It’s a digital slap in the face to productivity gurus everywhere.
It knocks conventional thinking on its rear.
After all, didn’t NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg fire a city employee for playing solitaire at work? Yep, that would be affirmative.
Well, now hear this, Mister Bloomberg . . .
A snazzy employee incentive consulting firm, Snowfly Inc., has the answer to Dilbert’s dreams. They’ve “legalized” playing games on company time–and you might just get a promotion in the process. The games look a tad juvenile, but that’s the whole point, right? My word, I’m in the wrong business!
Here’s how it works:
A web-based software program designed by Snowfly allows your employees (with your approval, of course) to earn playing time on games online during work hours–with the goal of raising productivity and morale in their day. Winnings from game play are immediately posted to a Visa debit “game card,” which every player has.
The flagship product, Capstone (Bourne Identity, anyone? Whoops that’s TREADstone . . .), provides random point-yielding games and real-time results to maximize an employer’s ROI. Games can be played from any browser with internet access, desktop, a kiosk in the break room, lunchroom or from home.
Surprisingly, employees lose very little work time. Keep in mind, they are awarded playing time only if they have performed well first. Ahhh, dangling the old carrot. And they spend fewer than 12 minutes per week playing games, redeeming points and logging goal accomplishments.
Loads of REAL companies are using Snowfly as an employee reward system and, whaddaya know, so far it’s working.
People who are allowed to play games as a reward for performance have higher productivity, higher morale and lower turnover. This is particularly true for Gen X & Y employees who grew up with the constant stimulation and immediate gratification of game playing. And 42 percent of employees who earn game tokens in the workplace take the tokens home and play them online with their children in exchange for chores, exercise and homework.
Play on, player!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 12:29 am and is filed under Business, Productivity, Trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.2 Responses to “Who Let the Games Out?”
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November 19th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
This is brilliant. A smart company knows that a little reward goes a long way. I used to work for a major corporation that did absolutely nothing. Morale was abysmal. Then, they started a program where workers could reward each other with a little recognition certificate and a candy bar (provided by HR). It wasn’t like getting an annual bonus but it sure did boost that morale!
November 19th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
@Melissa:
I agree. People aren’t always motivated by money. I know that I reward my team members with spa visits, etc. People just want to know that you value them and that they are important to the company. And, of course, chocolate always works.
Thanks for reading and commenting!