Gamification in the Workplace: Boosting Engagement with HeyTaco

As the founder of an award-winning employee recognition platform, I have to admit that recognition isn’t everything.

Or at least, it isn’t the whole story. HeyTaco customers see a huge increase in employee engagement thanks to recognition. Recognition is the purpose of HeyTaco, but gamification is how we make it happen. 

If recognition is magic, gamification is the wand it comes out of. Engagement proves the magic is working.

Sit tight as I explain more about gamification in the workplace and how HeyTaco uses it to build stronger connections.

The benefits of gamification in the workplace

Gamification means incorporating gameplay into tasks that typically involve no gaming, like work. Here’s why it’s been booming in popularity over the last decade:

• Effective training. Gamification makes training more interactive. It strengthens a trainee’s understanding of a topic more than watching or reading alone.

• Encourages productivity. Traditional gaming is about completing a challenge or beating a level. With gamification in the workplace, you get more done because you’re actively involved in the task, working to meet a goal.

• Team building. Most tools leveraging gamification offer leaderboards and other familiar gaming features, reinforcing the idea that every “player” is part of a team. It can also spark a little friendly competition. 
• Promotes positivity. Gamification is a revolutionary way to imbue your company culture into every workday. In a minute, I’ll explain how HeyTaco can be customized to include your values, making it part of a more positive work environment. 

This isn’t an exhaustive list. You can read more about the benefits of gamification in the workplace, including what to avoid. Now, I want to highlight what it is about gamification that brings those benefits: engagement. 

Employee engagement and why gamification works

Employee engagement rates tell you how invested an employee is in their work. Engaged employees: 

• Take initiative on tasks
• Search for solutions
• Bounce back from failures
• Are easier to work with 

Unsurprisingly, they also claim higher job satisfaction rates. 

If you don’t have many employees like these, you’re not alone. Less than 25% of employees could be described as engaged with their work. This is bad news for businesses–low engagement costs the global economy nearly $9 trillion annually. 

It’s also terrible for our employees’ quality of life. One in five employees report dealing with loneliness. Whether they’re remote or not, we could alleviate some loneliness by prioritizing team-building, one of gamification’s biggest benefits.

Still, you don’t have to be interested in pursuing all of the benefits to understand why it works. Gamification in the workplace works because employees want to use it. Nearly 90% of employees asked said it makes them feel more productive and happier at their jobs.

How to implement gamification in the workplace with HeyTaco

Here’s how a humble emoji can help you build teams and improve employee engagement rates.

1. Add HeyTaco to your company’s communication platform

Smooth integration is one of our greatest strengths. Slack is the most popular, but HeyTaco also works with Google Chat and Microsoft Teams.

2. Start sending and receiving tacos

Now team members can start dropping tacos in chat as a little token of recognition. They can also add Taco Tags to link their gratitude to a particular company value. 

3. Tailor your rewards to your company’s values

Physical, non-monetary, or charity. I recommend a mix of all three for various levels, but you know best. Make it meaningful and unique to your company culture. Team members save up their tacos to get company swag, time off, or anything else you’d like them to earn.

4. Let the games begin on the leaderboard

Our interactive leaderboards show who is giving and receiving the most tacos. Eventually, they become eligible for features like Tacotars, our exclusive, taco-themed avatars, and badges proudly displaying their achievements.

5. Watch engagement soar on the analytics dashboard

Engagement levels and trends let you measure how well this part of your recognition program is working. 

You also control who can see what. Set it to private for discreet recognition and less competition, or promote transparency with an open, team-wide view of taco-sharing activities.

Workplace gamification software that works

Some leaders are still skeptical about adding an element of gameplay to the workday. They think it’ll be distracting or interfere with collaboration. Others doubt that it yields real results or produces actionable insights. 

This couldn’t be further from the truth. I’d implore anyone still on the fence about gamification in the workplace to look closely at the features and known benefits of specific tools. 

To start, here’s why HeyTaco has been successfully adopted by companies worldwide.

Authentic motivation with employee engagement

CEOs have worried that gamification is just a sort of hamster wheel forcing productivity. However, the choices, challenges, and social interaction gamification provides are fundamentally appealing to employees. 

• Receiving tacos provides instant feedback, validating positive actions and motivating people to continue on their path
• The challenge of collecting tacos for rewards keeps employees engaged in setting and achieving goals
• Visual representations of their progress (and optionally, their coworker’s progress) further motivate them to build on their success

Improve collaboration and build a stronger team

Concerns about competition turning sour don’t apply to HeyTaco since it’s all about giving one another positive recognition.

• Peer recognition leads to better working relationships, especially when we’re pointing out one another’s strengths
• A community of employees is engaged on the same platform, contributing to a culture of recognition and positivity 
• HeyTaco breaks up silos and unites employees across locations and departments
• The emphasis on giving as well as receiving means you don’t have to compete for star employee status to be a celebrated team member

Putting company values into practice every day

Employees may be aware of company values, but how often are they thinking of and engaging with them? Gamification with HeyTaco takes mission statements off the page and puts core values at the forefront of everyday interactions. 

• Make tacos emblematic of specific values, highlighting their importance and affirming employees who exemplify them
• Choose rewards that reflect company values and missions, such as contributing to key causes 
• Employees who receive recognition for representing company values build confidence in their abilities and feel like they’re right where they belong

Gamification in the workplace is here to stay

The emergence of hybrid work models and a continuing dependence on technology will help ensure gamification’s relevance well into the future. It’s proven effective for engagement, retention, job satisfaction, and team-building. 

One of its best qualities is that all of the benefits are user-led. Leaders can ease up on “helpful reminders,” forced team-building tasks, and a lot of other issues that hold us back from creating a rewarding company culture. 

HeyTaco is an ideal example of how gamification can be blended into existing communications and processes. It offers the best of gaming by leading employees toward real wins. It makes peer recognition a daily habit at the same time, lifting morale to a place where engagement and motivation are naturally occurring.