More than 100 years ago during a visit to one of the many factories he owned, Charles M. Schwab took a piece of chalk and proceeded to draw a large number "6" on the floor for all of the employees to see. Why did he do this? I'll get to that shortly. As you may recall, Schwab made his money as a pioneer in the steel-making industry, employed hundreds of thousands of workers, and built an empire that rivals the biggest corporations of today. During his time as a leader he had many similar challenges that today's modern manager or HR professional might face, such as motivating employees to reach their full potential in the workplace. On this one particular occasion I alluded to above, Schwab had noticed that this factory had the capacity to produce more steel -- but that the employees were not motivated enough to do so. He knew he needed to take a new tact. The process of making steel is done in "heats". During this time in history there was almost an unlimited demand for steel in the marketplace, so a factory's ability to complete as many heats as possible was paramount. Schwab inquired to one of the day-shift employees about how many heats their crew had completed that day, the employee responded confidently, "6 heats, sir".

That's when Schwab got the chalk out.

When the night-shift came in to work later that day, they quickly inquired about the number's origin, someone informed them that the big boss had come in that day and asked how many heats had been done, and then chalked it down on the floor. The next day when the day-shift returned to work, the "6" had been erased and replaced with a "7". The night crew saw the number as a challenge and found the motivation within themselves to produce an extra heat that night. This back and forth between the shifts went on for weeks.

Schwab was using a technique called gamification to challenge his employees to achieve more.

Gamification defined, from Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

"The process of adding games or gamelike elements to something (as a task) so as to encourage participation."

If you have children, or were once a child, you know that sometimes parents will employ gamification to try to make something mundane or routine fun. I recall my parents initiating a game called "Who can be quiet the longest?" quite frequently as a child. I've tried this game with my two-year old daughter but she prefers another classic children's game "Scream and cry until I get what I want." All kidding aside, it's human nature to engage in challenges when they present themselves, and this is not limited to childhood or 19th century factory workers.

In an interview between InformationWeek reporter Debra Donston-Millerand Caroline Avey, director of innovative learning solutions at ACS Learning Services - Avey says, "The idea of game mechanics is taking elements of games and putting them into a normal business process. Game mechanics integrated into applications can be quite sophisticated or very simple. Users sometimes don't realize they are participating in a game.... think of a learning module where you have to complete one level before moving on to the next level--that's a very simple game mechanic called leveling."

Look around you on the subway or in the doctor's waiting room, or anywhere for that matter, and you might see grown men and women... playing games on their phone. What if you could draw employees in with the same enthusiasm and the same commitment they have to FarmVille or Candy Crush?

(Source: Gartner)

At the U.K.'s Department for Work and Pensions, an online game called "Idea Street" was created and introduced to employees. In the game, employees receive points for innovative ideas, level up as they gain more points, and have their names prominently displayed on a leaderboard throughout the company's communication channels. Since implementation, the game has brought forth 1,400 ideas, 63 of which were implemented. The truth is that employee's had fun while directly contributing to a business cause. Perhaps none of these ideas would have been unearthed without this mechanism.

(Source: MIT Technology Review)

Can gamification also increase employee morale and engagement?

A recent Gallup poll reported that 71% of American workers are "not engaged", in case you read that too fast, let me repeat it in another way, 7 out of every 10 people going to work every day in America -- are not engaged in their job. And while there are many factors contributing to the current state, it's clear that actions must be taken to reinvigorate the workforce. And I believe that gamifying certain business activities is one strategy that can spark some much needed electricity throughout an organization.

(Source: Gallop)



Let me be clear, I'm not talking about installing an Xbox in the employee lounge. What I am saying is that that there is an opportunity to add a new element to your existing company practices and programs. And I believe the fun and competitive nature that gamification brings out in people can breathe new life into your training and development programs, create fun and exciting mechanisms to track department metrics, make company bonus programs more visible and interactive, as just some examples. Ultimately these types of activities will strengthen the good relationship you have with your engaged workforce while at the same time rekindle the competitive spirit of some of your lesser engaged workers.

It might be time to get the chalk out.

-Brad

Author's note: for the purposes of this article I have taken artistic license with the Charles Schwab story in the introduction, it was originally told by Dale Carnegie in his book "How To Win Friends and Influence People" -- one of my favorite books of all time.

Disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are completely my own and not affiliated with any other party.

Brad Bingham, MBA, GPHR writes from Chattanooga, Tennessee. His passion for HR has led him into various roles within the function, including training, talent management, compensation, HR business partner support, and operations. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Marketing from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, and an MBA in International Business from Southern New Hampshire University.

Please follow me on Twitter @hrprobono