Gamification comes to call centres

Hosted contact centre provider 1Stream says its clients will soon be able to use new gamification technologies to increase engagement and productivity in the workplace.

“Gamification is about applying elements of game design to everyday work experience to make it more interesting and engaging,” says 1Stream director Bruce von Maltitz. “In the call centre context, it gives managers a new tool for managing the workforce.

“Every call centre has metrics they are trying to improve,” adds Von Maltitz. “It might be the time taken to deal with each call, customer satisfaction ratings or the number of training modules people complete in a month – it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that if you are collecting data about any aspect of your performance, there is the potential to use that data to drive a game experience.

Von Maltitz says typical game elements might include “achievement badges, quests and special events, the ability to increase levels, public ranking, social sharing, and so on. Exactly how to apply gamification to any particular workplace is something for the client to decide: at 1Stream, our focus in on providing the underlying technology to make it possible.

One of the advantages of using game dynamics, says Von Maltitz, “is that it takes the same stats you’re already tracking, and which may seem boring to most of your workforce, and uses them to create incentives that are fresh, dynamic and engaging.

1Stream’s model of providing fully hosted and managed call centres means its clients can turn on gamification ability as soon as it’s available, adds Von Maltitz. “This is one of the key advantages of choosing hosted services: New options can be turned on or off as they become available, without having to commit to any big upfront investment in new software. We manage the technology, leaving our clients free to manage their people.

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