Wharton Ambassadors and Philadelphia area alumni went back
to school and enjoyed Gamification, a Knowledge for Action Lifelong Learning
session, presented by Kevin Werbach, a Wharton Associate Professor of Ethics and
Legal Studies. Gamification is the use of gaming theory and techniques to
motivate employees and customers to engage in a variety of beneficial behavioral
changes. Fortune 500 companies are using gamification as a tool to motivate
employees in areas such as health and wellness, sustainability, or even project
management. As a player engages in desired behaviors and reaches milestones,
the game provides motivational tools and rewards such as progress bars, points,
levels, and badges to engage players and to encourage ongoing participation.
Gamification is a different approach to a similar objective.
Instead of striving to beat your sales goal, you try to beat your high score.
Which is more fun? With the pervasiveness of gaming in our society, this
technique is a new way to drive desired behaviors with a gaming generation.
The audience participated in a simple version of a game-who
has the oldest coin. The exercise demonstrated the need for continued
engagement of a game to keep the players interested. While we all had fun
trying to see small print on coins in a dimly lit room, once a winner was
announced, the game ended as it wasn’t constructed for continued engagement.
Kevin Werbach is an engaging speaker and I enjoyed learning
about this new business tool. In my world of sustainability, I began to think
of ways gaming and mobile devices might be used to improve employee engagement.
Let the games begin!
