How to use virtual escape rooms as an engaging, effective onboarding tool

I love it when readers give their suggestions and ask questions.  Like when Manuela emailed me asking if I knew of any low-budget, easy onboarding tools.

(I cut this sign out of a newspaper ages ago and have always thought it was such an incredible example of welcoming or even in our case, onboarding, people.)

She was working with a not-for-profit that didn’t have big bucks and needed an easy tool to onboard or bring on new staff.

What a great challenge.

Here’s what I suggested to her …. and to you, the next time you need to onboard someone.

But first, two notes: 

1. I’ve just finished reading Mike Michalowicz’s book All In – How Great Leaders Build Unstoppable Teams, which is chockablock full of great suggestions, including for onboarding.  More about that in another post.
2. Let’s look at the big picture before we dive into the details.

Regarding the latter, let’s get away from “snore-boarding,” where learning about the job and the organization makes people’s eyes glaze over with boredom, and onboard with ease, efficiency, creativity, and engagement.

Here are some criteria from the organization’s viewpoint when it comes to onboarding:

• low budget
• relatively easy to implement
• effective
• customizable to the organization’s information
• able to easily be updated
• able to share and lightly test key staff if the organizational information has sunk in

Here are some things to think about from the staff’s point of view when they’re being onboarded:

• the process should be an interesting, engaging way to learn about the job and the organization
• it should set a great tone – be a motivating and innovative way to learn
• the tool(s) should be convenient
• timing should include self-paced learning
• the staff should be able to easily find and return to the content at any time

What is this onboarding elixir that fulfills all of these criteria?

The answer may surprise you.

A virtual escape room or virtual quest.

Think about it, it’s easy to create, fun to do, and completely customizable.

• While not specifically onboarding-focused, to give you an idea of what I’m talking about, here’s an example of a virtual quest I made about learning challenges related to online businesses.  It’s very simple, it doesn’t have the additional steps of having to answer questions correctly to proceed.
• And here’s another example of a virtual quest.  This one is about the Learning Performance Approach methodology.  It does have the additional steps of having to answer questions right in order to move on.

Hooked?  Intrigued?  Curious?

Your instructions for how to make your own virtual quest or escape room are below.

Now go on and learn, laugh, and lead

Learn

• How to make a virtual quest easily and quickly and wow your team with this simple tech tool.

Laugh

• Please, for the love of all new team members, stay away from snore-boarding like this funny fail.

https://youtu.be/whGDDlKcm-M?si=IY0C3UtU8EbvBFOt

Lead

• Gather your key onboarding content and try your hand at making your own virtual quest escape room.  Now off with yee on your virtual quest!