Gamifying the work experience has become more popular and an effective way to increase employee engagement in the workplace. “Gamification” is the process of using a sense of reward to encourage someone to take a desired action. In the workplace, gamification is implemented with the goal of employee engagement, as well as e-learning and employee training. Gamification has always existed in sales teams, incentivizing employees to boost their sales through bonuses, vacations, and other enticing prizes.
Ever since COVID-19 hit, the importance of gamifying the work experience has increased. Bonding with new employees virtually may not always be the most interactive experience, but there are ways to change this, specifically for a sales team.
There are multiple other ways to incorporate gamification in the workplace, specifically in a sales role. Incorporating friendly competition between SDRs can sometimes be creative and compelling to boost quotas, as well as providing incentives that motivate employees to interact and get heavily involved in their sales role.
A great source that highlights sales gamification comes from Agile CRM, emphasizing reassessing, motivating, and uniting employees through gamification. My question to companies is “why aren’t you incorporating sales gamification?” It has become an interactive must in every workplace.
How to Gamify Sales from the Start
From the start of being hired at a company, the experience can be gamified. The term “recruitainment,” a combination between recruitment and entertainment, helps explain how recruiters make the hiring process fun and informative. This is especially important for employees who begin from a remote workspace, as they will feel welcomed and more in tune with the company.
There are options such as a virtual reality (VR) office through Hubs by Mozilla. Normally, VR is associated with video games, which is why it is so diverse and interactive to bring into the work-from-home environment that most employees have been forced into, due to the pandemic. This VR office acts as a way to communicate fast with supervisors; it is a great way to feel like you are in the office at your own home.
Even before COVID-19 hit, the VR office served as a great way to provide interaction for team relationship building events outside of normal work hours or for more training. Without this VR office, a newly hired employee, especially remote, may not feel as trained or bonded with the other employees. This is an effective way to train new hires if they can not come in until a certain start date or need extra training outside of the office.
Best Practices for Gamification for Remote Sales Teams
Another way to gamify the work environment is through team relationship building events held through either Zoom or Google Meets. Town halls are an effective way to stay connected with the number of interns and employees a company has; these town halls are a good way to catch up with campaigns, network, joke, and a chance for somebody to receive a gift card in a raffle of attendees.
One of the most gamifying experiences could be hosted through Zoom, Google Meets, or Microsoft Teams, introducing a virtual game that encourages employees to engage in friendly competition, as well as work together for a prize. Gamification ties in greatly with technology, which is inevitably advancing in the work field, holding many benefits for companies and their employees.
What are the Benefits of Gamification for a Sales Team
Sales teams should create a company culture that supports productive fun and improves team dynamics. In any relationship-building event, the interns and employees that participate would be able to get to know each other better, share laughs, and play a game together.
Experiences like this help gamify a company’s remote workspace and strengthen bonds between employees. Additionally, gamification elicits the emotions and drive to excel, compete and improve. These aspects motivate sales representatives, enhance their sales strategies, and ultimately boost sales for the team.
Being on a sales team has never been something I have seen myself pursuing as a Telecommunications major, but gamification is an opportunity for companies to make work interactive and thoughtful through its remote training skills. Through virtual town halls, team-building events, and a VR office, I am able to be much more engaged and motivated in a remote workspace.
Remote jobs will keep increasing, so maintaining and cultivating company culture and personality is crucial for employees to stay engaged in their roles and tasks. I feel more connected to companies through their gamification, and I hope to see more of it in my roles.
The reality is that gamification is the future of the workplace, and helps encourage sales success, as well as work motivation and engagement for employees. It is safe to say companies and employees should get their game on.
