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From Wikipedia:
Gamification is the use of game design techniques, game thinking and game mechanics to enhance non-game contexts. Typically gamification applies to non-game applications and processes, in order to encourage people to adopt them, or to influence how they are used.
Are there any resources available on how to take first steps in introducing gamification into a workplace? What are the best ways to start this process?
There are lots of ways to do this! Here are some ideas to get you started.
Now the only downside to this - and some people really feel this is significant - is that it trains your team to expect rewards beyond the normal rewards of working. You will need to decide if it's worth it.
Arguably the simplest form of gamification would be a friendly contest. It could be anything, as long as it's work related, fun, and not too competitive. Fun rewards could range from silly t-shirts to books, nothing too pricey, you don't want people to get fixated on the price. The contest topic should be something related to the current goals of the company / team / project, whichever applies most, and it shouldn't be anything more serious than a friendly challenge. Whoever fixed the most bugs this week gets a silly t-shirt it's quite different than whoever comes last will be fired.
Next you could have some kind of leaderboard, if your work has easily quantifiable aspects. To continue with the bug fixes examples, whoever fixes the most bugs each week gets a gold star, or any other silly achievement token you can think of, and every now and then the leader gets a price, bit more pricey than a book (two books?), or a couple of days off work.
It would be impossible to come up with specific guidelines for gamification, as the process is entirely subjective (what's fun for me may not be fun for you), and quite dependent on the nature of your profession and the dynamics of your workplace. For example, there were gamification elements in every job I had, even in the strictest and most disciplined environment I had to face, the army. Getting a bit more recreation time than the rest of my company for disassembling and re-assembling my Heckler & Koch G3A4 in record time (don't ask, I don't remember) would be one example.
And, of course, no answer on gamification would be complete without a mention to Stack Exchange. Chances are there is (or there will be) a Stack Exchange for your niche, and if you think about it, it's a ready made gamification platform for your company. Have your team mates compete by providing excellent answers or asking great questions, and use the existing reputation / badge mechanisms to quantify their contributions and reward them. If you are a manager, you can always spice things up a bit and ask questions on work related issues yourself, rewarding employees that would give you great answers.
What you need to remember is that gamification is not about getting direct and immediate results, but mostly about having fun. Small and frequent rewards, preferably awarding the less illustrious aspects of the job (think: documentation), and always light hearted in nature, as the core concept behind gamification is encouragement and further engagement, not competition.
Further reading
