How Leaders are Using Gamification to Improve Agent Performance

Leaders at MAPFRE Insurance, one of the top 25 U.S. insurers in the private passenger and property casualty market, knew that employees who are having fun and getting instant feedback are more engaged learners. As Omer Erel wrote recently in Training Magazine, gamification can be a powerful tool to drive performance improvement, reward top performers, and lower turnover and training costs. 

MAPFRE set up gamification in the form of KPI scavenger hunts, and its agents were soon eagerly anticipating their next coaching session. Gamification created a friendly competition and gave agents insight into how they were performing – and how they could improve. Supervisors began focusing on what their team was doing well, tracking the things that mattered and recognizing team members who exceled, building a strong mentoring culture in the organization.

Within two months after implementing gamification in performance management, MAPFRE saw a 6% improvement in adherence in addition to lower AHT and higher CSAT scores. Employee engagement around coaching increased by 25%, and with more information at their fingertips, agents began to self-correct.

MAPFRE is among an increasing number of industry leaders that are turning to gamification to take the pain out of training and development. With a mutually beneficial gamification solution, employees are rewarded for accomplishing a task and given the context behind their performance, so they can improve their skills as needed.

“Companies that can apply gamification capabilities to performance measurement will be able to keep employees engaged and on track to meet their goals,” Erel wrote in Training Magazine. “This is increasingly important when it comes to performance.”

When paired with a performance management solution, gamification provides a comprehensive view of employee performance and supplies managers with the context they need to address any issues or make sure employees who are doing well feel empowered. For example, Erel wrote, companies that implement gamification might reward an employee with a badge after scoring above 85 percent on a product knowledge quiz and earning a customer satisfaction score of 9 out of 10 on five consecutive product calls. They then could be allotted an extra vacation day or gift card in recognition of their strong performance, making them feel valued. 

In today’s competitive talent market, with unemployment hovering around 3.7 percent, organizations must meet the needs of employees, and those needs include continued development.  Gamification not only reinforces desired behaviors but also enables managers to provide training customized to each individual’s needs and goals. It helps organizations engage their employees while improving performance – a win-win for everyone. Read Erel’s article to learn more about how gamification can improve workforce development and retention in today’s competitive labor market or visit our NICE Performance Management solutions webpage.