10 Onboarding gamification tools to engage your new hires

Ever thought of turning learning into a friendly competition or navigating company policies through a virtual treasure hunt? This is possible with onboarding gamification tools. 

No more yawning through boring presentations or shuffling through stacks of outdated and bulky handbooks. Today's companies are turning onboarding into an interactive experience that's more like exploring a new level in your favorite game.

Gamifying your onboarding process can boost engagement, make information stick better, and even speed up your new employees’ journey to becoming a pro in their new roles. So, if you're a company looking to welcome new hires with a bang – onboarding gamification is where the magic happens.

How to apply gamification in your onboarding process

Here are a few ways you can apply gamification in your onboarding process to keep your new team members engaged:

• Add quests and challenges - Create interactive challenges or quests that new hires need to complete. These could involve watching training videos, reading company materials, and even participating in quizzes. As they conquer each challenge, they earn points or badges, adding an element of accomplishment.
• Set up team leaderboards - Foster healthy competition by having a leaderboard that displays the progress of new hires. This not only motivates them to actively participate but also encourages a sense of camaraderie as they strive to reach the top.
• Promote storytelling - Craft a narrative that guides new hires through their onboarding journey. This could be a virtual adventure where they 'unlock' different parts of the company's story as they learn more.
• Create a rewards and recognition program - Recognize your new hires' achievements with small incentives, like gift cards, company swag, or even extra time off. It's a simple way to keep them hooked and excited throughout the process.

One of the easiest ways to add these gamification examples is by using onboarding gamification tools. In this article, we’ll go through a selection of nifty software that companies can use to jazz up their onboarding game and make their new hires’ journey into their world a fun learning experience.

Onboarding gamification tool #1 - SC Training (formerly EdApp)

When it comes to gamification in onboarding, SC Training (formerly EdApp) is ahead of the curve. With its microlearning-based Creator tool, you can turn snooze-worthy onboarding content into exciting smartphone-style games that your new hires can access anytime and anywhere.

Through the authoring feature, you’ll find a treasure trove of fun game templates – think letter jumble, find a word, image-word match, and true or false. There are even some serious brain-teaser formats like Jeopardy and the Elevator game. 

All you have to do is click on the built-in games that you prefer, add your onboarding content, and watch as your team taps and swipes through their onboarding.

If starting from scratch is too bothersome, you can opt to use the Create with AI tool, which works as your very own course-making buddy. There’s also SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s Course Creation Services (add-on), which gives you access to a team of expert instructional designers who can create gamified courses for you and do most of the heavy lifting. 

Once you’re ready with your onboarding content, you can amp up the challenge with points and badges, making your new hires’ learning journey even more fun and interactive. 

The Achievements feature lets you create badges and recognize team members for good learning behaviors. For example, team members can score badges just by opening the app for the first time, finishing their assessments, or acing a whole course. 

If you want to encourage friendly competition among your new hires, you can also try out SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s built-in Leaderboards (feature flag only). This can inspire them to stay on top of the rankings and help other team members know how they're doing.

Cost: Free (up to 10 users)

Key features:

• Microlearning
• Creator tool
• Built-in games
• Create with AI
• Course Creation Services
• Achievements
• Leaderboards

Transform your onboarding into an engaging adventure with SC Training (formerly EdApp). Sign up for free today!

Onboarding gamification tool #2 - GroveHR

Another standout onboarding software on this list is GroveHR. It comes with a wide selection of useful features that can help you automate your employee management processes and make onboarding easier. 

One of these features is its onboarding checklist. This can help your new team members keep track of important tasks and training that they need to complete in their first few weeks in your company. 

Compared to other LMS gamification tools, this platform also encourages social interaction and collaboration through its company social feed and peer recognition tools. During their onboarding, new hires can use these features to engage with their co-workers, ask questions, and get updates. 

Cost: Free, Paid plans start at 3 USD per month

Key features:

• Onboarding checklist
• Company social feed
• Peer recognition

Onboarding gamification tool #3 - Seppo

Seppo is a game-changer for organizations that are looking to level up their onboarding process. You can take advantage of this cutting-edge gamification platform to make sure your new team members have fun while completing their onboarding tasks and training programs. 

Use its comprehensive library of onboarding game templates to build gameboard-style games. These can be tweaked and used for pre-onboarding, work environment onboarding, and even role-specific training. 

If you don’t have time to create a game from scratch, Seppo's got you covered with its ready-made games. All you need to do is choose one that suits your onboarding needs and send it out to your team members! 

Cost: Contact for pricing

Key features:

• Pre-onboarding games
• Onboarding game templates
• Ready-made games

Onboarding gamification tool #4 - Connecteam

If you’re searching for an effective way to onboard and engage your team using just one tool, look no further than Connecteam. With its user-friendly mobile app, your employees can dive into onboarding courses and check their own onboarding progress, all with just a few taps.

The platform also offers built-in rewards and recognition features that let you put the spotlight on top performers and make sure they feel appreciated. You can customize badges for any milestone and share acknowledgments one-on-one or with the whole team. 

With Connecteam, you can cook up tailor-made online quizzes for all sorts of onboarding programs that you might have. This is a great way to track your team members’ learning retention levels and boost engagement. 

Cost: Free, Paid plans start at 12 USD per month

Key features:

• Mobile learning
• Recognition and rewards
• Online quizzes

Onboarding gamification tool #5 - Tovuti

Consider using Tovuti as your ultimate onboarding and training sidekick. It comes with a nifty course authoring suite that allows you to whip up, edit, and launch interactive onboarding courses without breaking a sweat.

Like other onboarding gamification tools on this list, you can sprinkle in some gamification magic, too. Think leaderboards and other fun gamified content that'll inspire your learners to conquer their onboarding challenges. 

Tovuti also offers a virtual classroom feature where your team can dive into discussions, group chats, or even have one-on-one chats using integrated tools like Zoom and GoToMeeting. And the best part? Pairing this up with their whiteboards feature can make onboarding sessions more fun and collaborative!

Cost: Contact for pricing

Key features:

• Leaderboards
• Virtual classroom
• Whiteboards

Onboarding gamification tool #6 - CYPHER Learning

Another popular learning platform that you can check out is CYPHER Learning. Apart from all the basic L&D must-haves, it comes with a wide range of gamification features that are sure to amp up your onboarding game. 

From badges that work as visual trophies to quizzes, challenges, and simulations that'll turn your training into a fun game night, this tool has got you covered. This makes it easy to apply different gamification techniques.

But that's not all – they've even got leaderboards and customizable game levels to spark friendly competition among your team. Think of it as leveling up your training program and showing off your top learners based on their own points and achievements.

Cost: Contact for pricing

Key features:

• Points and badges
• Personalized quizzes, challenges, and simulations
• Customizable game levels
• Leaderboards

Onboarding gamification tool #7 - Kahoot

With visually captivating gamified learning examples, Kahoot makes sure your learners are hooked and motivated to finish their onboarding assessments. Your team members can access any of their assigned games, known as "Kahoots", through a web browser or its elearning app. 

You can also choose to have a group of employees answer together on a shared screen using video conferencing, or allow them to go at their own pace individually. 

And to top it all off, Kahoot gives you the power of reporting and analytics, helping you spot knowledge gaps and give valuable feedback to your team members.

Cost: Starts at 29 USD per month

Key features:

• Accessible elearning app
• Collaborative or self-paced challenges
• Reporting and analytics

Onboarding gamification tool #8 - Raydiant

Elevate your employee onboarding engagement with real-time performance insights using Raydiant. You can boost teamwork and cultivate high-performing team members with its cool selection of features. This includes recognition options, gamified training, and instant communication, all right within the platform.

Encourage friendly competition among your team by trying out Raydiant's variety of challenges and contests. These include sports-style brackets and exciting head-to-head matchups, all set and ready to roll.

And don't miss the awesome recognition and rewards perks! Give your team the option to pick rewards that they prefer, from gift cards to the latest gadgets, even luxurious travel adventures.

Cost: Contact for pricing

Key features:

• Internal employee communication
• Employee leaderboards
• Rewards and recognition

Onboarding gamification tool #9 - Introdus

Introdus is another great option for a fun and seamless onboarding process. With this user-friendly tool, your new team members will feel like rock stars from day one. It can be your go-to for boosting your employees’ knowledge, igniting motivation, and tapping into their skills effortlessly.

The platform keeps things smooth with automated notifications. This helps your team get timely, bite-sized updates following a well-structured onboarding plan. 

And guess what? It offers a really cool buddy system too! You can use this feature to match newbies with mentors who've got their back—answering questions, showing them around, and being the go-to guide.

Cost: Contact for pricing

Key features:

• Automated notifications
• Buddy system

Onboarding gamification tool #10 - Mambo.IO

Mambo.IO is a gamification training software that brings interactive training to different industries, including sales, telecom, construction, and healthcare. 

One of its main selling points is its gamification features, allowing you to customize rewards, assign game-like training missions and simulations, and encourage peer shoutouts.

Plus, it offers leaderboards that track actions and points, motivating learners to excel. You can dish out coupons for discounts, free shipping, or company swag. Mambo.IO keeps tabs on coupon use so you can see how well your rewards are doing. 

Cost: Contact for pricing

Key features:

• Custom rewards 
• Coupon system
• Peer-to-peer recognition