Gamification in the area of HR. How to implement it successfully?

42.1% in the IT sector are at risk of burnout according to the 2021 Burnout Index.

Burnout risk

According to the Burnout Index report prepared by Yerbo in 2021, based on 32,644 surveys among IT employees from 33 countries, as many as 42.1% of respondents are at high risk of experiencing professional burnout.*

Impact of pandemic

The employee benefits market has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. It has proven some of the existing benefits obsolete. Employers are losing their tools of influence, and employee motivation is also declining. Particularly in the IT industry, deadlines have shortened, demand for remote solutions is in a surge, and with it increased pressure from employers and customers. The pandemic has reduced productivity, increased absenteeism, and deteriorated mental health.

Some employers plan to introduce new or expand at least one employee benefit, prioritizing those that employees consider most important. These include child and senior care benefits, flexibility of when and where work is done and expanded mental health support.

HR Tech in a surge

This has not gone unnoticed by the HR Tech industry, which is projected to grow at a global CAGR of 5.8%. According to a report prepared by Fortune Business Insights, the global human resource technology market is projected to grow from $24.04 billion in 2021 to $35.68 billion in 2028**.

According to the research, the key trends for 2022 – 2028 will be employee experience, integration of artificial intelligence and analytics with recruitment tools, cloud-based HR technology, employee risk management, benefits personalization, and digital nomadism.

Gamification and personalised benefits' platforms

These are challenges that HR departments must prepare for. Fortunately, there are more and more platforms on the market that offer personalized benefits and solutions based on gamification. Gamification uses mechanisms known from the computer and role-playing games to motivate employees, activate them and build their engagement. It consists in introducing personalized goals, the achievement of which is a challenge and fun.

"The Motivo platform helps employers create unique benefit and reward experiences while reducing administration time and cost. The tool automates processes, improves the communication of their value to employees, and provides better data management and cost management of benefits and rewards." Karolina Skrzyńska, HR Manager at Vstorm sets Motivo as an example

Thanks to a series of functionalities, in some motivational apps it is possible to monitor the mental state of employees while placing a strong emphasis on sports, the development of passions, as well as the expansion of professional qualifications. Another platform that builds employee motivation is Alaya, which allows you to engage employees through volunteering, organizing common charitable causes, and introducing new positive habits.

Will it allow us to effectively counteract professional burnout in the IT industry? Time will tell, but what is certain is that organizations that don't want to be left behind, need to take thorough care of the employee experience.

Sources:

* https://f.hubspotusercontent30.net/hubfs/7677235/The%20State%20of%20Burnout%20in%20Tech%20-%202022%20Edition.pdf ** Fortune Business Insights: HR technology market