Several of our recent projects have successfully incorporated leaderboards to engage teams, not just with the activity in front of them, but with a wider sense of connection and reward across the company. They can be added to many workplace learning situations, giving them a social feature that encourages participation and competition.
Space Invaders (first released in 1978), is recognized as the first game to use a leaderboard, with many people encouraged to pay for another game just for a chance to see their three initials ranked in the top ten. Most games quickly followed suit and added this simple method to encourage repeat use. But gamification is now much more sophisticated and leaderboards are no longer just about a list of top scores comparing individuals. Although they can still be simple to view, behind the scenes they are more complicated and require thoughtful design to ensure success.
Tags: Collaboration • employees • games • leaderboards • learning innovation • learning theory • motivation • reward • social learning • Workplace Learning