical ladders or obtain certifications, these programs can
designate them as ambassadors or grant them higher
status. People love to be thought of as a leader and to be
recognized for accomplishments. “This is a major
motivator for nurses who have been in their profession for
a long time but may not have the title of a supervisor or
are not being recognized for their experience.”
Gamification can give recognition to these accomplished
professionals by acknowledging certifications, years served,
and experience.
An Alternative to Performance Reviews
There is a trend toward big and small companies
eliminating the annual performance review, and
Sorrentino says that gamification can be used to replace
what can be a negative experience for employees. She
adds, “How demotivating is that to not know how you’re
performing until the end of the year? What makes it even
worse is finding out that you’re not doing well.”
By using game mechanics, employees and their managers
can know how they are performing on a day-to-day basis.
Sorrentino comments, “A lot of employees experience
ambiguity around how they are seen by their organization.
Gamification can provide clarity by creating transparency