In today’s fast-paced digital workplace, keeping users engaged with business applications is a constant challenge. That’s where gamification comes in. It’s a powerful strategy that transforms routine tasks into rewarding experiences.
When integrated into platforms like Microsoft Dynamics 365, gamification can significantly enhance user adoption, performance and satisfaction. Most importantly, it can help people to get more from your systems and boost overall business performance.
In this blog, we explore what gamification looks like in Dynamics 365.
Why is gamification useful?
Gamification can help you to achieve numerous things by introducing a healthy sense of competition and encouraging users to improve their performance gradually. Benefits of gamification include:
- Boost user engagement: Gamification taps into our natural desire for competition, achievement and recognition. By turning everyday CRM tasks into games—complete with points, leaderboards, and rewards—users are more likely to stay motivated and consistently interact with the system.
- Drives productivity: With clearly defined goals and real-time feedback, gamification encourages users to complete tasks more efficiently. Whether it’s closing sales, resolving customer issues or updating records, gamified elements help teams stay focused and productive.
- Improves data quality: One of the biggest challenges in CRM adoption is ensuring accurate and timely data entry. Gamification incentivises users to input data correctly and regularly, which leads to better reporting, forecasting and decision-making.
- Encourages healthy competition: Leaderboards and team-based challenges create a sense of friendly rivalry that can energise the workplace. This not only boosts morale but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration.
- Supports goal alignment: Managers can align gamification metrics with business objectives, ensuring that the behaviours being rewarded directly contribute to organisational success. This makes gamification not just fun, but strategically valuable.
- Enhances learning and onboarding: New users often face a steep learning curve. Gamified training modules and achievement badges make onboarding more interactive and less intimidating, accelerating the learning process.
Gamification features within Microsoft Dynamics 365
Dynamics 365 is home to a range of gamification features, which can be adjusted and used to cover different needs, from hitting sales targets to bringing data to life. These are the core gamification features in the app:
1. Fantasy teams and competitions
Gamification in Dynamics 365 allows users to form fantasy teams, similar to fantasy sports leagues. These teams compete based on real-time performance data pulled directly from CRM activities. Team members earn points for completing specific tasks like closing opportunities, qualifying leads or resolving service cases. This fosters collaboration and friendly competition, making routine work more engaging and team-oriented.
2. Leaderboards
Leaderboards provide a visual ranking of users or teams based on performance metrics. They update in real time and can be displayed on dashboards or shared in team meetings. You can tailor leaderboards to reflect different roles, from sales reps to service agents or marketers. Each can have their own KPIs. Seeing their name climb the leaderboard encourages users to stay active and improve their performance.
3. Badges and achievements
Users earn digital badges for reaching milestones or completing specific actions, such as onboarding tasks, hitting sales targets, or maintaining high customer satisfaction scores. Badges serve as visible recognition of effort and skill, boosting morale and encouraging continued engagement. They also help users track their own development and accomplishments over time.
4. KPI tracking
Gamification tools in Dynamics 365 allow managers to define and track KPIs that align with business goals. Dashboards can also be used to show how individuals and teams are performing against targets. This ensures that gamified activities are not just fun, but also drive meaningful business outcomes.
5. Prizes and recognition
Within Dynamics 365, admins can assign rewards (monetary or non-monetary) to top performers based on leaderboard rankings or badge achievements. Prizes can range from gift cards and bonuses to public recognition or extra time off. This encourages a culture of appreciation and high performance.
6. Customisable games
Games in Dynamics 365 can be tailored to suit different departments, goals and timeframes, making them highly flexible and relevant. Whether it’s a short-term sprint or a long-term campaign, they can be configured to match the desired outcomes. These customisable games support both individual and team-based formats, ensuring everyone can participate.
How to access gamification in Dynamics 365
Gamification features in Microsoft Dynamics 365 are available through both Microsoft’s native Gamification solution and third-party apps like Gamifics365. Here’s a breakdown of where and how these features are available:
1. Microsoft Dynamics 365 – Gamification
This is an official Microsoft add-on that integrates directly with Dynamics 365. It allows you to:
- Set up individual and team-based competitions.
- Track performance against custom KPIs.
- Use leaderboards, badges, and rewards to motivate users.
- Integrate with CRM modules like Sales and Customer Service.
The add-on works only with Dynamics 365 Online (not on-premises). You will need to install it via AppSource and then activate it within your Dynamics 365 environment.
2. Gamifics365 by Inogic
Gamifics365 is a robust, third-party gamification app designed specifically for Dynamics 365 and Dataverse. It offers:
- Multiple game types: Face-off, Race, Challenge.
- Fantasy teams and real-time score tracking.
- Mobile app support for on-the-go engagement.
- Customisable scoreboards and leaderboards.
- Integration with User Adoption Monitor for deeper insights.
Gamifics365 is compatible with Dynamics 365 version 9.1 and above. It also supports online deployment and Power Apps (Dataverse) environments.
Explore more of what’s possible in Dynamics 365
Dynamics 365 is a comprehensive platform, designed to overcome even the most niche challenges in your business. For many businesses, gamification will encourage their sales, marketing and customer service teams to perform better, driving results. But if engaging customers and ensuring more sales is your goal, there are also in-built features within the platform to support.
In the webinar below, our Dynamics 365 experts dive into how the platform can build strong customer relationships and convert more leads, with a demonstration of the most powerful features:
