On the Implementation of a Gamified Professional Development System for Direct Care Staff

ABSTRACT

Many industries and professions rely heavily on entry-level staff. In some settings, it is important to further develop these individuals after onboarding and initial training is complete. Gamification in the workplace involves the redesign of employee activities such that they resemble or draw from environmental contingencies used in game design. We posit that gamification offers a behavior analytic-congruent approach to further developing entry-level employees, and occasioning behavior important to the employee and company as a whole. The purpose of this report is to provide a descriptive example of how a gamified model of professional development was implemented for a workforce of approximately 130 entry-level, direct care staff in a specialized education facility.

KEYWORDS:

• Direct care staff
• gamification
• professional development
• turnover

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.