Insight: 79% of employees would welcome gamified rewards system – One4all Rewards

A series of dos and don’ts for bosses introducing the increasingly popular gamified rewards systems have been released.

A survey of 1,000 UK workers, carried out by workplace incentives and rewards provider, One4all Rewards, and published in The Gamification Report polled workers on their preferences for gamified bonus systems – which encourage achievement and good behaviour by awarding small rewards for desired actions.

It found that the vast majority – 79% – of UK employees would like to see these introduced at their place of work.

To help UK bosses implement this kind of employee recognition scheme, One4all Rewards surveyed workers about how they would prefer these types of systems to be implemented – with interesting results.

The research shows that the communication of these more complex systems is especially key, to help workers understand how they can unlock rewards.

More than 1 in 4 (25%) UK workers would like their employer to introduce this kind of new system by clearly communicating information about it.

Almost 1 in 6 (14%) UK workers would like their boss to host an event to officially launch a new rewards and bonus system.

Almost the same number would want to receive regular updates on how many points/rewards/bonuses they have earned.

Being able to log into a portal (such as a website or section of the intranet) to view how they are doing and track their rewards progression would be key for 1 in 5 (21%).

Regularity for these kind of rewards is key – on average, workers would most like to receive rewards and bonuses every 1.10 months.

In fact, monthly rewards were overwhelmingly the most popular with more than 1 in 3 (37%) saying they’d prefer this. Just 10% said they’d prefer them once per week.

Alan Smith, UK managing director at One4all Rewards said: “Some companies shy away from rewards systems based on gamification; however they are not only incredibly powerful, but they can be quite cost effective as they rely on giving out small rewards rather than large bonuses. Better yet – the UK workforce is crying out for them.

“It’s understandable that those companies who are used to making one simple bonus payment at the end of the financial year might be a bit hesitant to introduce a more complex system. That said, it really needn’t be too difficult – and our research shows there are a number of ways bosses can handle the process of introducing and managing them, in a way that makes them simple and easy for workers to understand.”

One4all Rewards’ Top Tips for Introducing A Gamification-Based Rewards System:

1. Decide a budget and the types of rewards you’ll give out: These needn’t be costly – scale them to budget, and ensure they will appeal to a broad range of demographics within the workforce. Products which give the gift of choice – such as multi-store gift cards – are great for this.
2. Decide which behaviours will activate rewards, and set frequencies for these: Rewards might be given out for fixed actions (such as rewards for hitting a sales target), surprise or unexpected rewards handed out by management to those doing a good job, peer-led rewards (where groups of employees nominate a colleague to receive a reward for a reason they decide), random rewards for completing tasks, or rolling lottery-style rewards (e.g. workers who hit target will be put into a lottery or raffle to receive a reward). In terms of frequency, monthly is most popular.
3. Introduce and explain how workers can unlock rewards: Hold a company meeting or a series of departmental meetings to introduce the new system, clearly spelling out how workers can expect to unlock rewards. Provide handouts or follow up with an email to reinforce how the system works.
4. Create a hub or league table: Provide a way of workers tracking their progress – this could be as simple as a notice board in the office, a portal on a reward system provider’s website, or even a dedicated section of the company intranet.
5. Regular communication: Share regular updates on how many rewards they have received – or how many points building up to a reward they have earned.