Data: a game for experts only?
Data is everywhere in our daily lives, from weather forecasts to online shopping. And in businesses, the quantity of data that is stored and exchanged has risen sharply, partly due to the new social distancing rules. But this strategically important subject can also seem difficult.
ENGIE has opted for gamification to help its employees feel at home with this subject and acquire the “data reflex”. Gamification calls on the principles of games to facilitate the learning and awareness of complex subjects.
What is at stake with ENGIE’s Data Games? Transforming data from a subject for experts only into a familiar terrain for all our staff. “We have created a made-to-measure game based on the idea of bringing data into the everyday lives of every employee”, explains Yves Le Gélard, ENGIE’s Executive Vice-President in charge of Digital Technologies and Group Information Systems. “The game is very simple. One round of three questions, and in a fun, game-like way, we can learn and create a language common to all the employees.”
The rules of the game by ENGIE
Step one: immersion. We have opened an intranet site where our employees can measure and improve their knowledge of data.
Step two: the game. For three weeks, every employee, from novices to experts, can compete with their colleagues in a smartphone application that sets three rounds of challenges. The eight selected themes explore the data-related issues at ENGIE: energy production, the customer experience, new technologies, support functions, regulatory questions, etc.
Step three: the rewards. On 7 December, the players who win the most challenges or whose names are drawn from the hat will receive their prizes: 10 electric bikes and 100 one-year unlimited music subscriptions.
Data: an essential subject for ENGIE
The Data Games are consolidating our position as a data-driven company, as Yves Le Gélard explains. “In our wind farms, we compare data on the types of turbines, the geographical position or the force of the wind, to strike the ideal balance between noise regulations and our energy production forecasts.” He continues: “For solar B2B applications, weather, marketing or operational data (battery charge levels, availability of the panels) can be used to decide whether to sell, use or store the electricity. On the business side, we also use data to design made-to-measure offers or to anticipate the levels of unsubscription”
Collecting and analysing this data make it possible to gain a better understanding of customers, employees and suppliers. And, ultimately, to improve the Group’s performance. Since the launch of the DATA@ENGIE programme in 2018, “the business units have identified gains of more than €100 million, including savings of between 10% and 40% on predictive maintenance, and a decrease in the number of incidents of up to 25%. We have also improved our knowledge of our customers in order to better meet their needs and made an estimated €2.5 million of savings on resources.”
So, data is not a field reserved for computer engineers and specialists only. On the contrary, data feeds every one of the company’s activities. With these three weeks of gaming, ENGIE is offering its employees an opportunity to join the data adventure, which is only just beginning.