Badges

Information for network administrators

What are badges?
Why did we decide to introduce badges to Starmind?
What badges users can earn?
The benefits
How to enable badges in your network?
FAQ

What are badges?

Gamification is a general term for the use of game elements in non-gaming systems to improve user experience and drive user engagement. Badges are exactly such elements.
A collectible achievement, also called a badge, is a virtual reward given to users after they have accomplished a certain activity. By rewarding users with badges we’re able to promote healthy and effective behaviors in Starmind’s networks and teach new users the best way to use the product.

Why did we decide to introduce badges to Starmind?

Users who understand the value of Starmind are more likely to build an engaged, loyal and happy community. Our goal is to help users understand it, even if they haven’t had a chance yet to ask a question. We decided to do this by enabling users to earn badges for performing specific tasks in Starmind.

It’s easy to think that if you, as a user, don’t ask or answer questions - you cannot contribute in any way to Starmind and help your colleagues. But that’s actually far from the truth! Actions like recommending experts, commenting, mentioning others, rating answers… it all has an impact - it contributes to silo busting and creating a well networked community.

What badges users can earn?

Badge nameRewarded actionWhen is the badge granted?Why is it a valuable action?
Clever contribution (Kluger Beitrag)Answering a questionAnswered 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50,100 timesAnswering is the most helpful action you can perform on Starmind, if you know the answer
Conversation starter (Gesprächsfunke)CommentingCommented 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100 times on a question or a solutionSometimes you don’t have to know the full answer, or may not be the best person to answer, but still you can provide some input by posting a comment.
Quality Assurance (Qualitäts Genie)Rating an answerRated 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100 solutionsRating an answer is a great action to provide feedback to the solution author. It helps to keep the quality of the content in the network high.
Fast Answer (Schnelle Antwort)Answering questions fastOne-off action: Answer provided below 2 hrsProviding an answer fast saves time for the question author and other curious colleagues.
First answer (Erste Antwort)Providing a first answer to a questionWhen a user is the first to provide an answer to a question regardless of time 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100 timesNo questions should be left unanswered, as lack of information can potentially block someone to do their job or slow them down.
Excellent answer (Brilliante Antwort)Receiving an excellent rating for own answerGot a rating of 4 or 5 stars 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100 timesIt means you provided a high quality answer and these are helping others the most.
Expert Connector (Experten Vermittler)Recommending an expertRecommend an expert to a question that is not answered 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100 timesYou can help others even if you cannot answer the question yourself, but you know an expert who might have the solution.
Helping hand (Rückendeckung)Sharing answers with other usersShared 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100 answersSharing answers helps to spread the right information, so it can reach colleagues who can benefit from it the most.
Bridge Builder (Brückenbauer)Mentioning othersMentioned a user in a comment or an answer 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100 timesInvolving others in the conversation helps to build expertise and engagement in the network.
In the loop (Top-informiert)Subscribing to topicsSubscribed to 3, 5, 10, 20 tags/categoriesSubscribing to updates on the content that's interesting specifically to you keeps you on top of what's going on in the network. It helps to build up the expertise - you have a chance to contribute in time with your answer to a question for which you haven’t been recognized by Starmind's AI as an expert yet.
Popular Answer (Beliebte Antwort)Receiving views on own answersAnswer viewed 10 - 25 - 50 - 75 - 100 - 150 timesIt signals to the user that the question they answered is drawing their colleagues' attention. By contributing with their own answer, they help to spread own valuable, in-demand knowledge across the organization.

*This badge was added based on the customers' request.

The benefits

Badges support many different aspects of the networks and it’s users. In particular, they:

  • Teach new users what’s the best way to use Starmind
  • Promote contribution, giving users the feeling of ownership and belonging
  • Promote healthy and effective behaviors
  • Add an element of excitement and fun :)

Any networks that are especially interested in: retaining users, keeping them engaged, conveying the value of Starmind should have the feature enabled.

In the long run badges have a chance to lower the effort required to drive the network engagement.

How to enable badges in your network?

If the badges are not enabled in your network yet, please reach out to your dedicated Customer Success Manager.

FAQ

Are the badges connected in any way to the user score?
At this point in time they are separate features. We don’t plan to remove the current user score anytime soon. We know from admin interviews that some networks reward users periodically based on the user score. We may improve it further based on the feedback we receive.

Can I enable badges if my network doesn’t use the user score?
Yes, you definitely should! That’s a great way to boost motivation without the element of competition between the users.

Where can I find more information on badges to share with users in my network?
See an article on badges dedicated for users here: https://help.starmind.com/docs/earn-starmind-badges-new.

Will you add more badges in the future? How can I suggest a new badge?
Yes, absolutely! We plan to add more badges based on feedback. You can suggest new badge ideas by contacting your dedicated Customer Success Manager.