What makes a good kudos program?

[Daniel Eads]

I'm studying motivators right now with the intent of getting more people mobilized on changes that make a positive difference against climate change. It's been an interesting subject to study - not just the technologies and changes needed, but what gets people to make those changes and encourage other people to make them too.

Having seen a few platforms like ecochallenge try to tackle this space with points programs, I'm curious on what excites you about programs/platforms like this!

Not just Atlassian Community's kudos, but other programs too.

• What do you like?
• What do you dislike?
• What makes these fun to engage with?
• What keeps you coming back?

[Peter Van de Voorde]

Hey @Daniel Eads

Great question!

I have experience with both creating and participating in these types of programs. I've ran the Atlassian Allstars program (which I know you took part in all those years ago :) ) and I've also have helped set up the MongoDB Champions program.

I find that often people get started with these kind of programs because of the simple wins (swag, points, status) but they often stay along for the community and the feeling of purpose that good programs build.

I like a program that starts simple and gives you a number of instant 'wins' (badges, swag, points) and that slowly grows towards more meaningful things (giving back to the community, building a professional reputation, providing access to education, providing access to product teams, helping build a personal brand) all with a clear shared goal and focus that transcends individual purpose.

I dislike programs or tasks that are focussed on simply sharing content on social media (if I don't stand behind the content I will never share it on social media, not even for points or swag :) ). It seldom comes across as authentic.

For me it's often the people that make these programs fun. From a challenges perspective: a good mix of things I can do, things I can share, things I can learn from, things that are interactive and make me think.

It's almost always the people that make me come back (or wanting to stay at the top of the leaderboard ;) ) 

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Peter

[Jonathan V.]

This is a great area to focus in on, and I definitely recommend checking out Amy Jo Kim's book on Game Thinking, as it directly relates to the aspect of motivation and getting people coming back for more.

You can also check out their website: https://gamethinking.io/