Waisimo, developed by MAVI Interactive LLC, was selected as a finalist in the 2015 Serious Games Showcase and Challenge in the Business Category.
The game has been launched by LC Waikiki, based in Istanbul,
Turkey, which trades in 577 stores in 27 countries with the philosophy that “Everyone
Deserves to Dress Well” and aspiring to become "One Of The Three Most
Successful Clothing Retailers In Europe by 2023".
MAVI Interactive has formulated the case for action while
observing that “short orientation programs are often a knowledge transfer of
policies and procedures which are not enough to help new retail employees
become fully effective in their duties.”
Waisimo is a virtual
apprenticeship Serious Game that addresses some of the prevalent reasons for
voluntary employee turnover in the retail industry, among them lack of opportunities
for professional development, boredom/lack of challenge, and job stress/unfair
treatment.
Built for the millennial generation, which according
to the developers makes up 89.4% of all new retail hires in the US, the game gives
players a “taste of” what perfecting the Art of Customer Service is about in
the context of a retail clothing store, making it a potentially powerful
assessment tool to generate a candidate profile and hire the right fit.
The gaming context keeps players engaged and prepares them for the busy retail environment, making it a powerful pre-hiring, job applicant assessment tool to reduce voluntary turnover.
The gaming context keeps players engaged and prepares them for the busy retail environment, making it a powerful pre-hiring, job applicant assessment tool to reduce voluntary turnover.
Gameplay
Waisimo lets newly hired customer
service associates experience how it feels to maintain a balance between
responding to customer needs and maintaining a tidy store space. Customer
Service is a skill that is difficult to master, and not everyone is cut out for
it. In a retail clothing store it’s even harder to maintain that balance.
The player starts from Monday (Level 1) and
plays the entire week until Sunday. (Total of 7 levels) Each “day” is
progressively harder on various metrics such as the size of the store space,
the number of garments, the number of customers in the store, the rate in which
they rummage through the racks (which then need to be reorganized), the range
and frequency of face-to-face customer interactions, etc.
The player must use every available moment to
restore the store to its ship-shape state. However that’s easier said than
done, because they must greet the customers as they enter the store, respond to
their needs, help them in the fitting rooms, find solutions to their
complaints, help them check out and even handle arguments.