GC12: Taking the Work Out of Work | with Ross Smith of Microsoft

Global, social, technological, and demographic shifts alter the competitive landscape for businesses across the globe. The impact on organizational behavior is significant. Creativity and innovation are paramount – keystones for 21st century competitive relevance. The speed of business and the pressures of competition require unprecedented agility. At an organizational level, employees are pulled in every direction, asked to perform unreal acts, and pressured for new ideas at a level well beyond the greatest minds in history. Yet, high unemployment levels, globalization, offshoring, outsourcing, contract work, crowdsourcing and a burgeoning population mean uncertainty and insecurity for everyone. A lack of trust and uncertainty around job security inhibit creative undertakings by employees. How do we partner to foster creativity while maintaining a competitive edge? The answer is to create a culture of play and games in the 21st century workplace. Ross Smith is a Director of Test in Skype at Microsoft, where he’s worked for over 20 years and has acquired seven patents. He and his team have helped Microsoft reinvent a number of business processes using gamification, including the Windows Language Quality Game.  Together, he and Jesse discuss ways to “take the work out of work” and improve employee engagement and creativity with game dynamics. Resources Mentioned in This Episode * Ross Smith’s “Work/Play: How Microsoft Leads with Gamification” presentation at GSummit 2013. * Ross Smith’s “How Gaming Transforms the Workplace” presentation. Connect with Ross: * Twitter: @42projects * Email: [email protected] * Website: www.42projects.org To stay up on the latest news and trends in employee gamification, join the Game Changer group on LinkedIn. Subscription Links iTunes Stitcher RSS Your Feedback If you like our show, please rate us on iTunes. That makes a huge difference in helping more people discover it. We love to know your thoughts about this episode. Please submit your comments below! You can also email comments to Jesse at [email protected], subscribe to him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter. For the transcript of this episode:  Taking the Work Out of Work | with Ross Smith of Microsoft