The Importance Of Using Leaderboards And An LMS With Rich Gamification Functionality

The Importance Of Using Leaderboards And An LMS With Rich Gamification Functionality
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Summary: Leaderboards serve the practical function of showing us who is ‘the best’ and how far we are behind them. Can this innate sense of competition benefit the corporate space? This article explores the importance of leaderboards and investing in an LMS with rich gamification functionality.

6 Benefits Of An LMS With Rich Gamification Functionality

Office environments are often described as ‘rat races’ and ‘urban jungles’ because of their cut-throat quality. And while this type of corporate competition can be stressful, it does have some positive results. However, without corporate rivals—both at individual and brand levels—we may never push ourselves. We’d be far more complacent, and products/services on the market would be increasingly mediocre. Plus, in the corporate space, ROI and cause-and-effect are measures we obsess over. Leaderboards offer immediate feedback on specific areas of online training and interest. Are there other verifiable benefits of leaderboards and gamified LMS? Can they encourage healthy competition without creating a hostile work environment? Here are some of the potential perks an LMS with rich gamification functionality can bring to your organization.

eBook Release: Beyond Badges: How To Use A Gamification LMS
eBook Release
Beyond Badges: How To Use A Gamification LMS
Discover the surprising perks of investing in a gamification LMS for your online training program.

1. Fueling Friendly Competition

We’ve already established competition is a given in the workplace. And as some bosses see it as an effective management tactic, things can get dark. If it’s left unfettered, this rivalry could end up damaging the company. In addition, it can easily turn toxic and hike your turnover rates. The reason this competition gets so rough is that promotions and raises are at stake. It’s a matter of self-worth, livelihood, and pride in your craft. By lowering the bar from tax brackets to gamification leaderboards, you take some of the pressure off. The one-up-man-ship becomes a little more playful. It’s no longer a matter of life and death or one of hiring and firing, it’s just good fun. That said, you need to frame it with a supportive company culture that encourages peer-based collaboration.

2. Encouraging Employees To Reach Their Full Potential

While leaderboards lighten the load of corporate pressure, they can still be an online training tool. After all, the activities that put you up there in the first place are task-based. The leaderboard could rate performances on online training games, or they could tabulate actual sales numbers. They could be something as minor as noting who clocks in earliest, or as major as who generated the most leads, whether or not those leads converted. In any work scenario, there’s a bare minimum required to be seen as functional. Scaling the leaderboard will push you to do more than ‘just enough’, and you’ll be surprised what you can achieve if you just try a little more.

3. Providing Staffers With Much-Needed Motivation

Similar to the point above, adulthood requires a different kind of push. As kids, we did things because we were afraid of punishment. To some extent, this works with adults too, but only for major incidences. Fear of fines or public condemnation may keep you legally compliant. But in smaller, mundane scenarios, mild worry or fear won’t cut it. You might be scared of getting fired, but it’s not enough to stop you from snoozing your alarm. An LMS with rich gamification functionality can help because their motivation is positive rather than negative. It taunts you with reward, not punishment, which is a proven training technique for adult learners.

4. Validates Changes In Employees’ Behavior

We all harp about the role of will-power in getting things done. It could be exercise, diet, or developing a new habit. We buy into the idea that we can do if we just want it enough. Reality isn’t always that simple. Some researchers suggest it’s better to change your thinking. That seeing yourself as someone who works out every day will transform your habits. In this sense, gamified LMS leaderboards are a visible primer. Once you’re in the top 10, you see yourself as a winner, which reinforces your winning ways. You will then acquire—and continue to practice—habits that maintain your top-10 territory.

5. Facilitates Positive Peer Pressure

As much as we don’t like to admit it, one-upmanship fuels each one of us to some extent. We may find ourselves subconsciously weighing our accomplishments against those of our peers. As such, an LMS with rich gamification functionality can push them to their limits, without going overboard, by facilitating positive peer pressure. Employees are more likely to take on extra online training or upskill if it allows them to outrank co-workers on that LMS leaderboard.

6. Allows Employees To See How Far They’ve Come

Outside the friendly competition and peer pressure scope, gamification leaderboards encourage self-reflection. Employees are able to see how much they’ve achieved and what they still need to work on. For instance, they must earn another 25 points in order to reach the next level on the board, which will require them to set aside more training time and complete additional courses. But how far they've progressed can also motivate them and know that it’s all worth it.

In the gaming world, leaderboards are what players live for. During game-play, they’re immersed and isolated in their gaming experience. It’s the leaderboard that links them with other players. It gets gamers out of their heads, showing how they stack up against the rest. In workplace training, an LMS with rich gamification functionality offers a form of an objective online assessment. It offers a safe, friendly space to encourage competition without potentially sabotaging others. It pushes employee training participants past their comfort zone, driving them to do more. It motivates them to keep going, and it offers tangible proof of their progress and success. Clearly, it’s an LMS feature worth enabling.

Have you ever wondered if the advantages of gamification can be applied to online training? Read our eBook Beyond Badges: How To Use A Gamification LMS To Retain Your Top Talent And Boost ROI and find out the surprising perks of investing in a gamification LMS.

Originally published on November 9, 2019