Gamification: does it work for every company?

**As has been discussed for some time, certain principles make gamification truly effective: intrinsic motivation, appropriate challenges and narratives suited to the desired objectives, for example.**

One of the most important elements, however, is personalization and segmentation. People are not all the same. Employees should be divided into different groups and assigned specific goals so they experience a sense of achievement in their KPIs or eLearning.

Gamification does not motivate everyone in the same way

Gamification does not create the same motivation in everyone. The beauty of Closelly is its flexibility to use the right game dynamics for each individual or group.

A company also includes several generations. How, then, do we personalize gamification?

To do so—and ensure the proposed solution is the best one—we must make an effort to understand users. Knowing who they are and their role in the organization is not enough. We need to know them more deeply: how they react, to what and when. We need to understand what affects them and what does not motivate them at all. We can then design training and dynamics that motivate them and achieve the best results.

Player types and games

Some people use the player types proposed by Bartle. This can be partly useful. The Octalysis perspective adds useful elements for implementing gamification in companies and focuses more on the game's objective.

What about the user's profile? Here, we are discussing video games, not even corporate gamification such as Closelly's work. Video game companies face exactly the same challenges we do. They want users to be as motivated and engaged as possible, and need to understand them to achieve that.

Quantic Foundry is an excellent resource for game creators. Its blog contains extensive information about what it has learned about games and players. We particularly like its analysis of player motivations and personality traits, available here.

But when designing a gamification implementation for a client, even if activities can be personalized, how can we account for participants' differences when choosing the same narrative for everyone?

Looking for common ground? Strategy, not competition

Here are some interesting findings from the Quantic Foundry blog:

• Strategy is the most stable motivator as players mature. Contrary to what many may think, competition is not equally effective at every age. It is more effective as a motivator at younger ages, with age mattering more than gender. Strategy and complex thinking, meanwhile, keep players motivated at all ages.
• Gender matters, but less than age. As we might expect, female players are more likely to be motivated by self-expression, customization, fantasy and story-based elements. Male players tend to be more motivated by competition, challenges, adrenaline and strategy. These findings fit familiar stereotypes. Interestingly, these elements become less important as players grow older.

These are just two examples among many. The point is the importance of understanding users, whether players or employees.