Intranet badges increase engagement, deliver recognition and build connections

Gamification refers to incorporating elements of gaming into nongaming activities. Examples include completion bars, leaderboards and badges. It was badges that grabbed Adam Short’s attention as he sought to facilitate better, more productive teamwork and foster a positive culture of inclusivity and recognition on STEVE, the intranet of media agency The Specialist Works. His success has earned The Specialist Works first place in the “Gamification” category of Ragan’s 2018 Intranet Awards.

Goals included celebrating employees’ differences, increasing engagement with the intranet and reinforcing the company’s values (Passionate, Inquisitive, Caring and Knowledgeable—PICK). The categories of badges Short settled on included PICK badges that reinforced organization values, achievement badges, badges for training and development badges and animal persona badges.

The animal persona badges were developed based on a Myers-Briggs-like personality test employees take when they join the company. Based on the personas revealed by the test, employees were assigned animals like the lion (decision-makers who take leadership roles and can be relied on for their strong views and management capabilities), the beaver (caring people with strong interpersonal skills, they can be approached for support and advice) and others.

Employees embraced the animal badges immediately. One said, “When I need to work with colleagues I don’t know so well, the first thing I do is check out their profile page; the badges really help me understand more about their personality type (and) how they like to be communicated with.” It’s a unique application of gamification that demonstrates the concept still has legs.

Congratulations to Adam Short of The Specialist Works.