ouchdown Onboarding: A Gamified Leadership Experience for Retention & Culture

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02 Mar

ouchdown Onboarding: A Gamified Leadership Experience for Retention & Culture

ouchdown Onboarding: A Gamified Leadership Experience for Retention & Culture

Monday, March 2, 2026 (12:00 AM) to Thursday, December 31, 2026 (11:59 PM)
2 PDCs
Provider: My HR Extension
Course Name: ouchdown Onboarding: A Gamified Leadership Experience for Retention & Culture

Speaker: Gina Wilson
Program Type: Reoccurring Seminar/Workshop
Registration URL: http://www.wright.edu
ouchdown Onboarding: A Gamified Leadership Experience for Retention & Culture, Celina, Ohio
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Learning Objectives At the conclusion of this program, participants will be able to: Identify early indicators of new hire disengagement by recognizing behavioral, emotional, and communication cues during the first 30 days of employment. Apply structured coaching techniques to address onboarding challenges in a way that builds clarity, accountability, and psychological safety. Deliver clear, direct, and empathetic feedback that aligns expectations while maintaining trust and professional respect. Differentiate between effective and ineffective supervisory responses in high-pressure onboarding situations. Assess the impact of legacy employee behaviors on new hire integration and develop strategies to leverage experienced employees as culture accelerators rather than culture blockers. Demonstrate decision-making skills under time constraints by evaluating real-world onboarding scenarios and selecting appropriate leadership actions. Design a practical onboarding action plan for a current or recent new hire that strengthens engagement, performance clarity, and retention outcomes. Connect onboarding practices to business metrics, including turnover reduction, productivity ramp-up, and culture sustainability. Increase self-awareness of personal coaching tendencies and identify one leadership behavior to intentionally adjust in order to improve onboarding effectiveness. This program emphasizes applied leadership skills, behavioral awareness, and strategic onboarding practices that support employee retention and organizational performance.

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Touchdown Onboarding is a facilitator-led, highly interactive leadership development experience delivered in a live classroom setting. The program uses a football-themed simulation framework to guide participants through four structured learning segments (“quarters”), each designed to build practical onboarding and coaching skills. Participants are placed into small teams (typically 4–6 per table) and engage in scenario-based decision-making activities, guided discussions, structured reflection exercises, and collaborative strategy design. The experience is competitive, fast-paced, and discussion-driven to maximize engagement and knowledge retention. The program includes the following components: Pregame: Coaching Mindset & Framing (Approx. 10–15 minutes) The facilitator opens by reframing onboarding as a leadership responsibility rather than an HR checklist. Participants complete a brief individual self-assessment exploring: • Their default response to underperformance • Common frustrations during onboarding • Their typical coaching tendencies under pressure This reflection increases self-awareness and prepares participants to engage in scenario-based learning with greater intentionality. The facilitator outlines scoring, expectations, and learning objectives before transitioning into gameplay. Quarter 1: Early Rookie Signals & Supervisor Impact (Approx. 20–30 minutes) Teams are introduced to common new hire internal narratives and onboarding experiences through scenario cards. These cards represent typical early employment concerns such as confusion about expectations, fear of asking questions, perceived lack of belonging, or inconsistent messaging from supervisors. Each team reviews scenario prompts and discusses: • What behavior or concern is surfacing? • What supervisor action would build clarity and belonging? • What response might unintentionally damage trust? Teams select their strongest response and present their reasoning. Peer teams may challenge decisions, encouraging debate and reinforcing critical thinking. This quarter focuses on recognizing subtle warning signs and understanding how supervisor tone, clarity, and responsiveness influence early engagement. Quarter 2: Rookie Meltdown Simulation (Approx. 30–40 minutes) Teams draw realistic onboarding “meltdown” scenarios. These reflect high-pressure situations such as emotional withdrawal, performance mistakes, conflict with a legacy employee, or cultural misalignment. For each scenario, teams must: • Identify the best response from structured options • Identify the worst response and explain why it would escalate the situation • Discuss how different coaching styles may influence the outcome The facilitator reviews correct answers and provides guided debrief discussion. Points are awarded based on selecting the most effective response. This segment builds skills in: • Emotional intelligence • Feedback delivery • Managing early-stage performance concerns • Reducing escalation and defensiveness • Coaching under time pressure Quarter 3: Real-Time Coaching Decision Rounds (Approx. 20–30 minutes) In this rapid-response segment, teams are presented with “red flag” situations indicating disengagement or confusion. Teams must quickly select a coaching action and justify their reasoning. The facilitator scores responses in real time and leads brief discussions connecting actions to business outcomes. This round reinforces: • Clear communication • Proactive leadership intervention • Managing resistance constructively • Maintaining psychological safety Participants experience the pressure of real-time decision-making while practicing structured, business-aligned responses. Quarter 4: Designing a Practical Onboarding Playbook (Approx. 25–35 minutes) In the final collaborative activity, teams are given: • A rookie profile • A legacy employee profile • A coaching lens • A structured worksheet Teams must design a realistic 5-day onboarding strategy that includes: • Early behavior indicators to monitor • Specific coaching conversations • How to leverage legacy employees effectively • Clear expectation-setting strategies Each team presents their strategy in a timed format. The facilitator awards points based on clarity, specificity, feasibility, and alignment with retention best practices. This segment transitions participants from reactive decision-making to proactive onboarding design. Post-Game Reflection & Behavior Transfer (Approx. 15–20 minutes) Participants complete an individual reflection exercise using the same structured worksheet format, applying the framework to an actual recent or current new hire from their team. They identify: • What went well • What they would change • One leadership behavior to adjust immediately The facilitator concludes by connecting learning to organizational metrics such as turnover, engagement, productivity ramp-up, and culture sustainability. Learning Methodology This program incorporates: • Scenario-based learning • Small group discussion • Structured peer debate • Guided facilitator debrief • Individual reflection and action planning • Competitive gamification elements to increase engagement The training emphasizes applied learning rather than lecture. Participants actively analyze, debate, decide, and design solutions aligned with real workplace challenges. Participant Engagement & Evaluation Engagement is maintained through: • Rotating scenario draws • Peer accountability • Facilitator scoring • Timed challenges • Live discussion Learning is reinforced through: • Facilitator-led debriefs • Peer challenge discussions • Immediate feedback • Written action planning Delivery Format This program is delivered in person in a classroom or conference setting. It is typically structured as a 2.5–3 hour session but can be adapted for half-day delivery depending on depth of discussion. Touchdown Onboarding moves beyond compliance-focused onboarding and instead builds leadership capability, cultural awareness, and retention strategy through immersive practice and structured reflection. The ultimate objective is to create sustainable behavior change among managers and HR professionals responsible for early employee experience.

ouchdown Onboarding: A Gamified Leadership Experience for Retention & Culture
ouchdown Onboarding: A Gamified Leadership Experience for Retention & Culture
7600 Lake Campus Dr
Celina, OH 45822-2921

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