The Future of Gamification: Trends to Watch

Gone are the days of going to the office, clocking in for your 9-5, and commuting home after a long day of emails and phone calls. Employees want more these days. They want to be engaged with their workweek tasks and feel passionate about their contributions. They want to feel satisfied and fulfilled by their work week and be excited to take on new opportunities and projects. 

One of the best ways to create a thriving workplace dynamic that fulfills your team’s needs and keeps them engaged is gamification. This isn’t an old trend by any means. Still, over the last few years, new software and AI-driven tools have become more readily available, making using gamification in the workplace easier than ever. 

Over the next few years, we’re sure this trend will continue to grow and shape the workplace dynamic as we know it. If you want to stay competitive and find innovative ways to engage with your team, you’ll want to stay in the know about the latest trends and software. 

We’re here to walk you through the gamification trends shaping the future of gamification and paving the way for innovation. 

Let’s take a closer look:

What is Gamification?

Gamification is the process of using game elements in a non-game context. Companies of every size and across different industries are seeing the true potential of gamifying the workplace experience. With the right tools, software, and strategy – your business has a unique opportunity to make the workplace experience fun and engaging. 

So – when your team members clock in to start their day, they’ll think of their workweek tasks as a game rather than a chore. As there continue to be more advancements with gamification, we’re sure to see more innovative solutions grow from gamification. 

Five Gamification Trends For 2023

The beauty of gamification is its versatility. There are countless ways to utilize these tools in the workplace to improve engagement, productivity, and company morale. 

Here are five gamification trends to consider incorporating:

Gamification in Onboarding 

The onboarding process at most companies is outdated and somewhat… Boring. New hires are asked to read and sign the paperwork, watch dated tutorials, and complete training they’ll probably forget about in the upcoming weeks. 

Companies are now finding ways to use gamification to engage with their new hires to help them retain more information during the onboarding process. Whether it’s pop quizzes, mini-games, or a virtual interactive training program – these game mechanics can help team members retain more information and feel engaged throughout their onboarding. These game elements also help businesses enhance their company culture and boost morale in the early stages of employment. 

Now that the job market is more competitive than ever, it pays to improve staff retention and attrition rates by creating onboarding processes that engage new hires. Studies suggest that companies with well throughout onboarding processes can increase new hire retention by 82% and enhance productivity by 70%. In 2023 and beyond, we’re sure to see more businesses use the power of gamification to create a next-level onboarding process. 

Gamification in Sales 

Sales managers and leaders in the workplace have been using gamification to inspire sales reps to go above and beyond for a while. Sales contests, bonuses, and additional commissions are just a few of the most common elements that push sales reps to make a few extra calls or send emails throughout the week. 

But now, companies are finding fun and creative ways to keep their sales team engaged with their goals beyond a holiday bonus or prizes.

Gamification sales software like Spinify is designed to inspire friendly competition and provide a new perspective to the sales process. Every time your sales reps clock in to start their day, they’ll be greeted with a leaderboard or a progress bar, so they can visualize their success. Every week or month, you can host mini-competitions to motivate team members to do more and be excited to do so.

We’re sure to see gamification continue to be a driving force for motivation with sales teams in 2023 and the years to follow. 

Building Online Communities

Gamification brings people together. It’s a tool that inspires your team members to communicate and collaborate more effectively. Businesses that invite the best gamification tools and software into their workplace can use them to keep their team connected, no matter where they are. 

In the upcoming years, companies with a remote-first workplace can use gamification to keep remote team members engaged with everyday tasks and build a company culture that thrives off friendly competition, communication, and collaboration. Over the next few years, we’ll see online communities powered by gamification grow. 

Different Sectors Use Gamification Software

Gamification is nothing new for customer service, marketing, or sales teams. Reward systems and leaderboards have been used to help team members stay on track with their goals for years. However, we’re now seeing more industries use game elements in their strategies to help other departments flourish.

For example, hospitality and automotive companies are finding ways to use gamification and AI to develop interactive online training programs for team members. Departments within a business, like financial and accounting, can also capitalize on these tools to inspire team members to complete mundane tasks or get ahead of the workweek. As gamification becomes more advanced, it will be more of a necessity across every department at a business. 

The Rise of Gamification and AI

Artificial intelligence is more than just a buzzword. The recent developments in AI have influenced when, where, and how brands can use gamification. In 2023 and beyond, gamification and AI will work together to provide innovative solutions to companies and their employees. 

At Spinify, we’ve recently developed a tool called Spinify GPT Sidekick. This AI-powered gamification tool integrates the game mechanics into your workweek and is designed to keep employees engaged with their everyday tasks. 

With Spinify Sidekick, each team member will have a personalized gamification experience. They’ll stay engaged with smarter competitions, achievements with in-built custom messages, and motivational badges that align with their goals and personal progress. 

Our tool takes gamification to the next level. It ensures that the game elements you use to engage with your sales team are always top of mind, automated, and working in the background of your 9-5. 

Spinify Sidekick is paving the way for innovation and is just one stepping stone toward its full potential. As AI continues to advance, so will Spinify Sidekick – so you can feel confident that you’ll always be two steps ahead of the trends. 

Gamification Trends for Consumers

The workplace isn’t the only place we’re seeing gamification grow. Businesses also use these tools to engage with consumers, employees, and partners. This is a trending tool businesses can use to connect with customers and build a more engaging experience. 

Here’s how other businesses are currently testing the waters with gamification:

Gamified Mobile Apps

Mobile apps are arguably the most popular way to commercialize gamification. Big-named brands use gamification to keep consumers engaged with their products and services on their mobile devices. 

This has proven to be a successful approach. Gamification is used in everything from fitness apps to loyalty programs and learning platforms. As smartphone usage continues to rise and more brands will prioritize the mobile user experience, we’re sure to see gamification continue to grow and change. 

Gamification in Education

With the rise of online education comes the need to keep individuals engaged with their studies. We live in a world that is surrounded by distractions. With the help of gamification, teachers and educators have a unique opportunity to keep their team members engaged with the curriculum. 

Whether it’s an interactive quiz, mini-games, or badges for reaching milestones, in the upcoming years, game elements and mechanics will completely revolutionize educators’ approach to their curriculum. They’ll find ways to use their resources to engage with team members that are not only effective – but fun!

Gamify The Sales Process With Spinify

Ready to jump on the gamification trend? You’ve come to the right place. At Spinify, we have everything you need to create a next-level gamification strategy for you and your sales team. 

Whether you’re looking for progress bars, leaderboards, or badges to give to your team when they reach a new milestone -we have everything you need to keep your team engaged from start to finish. 
Book a demo today to start experiencing the Spinify difference.