Mindflash published an article recently re-envisioning the on-boarding process. Traditionally a somewhat staid, tiresome undertaking for employer and new hire alike — necessary though it is — on-boarding can be more than an introduction to the company, Bill Cushard suggests.
It can be far more engaging and enjoyable (even fun!) for employees.
The piece considers the benefit of gamifying learning and development, introducing various gaming principles, as follows:
Progression
Outline the steps new hires will go through during the course of training, from HR paperwork to completion of any requisite training, and create a visual to illustrate their movement along that path.
Achievement and Rewards
Reward completion of tasks or imperative by using a badge-, pin- or point-based system. In addition to providing trainees with a sense of accomplishment, this facilitates continuous feedback throughout the process.
Cascading Information
The idea here is for managers to provide new staff with one goal at a time, only providing an additional task or goal once the preceding one is finished. The theory is that this incentivizes the worker to progress through steps in anticipation of what’s to come.
Countdown
Create a sense of urgency and challenge by setting time limits for completing tasks.
Levels
“Leveling up” in a video game is motivation in itself. Set distinct achievement levels and communicate achievements, allowing managers and other trainees to easily identify top achievers.
Quests
Provide more difficult or increasingly challenging tasks that new hires want to take on and that have greater rewards, encouraging them to delve deeper into a particular area.
Published by Conselium Executive Search, the global leader in compliance search.
