{"id":125,"date":"2019-05-08T10:06:10","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T10:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/?p=125"},"modified":"2019-05-09T08:11:01","modified_gmt":"2019-05-09T08:11:01","slug":"a-game-of-warehousing-parcs-guide-to-gamification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/a-game-of-warehousing-parcs-guide-to-gamification\/","title":{"rendered":"A Game of Warehousing:  PARC\u2019s Guide to Gamification"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This PARC Insight by Maria Pia Caraccia and Katy Alice Huckle takes a closer look at the impact of game-playing on warehousing operations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s play a game.&nbsp; Games are fun, aren\u2019t they?&nbsp; When we think of games we think of play, of free time.&nbsp; We think of winning, of defeating our competitors with a stunning and ingenious performance, maybe even a clean-sweep.&nbsp; Games mean activity, enjoyment.&nbsp; Children learn an incalculable amount through games and play; entire fields of research are dedicated to understanding more about the link between learning and play.&nbsp; The game is; let\u2019s play games at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We don\u2019t mean the Game-of-Thrones style office politics that\ngo on between your managers.&nbsp; We mean\nactual games with rules and players and prizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chances are, you don\u2019t play any, and if you do it is the\noccasional round of Candy Crush at your desk that you shouldn\u2019t be playing\nanyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gamification could be about to change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Gamification:&nbsp; \u201cthe practice of making activities more like\ngames in order to make them more interesting or enjoyable\u201d (Cambridge\nUniversity Press, 2019).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sounds good, doesn\u2019t it?&nbsp;\nMost of us have to perform at least the occasional work tasks that make\nus yawn.&nbsp; That weekly report, which just\ninvolves copy-pasting data from an Excel spreadsheet to a PowerPoint\npresentation; that inventory count, which is a clipboard and a pen and many\nhours spent just counting; and don\u2019t get us started on filing papers (which, in\na paperless society, should be a thing of the past, but somehow still hasn\u2019t\nquite died a death just yet).&nbsp; What if we\ncould turn those into games in order to make them a bit more fun, promote a bit\nof healthy competition, and give the opportunity to win something if you do\nwell?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many companies try to make improvements to their processes (typically\nmaking things faster), but many employees inevitably end up doing the same\nthing every day. Gamification in the workplace is aimed at driving engagement\nand effective behaviours, improving productivity and enhancing capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How does it work?&nbsp;\nSimple really.&nbsp; Rewards are made\navailable for outstanding performance, which could be in the form of\nrecognition or an actual physical prize.&nbsp;\nEmployees are encouraged to think \u201chow can I beat my co-workers?\u201d or\nperhaps, more healthily, \u201chow can I help my team win this week?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critical to the success of gamification is measurement \u2013 companies and employees need to be able to keep track of who (or what) is winning.&nbsp; This can be through anything from a printed scoreboard to a dedicated platform.&nbsp; The key thing is to make performance visible across the field of play, so that competitors can keep track of one another and of their own success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How is gamification different from regular incentives?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table aligncenter is-style-stripes\"><tbody><tr><td>\n  <strong>Incentives<\/strong>\n  <\/td><td>\n  <strong>Gamification<\/strong>\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Constant, ongoing and often timetabled   <\/td><td>Agile and flexible   <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Used to motivate individuals   <\/td><td>Uses rewards as one of the tools for motivation   <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Focused on improved performance   <\/td><td>Generates an intrinsic motivation related to the  challenge itself \u2013 makes the activity fun   <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Often measured annually or quarterly   <\/td><td>Measured in real time   <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Usually individual   <\/td><td>Aimed at teams   <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"549\" height=\"472\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/566\/2019\/05\/Strategic-synergy-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-129\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/566\/2019\/05\/Strategic-synergy-2.png 549w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/566\/2019\/05\/Strategic-synergy-2-300x258.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 549px) 100vw, 549px\" \/><figcaption>(Strategic Synergy, 2019) https:\/\/stratsynergy.wordpress.com\/2010\/11\/02\/engagement-flow-in-gamification\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"632\" height=\"242\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/566\/2019\/05\/image.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-130\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/566\/2019\/05\/image.png 632w, https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/566\/2019\/05\/image-300x115.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 632px) 100vw, 632px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The beauty of gamification is that anyone can use it.&nbsp; It really is as simple as defining the\nchallenge, the rules of the game, and the reward, or prize.&nbsp; Different businesses can define different\nchallenges and frameworks for their individual needs, which makes sense as\ndifferent types of employees will be motivated by different things.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One aspect is critical though; in order to maintain\nengagement and continue to drive improvement, the games must not be allowed to\nstagnate.&nbsp; The same game will get old\nafter a while, so it is vital to introduce new rules, new challenges and new\nprizes.&nbsp; In the best case, the prize\nwon\u2019t be guaranteed every time; gamification is at its strongest when the prize\nis not regularly awarded, but there is an element of chance involved.&nbsp; Therefore the winners do not necessarily need\nto be rewarded every time; if instead they are rewarded every third, fifth or\nseventh time they win, their motivation will increase.&nbsp; Randomizing the reward intensifies this\neffect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To see evidence of this phenomenon, we only need look at a\ncasino, where gamblers are hooked not on a guaranteed prize, but on the\npossibility of a prize, whose worth could range from peanuts to riches.&nbsp; It is the possibility of a prize that keeps\nthem slotting money into the machine; there is no guarantee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bringing it back to\nthe warehouse.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where is the link\nwith supply chains?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have some recent use cases that effectively demonstrate\nthe impact of gamification on warehousing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Game One:&nbsp; Health and Safety in Brazil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Company:&nbsp; Panalpina<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Objective:&nbsp;\nDeploying a new health, safety &amp; environment (HSE) system throughout\none country-level organisation<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Players:&nbsp; All staff<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Duration:&nbsp; One week\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before you start:&nbsp;\nCreate your own anonymous avatar and play the game through your avatar<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How to play:&nbsp; Take\npart in daily HSE-related challenges and quizzes to collect points, certain\nscores and winners will be awarded prizes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prizes: &nbsp;Award and\nrecognition from Managing Director<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Results:\u00a0 Engaged over 300 participants throughout the national organisation with an extremely positive response from staff and increased awareness of HSE topics. The challenge and competition among departments and business units also improved staff participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Game Two:&nbsp; The Perfect Forklift Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Company:&nbsp; Heineken<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Objective:&nbsp; Reduce rate\nof damaged to forklift trucks (costing \u00a390\u2019000 annually) through operator-led\nmaintenance<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Players:&nbsp; Forklift\noperators<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Duration: &nbsp;Ongoing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before you start:&nbsp; Cleaning\nand maintenance stations built, forklift trucks renovated and named after\nproducts, creating a sense of ownership amongst operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How to play:&nbsp;\nPoints-based maintenance leader board<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prizes:&nbsp; Monthly\nand annual awards<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Results:&nbsp; 95%\nreduction in annual maintenance costs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is not difficult to see how gamification can be applied even\nfurther in the warehouse.&nbsp; Every\nwarehousing task, from picking inventory to pallet-truck driving to sending\npallets out, can be gamified.&nbsp; Traditionally\nthese activities have tended towards the monotonous, and companies often\nstruggle to motivate their staff and maintain engagement.&nbsp; Gamification offers the opportunity to\nsignificantly improve motivation for better performances amongst employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But is it all fair and fun for all?&nbsp; There are a number of potential issues that\ncould arise when implanting a gamified approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first is: will gamification be taken seriously?&nbsp; Suddenly telling your staff that their job now\ninvolves playing games amongst each other may, for some, come across as\nchildish.&nbsp; Employees may see through the\ngames and feel manipulated by their employer \u2013 dangling a carrot in front of\nsomeone doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that they will jump for it.&nbsp; For gamification to be successful it is\ncritical that the games selected are appropriate for the target audience;\ngenerally they must be appropriate for the level of the target audience and not\ncome across as childish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second challenge to using gamification is; why do we\nneed it?&nbsp; Not the games, but the\njobs.&nbsp; If a task is repetitive and\nsimple, then it is primed for automation.&nbsp;\nAutomation can be applied to any work that is always the same; where no\ndecision-making is required and there is a step-by-step process to be\nfollowed.&nbsp; Robots can be purpose-built to\nalways do the exact same activity, and they will never get bored.&nbsp; However, automation is still prohibitively expensive\nand much slower to roll-out in most developed countries.&nbsp; Whilst automating monotonous jobs may well be\nthe future solution, currently it is not quite reality for many organisations\nand they are facing the issue of a demotivated workforce today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, where is the return on investment?&nbsp; Unfortunately, many organisations struggle to\nunderstand benefits that aren\u2019t financial or tangible.&nbsp; Gamification has already been proven to\nbetter motivate employees and therefore improve productivity; but productivity\nis not generally measured as a financial KPI.&nbsp;\nDespite the fact that the employees are core to any organisation, their\nengagement level and commitment to their role is often a lower priority than\nincrease sales and profitability.&nbsp;\nGamification involves a cost to the organisation \u2013 new processes, prizes\n(even if it\u2019s just a pizza) and other necessary costs, and there is no direct\nfinancial benefit from that investment.&nbsp;\nHowever, there is very much an indirect benefit from a better motivated\nworkforce, and raising awareness of the intangible benefits as well as the\nindirect impact on costs (fewer broken forklift trucks, for example) are the\nbest way to answer the question of returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To sum up, gamification offers a range of potential benefits\nto organisations at very low risk; the worst outcome is that the game does not\nwork and things return to normal.&nbsp; The\nbest outcome is that employees become far better motivated, engaged and\ncommitted to their tasks.&nbsp; Productivity\nrises, waste is reduced, and people are happier to do their jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sounds good to us \u2013 when can we get started?\n\n\n\n\n\nGamification\u2019s Continuous Engagement Flow,\nStrategic Synergy, 2019: <a href=\"https:\/\/stratsynergy.wordpress.com\/2010\/11\/02\/engagement-flow-in-gamification\/\">https:\/\/stratsynergy.wordpress.com\/2010\/11\/02\/engagement-flow-in-gamification\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARC Insight: Maria Pia Caraccia and Katy Alice Huckle takes a closer look at the impact of game-playing on warehousing operations.","protected":false},"author":1612,"featured_media":126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insight","category-training-education"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125\/revisions\/133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}