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How can social media in particular help optimise business operations?
Social media is a great way of involving all stakeholders in a company – especially one going through a period of change or transition. It can turn the most mundane of tasks into something a whole lot more enjoyable, expressive, and at the same time keep both employees and customers in tune with the experiences of the transition. The transformation of business processes shouldn’t be a secret; everyone who has a stake or an interest in the company should be able to engage- Social media can help facilitate that.
Gamification is a pretty unconventional area to implement in everyday business. How can it be applied to business transactions and services?
For employees, Gamification has been used particularly when employees are going through complex procedures and/or a period of change in their company. Companies that have been using this work hard/play hard motto have noticed significant results.
Pharmaceutical company Omnicare introduced Gamification to improve its IT service desk operating model. Omnicare found that by introducing an automated OmniQuest game, which included achievements, rewards in the form of badges, and real-time feedback within the ServiceNow platform, it realised 100% participation from team members.
By introducing this game technique into the enterprise it motivated employees to perform specific behaviours. It also improved morale and excitement around tasks, projects, and even job roles. These are the kind of responses many companies or organisations have experienced since introducing gamification strategies.
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How do you think gamification and social media will be applied to general business use in the future? Do you foresee any particular trends?
Engagement and participation will be crucial. The technologies and techniques that have made social media and gamification so successful in the consumer-world must be applied to enterprises. We’re starting to see that in some pockets – none yet in the Enterprise Architeture or Business Process Management areas. However, the time is right for us. With EA and BPM it’s about being able to better understand your organization, and make decisions that will positively impact their performance. In order to have faith in the direction you are taking – you must have confidence in the data that you are basing these decisions on – in terms of the quality of the data and the quality of the data. Social Media and gamification techniques can be leveraged to ensure you are getting more and more people involved making work more fun and engaging.
How can businesses implement gamification to see a positive ROI?
Let’s take a look at a case study from the skincare industry. Galderma is an international laboratory for the development and commercialisation of dermatological products, which was created as a joint venture between Nestlé and L’Oreal. In 2011, Galderma presented its sales force with a relatively traditional game: players could work individually or in groups to advance their avatar along a path riddled with quizzes and situational role-plays. The purpose of the game was to reinforce staff knowledge of Galderma products, encourage people to share ideas and exchange good practices, and to build team spirit. Game participation was voluntary, but it was popular with 92 per cent of those targeted participating. In the end, the game not only strengthened Galderma’s sales force, it also measurably increased company sales.
Social CRM is a main area that businesses are leveraging social media currently. How can gamification play into that?
By introducing gamification into areas such as surveys, client relationship management can be boosted massively. It improves morale and excitement around the relationship, and around the tasks, projects and even job roles of your clients. These are the kind of responses many customers and organisations have experience since introducing gamification strategies into their CRM.
What types of business areas could gamification enhance?
Almost every business, and function with the business, can use gamification. The idea behind Gamification came from the combination of the concepts work and play. Industry experts say that introducing "play" to customers and employees will help companies and organisations achieve desirable results. Gamification methods can be used for both the customer and employee. This theory works by providing customers or employees with a sense of achievement and reward which can change their knowledge sharing behaviours.
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