5 Strategies to Gamify Your Next-Generation Path to Partnership

Although you might not consciously think about it, our day-to-day lives involve a wide range of ‘gamified’ systems. From airline frequent flier programs and cash-back credit cards to fitness trackers that incorporate challenges, badges, and rewards as motivators to keep us healthy. In fact, one of the first organizations to incorporate what we today know as gamification was the U.S. military (e.g., enlisted and officer ranks, awards and medals, simulations, pay grades, etc.).

Gamification taps into our deep desire for competition, achievement and resulting rewards – helping to incent desired behaviors and encourage continual learning and improvement. It’s no surprise, therefore, that a gamified system for advancement can make career progression a more engaging process. This is especially true for young professionals looking to make their mark in wealth management, where the journey to partnership can often seem long and arduous.

By outlining the specific milestones and achievements needed to move from one level to the next, you can create a totally transparent and motivating framework that helps clarify expectations, encourages participation, and rewards commitment and excellence – all while making the whole process more dynamic and rewarding.

Employees say gamification makes them feel more productive (89%) and happier (88%) at work.¹

So, where do you start? How do you implement this type of structure in a way that’s effective, fun, and provides a clear roadmap for your next-generation leadership team? The following five basics should help you establish a solid framework for your firm. These are just examples, examples that we’ve heard from other financial advising firms that we’re coaching; and all are demonstrating clear progress and success in building the next-generation leadership team. So let’s cover these five areas:

1. Create a Level-Based Progression System – Much like in a video game (where players advance through levels by completing tasks and achieving goals), a level-based progression system offers a simple and effective way to gamify the path to partnership by:

   1. Defining clear, distinct levels and milestones within your firm (e.g., Associate Advisor, Senior Associate Advisor, Lead Advisor, Income Partner, and Senior or Equity Partner). Each level should have clear criteria and milestones that need to be achieved, such as obtaining certain certifications, reaching client acquisition targets, or demonstrating specific leadership skills.

   2. Offering incentives and rewards at each level to keep employees motivated. These might include bonuses, additional vacation days, or professional development opportunities. The key is to make each level of advancement meaningful and desirable.

2. Implement a Points and Badges System where team members earn points for completing tasks, reaching milestones, and exhibiting certain desirable behaviors. Employees have a number of opportunities to:

   1. Earn points for various activities such as closing new accounts, achieving high client satisfaction scores, or participating in community events. Points should be awarded for individual and team achievements to help foster a stronger sense of collaboration and healthy competition.

   2. Unlock badges visually representing major accomplishments such as reaching a significant milestone or demonstrating exceptional performance. Examples might include earning a ‘Client Champion’ badge for high client satisfaction scores, a ‘Cross-Sell Star’ badge for exceeding net new assets from existing relationships threshold, or a ‘Financial Wizard’ badge for achieving a particularly high ROI for their clients.

3. Introduce Leaderboards and Competitions – These can help drive engagement by tapping into the competitive spirit of your team members. By making achievements visible and creating friendly competitions, you help foster a culture of excellence. Consider establishing:

   1. Public leaderboards that you display in common areas or through the firm’s internal communication channels to highlight top performers. This sort of visibility can help motivate employees to improve their standing and be recognized for their work.

   2. Regular competitions organized around specific goals such as acquiring the most new clients in a quarter or the most net new assets from existing clients. Offer attractive prizes for winners (e.g., cash bonuses, gift cards, or extra time off) to energize employees and encourage them to strive for elite performance.

4. Gamify Training and Development – Professional growth and development are essential milestones on the path to partnership. By gamifying training programs, you can help to make learning more engaging and motivate team members to continuously develop their skills. Components of this program might include:

   1. Interactive learning modules that include quizzes, challenges, and real-world scenarios. Award points and badges for completing these modules, and incorporate leaderboards to track individual progress and encourage friendly competition.

   2. Mentorship programs can also be gamified by setting goals and milestones for mentorship pairs to achieve, such as completing certain projects or hitting specific learning targets. You should also strive to recognize and reward successful mentorship relationships to highlight their importance.

5. Offer Tiered Partnership Opportunities to help make the path to partnership more accessible and appealing. By clearly defining the different levels of partnership and what is required to reach each level, you create a more transparent and motivating career progression.

   1. Differentiate between ‘income’ and ‘equity’ partners, with the former receiving a share of the profits without having an ownership stake and the latter having both ownership shares and a say in the firm’s governance. Clearly outline the criteria and associated benefits for reaching each level. It’s an opportunity for younger professionals to earn ‘partnership’ through a long-term incentive plan that’s cash-based and cliff-vested, without diluting equity.

   2. Create a tiered progression system where team members can advance through different partnership levels. Each level should have increased responsibilities, financial rewards, and decision-making authority. By providing a clear and achievable path, you encourage and motivate employees to work towards partnership, as well as help ensure they’re well prepared for the responsibilities that come with it.

Gamifying your firm’s path to partnership is a transformative way to turn what’s often a daunting and subjective process into an engaging and motivating, clearly marked journey. It’s an incredibly impactful way to foster a culture of continuous improvement and excellence – one that helps attract and retain top talent – simply by creating a level-based progression system, implementing points and badges, introducing leaderboards and competitions, gamifying training and development, and offering tiered partnership opportunities.

Make your firm’s journey to partnership more transparent, rewarding, and enjoyable. It will not only inspire team members to achieve their full individual potential but also contribute to the long-term success and sustainability of the business.

Coaching Questions from this Article:

1. Think about your current path to partnership. What lessons from the military (or from how video game quests are crafted) could you implement to make your career paths more clearly defined and engaging?

2. How might integrating gamification into the path to partnership in your firm impact the overall culture and productivity over the next decade?

3. How could a level-based progression system be adapted to accommodate the evolving career aspirations and work-life balance preferences of future generations of financial advisors?

4. How could advancements in technology and data analytics further enhance the effectiveness of points, badges, and leaderboards in driving employee engagement and performance in the coming years?

5. What potential challenges might firms face when implementing gamified training and development programs, and how can they be addressed to ensure the long-term success of such initiatives?

¹ TalentLMS, 2019 Survey on Gamification in the Workplace