Gamification and managerial games. How to utilize their potential in managing an organization?

Gamification and managerial games – history of the phenomenon

Before I get to the heart of the text, I will draw attention to two elements that make up its strength - these are managerial games and the phenomenon of gamification, which it is good to explain at the outset. It should also be remembered that although we necessarily associate the concept of games with the audiovisual aspect and controllers, it also has a much broader context, referring also to board games, operational and sensorimotor games. Therefore, managerial games, being part of training, come in various forms, raising various aspects of gamification along the way.

Managerial games are a specific type of games facilitating the mastery of knowledge useful for understanding indicators, plan, mission or company budget, as well as allowing for the acquisition of soft skills, such as team management, communication in the project or the role of a leader. And since in the vast majority of cases the players themselves are the creators of actions, it is easier to remember, feel and understand complex economic phenomena and the methods related to them.

On the other hand, gamification (used interchangeably with gamification - ed. note) is such a use of game elements that not only engage and motivate people to act, but also make the product itself more attractive and simulate business processes and allow to achieve a specific goal. Its history dates back to 1908, when scout teams began to reward their members with badges for completing specific tasks. The first digital traces of gamification are recorded in 1978, recognizing the prototype of social games Multi-User Dungeon – a game written by Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle. However, the term itself was not coined until 2002.

Pointing to the application of gamification in marketing solutions or employer branding, one cannot fail to mention the digital activities that Bunchball implemented 16 years ago for the NBC television station, implementing a program engaging fans of the series The Office. Bunchball, tracking the activities of computer users and pairing them with appropriate records, established a pattern of behavior and rules around which it built games encouraging competition or cooperation, improving the place on the scoreboard, receiving additional points, taking up challenges etc.

These relatively simple mechanics were perfectly matched to the plot of a popular series, which action is based, among other things, on the competition of departments of the fictional company Dunder Mifflin in the number of pallets of paper sold. Players could also participate in contests for the best employee; winning increased the virtual currency, which could be used to buy digital goods. And although we are now accustomed to similar solutions in thousands of games, at that time they broke the bank. NBC estimated a maximum of 15 thousand active users. They gained over 200 thousand.

Gamification as an integral part of organization management

That was in 2007. Currently, for corporations, games that allow for the measurement of professional competencies and implement elements of gamification have become an integral part of building the image of modern organizations.

However, staying in the sphere of marketing, the implementation of the digital Game of Thrones, which aimed to build a base of loyal fans of the series, can also be considered a noteworthy example. Users themselves invented tasks that other participants could perform, thereby increasing their point base. After each episode of the series, the task list was expanded with the contents of the new part's plot. What's more, competition in the virtual world intertwined with the real world, as it was possible to scan QR codes hidden in various places in the largest cities in Poland. These were obvious, exchangeable for rewards, motivators for users.

And although in this case the aim of the implementation was to engage fans of a specific brand, rather than strictly branding activities or improving work efficiency, the results were surprisingly positive - they translated into active participation in the game by nearly 80 thousand fans of the series. All thanks to the idea and a clear emphasis on gamification elements.

These elements - already in business - often take the form of online implementations (although not only), which develop new skills and allow for regular learning. This often happens because they serve as a break from work. But a sensible break, allowing you to get a lot out of the game. That's why it's so important to have a wisely conducted gameplay.

Knowing therefore that such solutions constitute added value in the broadly understood business aspect, it is worth taking a closer look at specific examples from the Polish market, enabling the implementation of managerial games in companies.

Managerial games in Polish companies

So I took a look at a game designed for managers titled LeadVenture, which develops management skills. As its creators - Westhill Consulting - admit, this title engages thanks to mechanisms known from the world of games and is particularly valuable in the area of organizing knowledge, maintaining retention and conveying information about tools. And what competencies does it develop? There are quite a few of them. Depending on the chosen game model, it can be the ability to delegate tasks, provide feedback and business communication, but also motivation, public presentations and strategy building.

Without any problem, I also find a solution from the Szczecin company Oskar Wagner, which looks like... a typical city builder. In the virtual world, players are faced with challenges, sales tasks, information about their completion, rankings, quizzes and knowledge pills. The plot of the game is adapted to the specifics of work, as the modules and functionalities of the platform can optimally cooperate with the systems for setting and verifying sales targets used in various companies.

A common feature of both examples is that the described games allow for control of the time spent by the user on playing and maintain his interest, without disturbing daily duties. Such solutions are also designed with mobile devices in mind, they are not overly complicated and fortunately adapted to people of all ages and different levels of experience. They are often also integrated with the most popular business tools available on the market, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams. However, abstracting from the above examples, business applications in premium versions often contain gamification elements. These include Nais, Todoist, Trello or Salesforce.

However, it is worth reminding that the definition of games is much broader and does not only include digital solutions.

Features of a good managerial game

Experts point out that a properly constructed game consists of elements such as:

• challenge,
• action,
• strategy,
• risk taking,
• uncertainty of outcomes,
• visible signs of progress,
• the possibility of reaching an expert level,
• emotions accompanying the whole.

Participants in the game, making various decisions, are aware of which ones lead to victory and which to defeat. Therefore, a well-constructed managerial game promotes those types of strategies that are profitable in professional life.

Such solutions are offered by, among others, the company MindLab from Krakow, additionally supplementing the portfolio with sales games, increasing personal effectiveness and business awareness. And since they can absorb the participants of the game, they behave naturally and make spontaneous decisions, thanks to which the trainer gains rich material for later discussion.

It should not be forgotten that games for managers are in practice a specialized training tool that can support management. During the game, participants discuss with each other, make decisions and experience their consequences. The described examples of such activities perfectly complement managerial training, which are not competitive with them at the same time.

Types of managerial games

However, there is no doubt that you can feel overwhelmed with information and wonder which solution is better - digital or analog. Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this question.

On the market, you can find three types of managerial games - paper, board and digital. The first one is the simplest, but also the least effective form of play. Mainly for this reason, that the companies managed by the participants exist only on paper. This means making business decisions too lightly. Their additional weakness is also the need to count everything manually, which quickly discourages further play.

Digital games are devoid of this inconvenience, but they have their drawbacks in the form of many operations happening in the background. Players, by implementing a given input into life, receive the result in the blink of an eye. However, they do not fully understand the process that takes place and thus cannot learn it. Therefore, it is currently assumed that in business processes the best solution are board mock-ups of enterprises, on which you can see, for example, a production plant, offices with employees or money. Thanks to them, the simulated company becomes more real.

Managerial games, regardless of the form they take, if they have implemented gamification elements and thematically meet the needs of the companies implementing them, are an excellent complement to traditional training and a kind of escape from daily duties. However, they do not distract the employee's attention from the tasks entrusted to him, making his efficiency increase and the assimilation of new areas of knowledge becomes much easier and better rated.

And all this thanks to games - a tool well known, but still underestimated in the business sphere. Maybe it's time to stop paying the most attention to their graphic layer and associate them only with the native Witcher, and start drawing the best from them? Because the potential of games seems to be unlimited.