Job turnover is a sure thing. It is inevitable for employees to come and go for different reasons. The big question… how to increase employee loyalty to minimize job turnover rate?
On average, employee turnover rate in North America is in the 25% to 30% range. The estimated cost of turnover is about 25% of annual salary and could go as high as 250% for entry level and for senior management positions.
The problem of employee turnover should never be ignored; it should be treated like a cancer that’s eating up profits. As a matter of fact, the sales required to recover the costs can be detrimental to a business.
A research from the UB School of Management found a solution to the problem. In this study involving MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) and other online games such as FarmVille, it was found that users were likely to return to these subscription-based games when they feel that the characters are their virtual representations: something that they can relate to. Loyalty also blooms when there is a continued change in the environment, and they get to associate themselves with like-minded members.
In the study, 173 players were tested to analyze player loyalty. It was discovered that the players who were able to create their own characters develop a deep sense of loyalty. Furthermore, the creation of guilds and in-game chat systems encouraged players to socialize.
By providing equal opportunities to any player to win a game, the player develops a sense of ownership of the character. And when the player customizes his character, the loyalty starts to grow.
How can these findings be applied in increasing employee loyalty in the workplace? Business owners can learn a lot from the results of this research. For one, it is best to create a constantly changing work environment that provides every member of the organization the opportunity to win. When there is a constant challenge in the workplace, employees are steadily improving to compete and shine. This is the concept of character customization, allowing every employee to develop his or her own skills.
To increase employee loyalty, it should also be a priority to bring together like-minded members. This idea of creating groups and teams with similar passions just like in guild features can help build strong support groups and a sense of belongingness. In this case, encouraging socialization is an important factor. By giving importance to communication, employee loyalty can be further enhanced.
In the end, reducing job turnover rate is a big challenge that every business should face head on. By creating a constantly changing environment, driving employees to customize themselves, and having groups and teams of like-minded individuals for better communication, increasing employee loyalty can be drastically improved.
The post How to Increase Employee Loyalty | Gamification Tips appeared first on Mind of Miller.