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“Human Capital”

Cause and Effect: Gamification in Hospitality

 

Having gained prominence in the fields of marketing and advertising, the application of gamification to human capital management is still at its infancy, being practically unknown in the hospitality industry.

One of the most common expressions of this concept as a marketing tool is loyalty programs, common in several industries. Through points, miles, or other metrics, these programs offer various benefits based on a certain level of consumption, creating a game that aligns interests between the brand and the consumer, rewarding the best customers.

It’s interesting to note that, despite having become a popular marketing instrument, the origin of gamification lies in optimizing core organizational processes related to internal customers. The most consensual origin dates back to 1908, when the American Boy Scouts movement instituted the awarding of badges to its members based on the completion of certain tasks. More than a century later, hospitality companies that use these tools for human resources management are still scarce.

That said, we find various examples of such applications in other sectors over time. One of the most well-known is from the technology giant Microsoft, which designed a gamification strategy for one of the most crucial but less stimulating phases of software development – testing. In the “Communicate Hope” project, the company made donations to social institutions based on the detection of flaws by employees. The results were extraordinary, increasing the efficiency of flaw detection by a factor of sixteen compared to the traditional process.

The power of gamification comes from activating the emotional dimension, generating engagement not only with the process itself but with the organization as a whole. The simplification of the causal relationship between behavior and reward, combined with a playful effect, proves to be an effective ingredient for performance optimization. Additionally, the gamification process inherently involves a strong internal communication aspect, making the effort of engaged participants visible and rewarding it directly and immediately, creating a virtuous cycle of improvement.

The entry of Generation Z into the workforce, much more sensitive than previous generations to the causal relationship between behavior and reward, further enhances the power of gamification strategies.

Numerous studies have revealed the potential of this tool. According to an analysis by the Gigya consultancy on consumer online behavior, companies that used gamification in their strategy saw interactions with their content rise on average by 13%, social media shares by 22%, and content discovery by 68%. There is also already some evidence regarding its application to human capital management. Several studies have shown high correlations between the existence of gamification strategies in companies and key variables such as employee productivity, turnover, and training effectiveness.

The few known examples of application to human capital in hospitality mostly focus on support processes, such as training or employee onboarding. While not questioning the strategic importance of these, the untapped potential in more commercial or operational profile areas becomes evident.

The experience of other industries shows that the greatest value of gamification lies in its integration into the core productive processes of the organization. For example, while gamification may increase the effectiveness of a training program for the check-in process, offering a gamified check-in system could bring even more significant and lasting results in the quality and efficiency of the process.

Whether for process improvement, increased employee engagement, or reduced team turnover, the potential of gamification for human capital management in hospitality is immense, impacting critical areas such as process efficiency, employee engagement, and loyalty to the company—critical areas for gaining competitive advantages in the current and near-future context.

Written by João Silva Santos

August, 2020

This article was published in Ambitur as part of the “Human Capital” series. You can access the online version here.

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