How a leadership academy closed the gap between tracking and connection.

Tracking participants' progress in online learning usually tells you whether someone finished a module, when they logged in or what their completion percentage is.

But learning behaviour is deeper than that and most leaders want more than that, right?

You want to know if people are binge watching content the night before a check in meeting, or pacing themselves weekly allowing for real scenario implementation. You want to see where engagement drops off. You want feedback at the right moments, not three weeks after the fact or deep in the back end of your learning platform.

For learning providers and teams, that gap between completion data and learning insight creates real blind spots and sometimes completely irrelevant data.

The question isn't whether to automate it all and hope for the results, or commit all your time to be on top of each person, in person. It's about using automation to create the right moments for human connection. Let the system track progress and send nudges. Show up in person when someone hits a milestone worth celebrating.

Story time...

The engagement gap

A leadership development agency came to me in September 2025 with a question about creating more engaged participants. They sell their program to organisations, who then enroll their team members into cohort-based learning. Standard progress tracking in their learning platform (Kajabi) told them completion percentages, but nothing about learning patterns or engagement quality.

Their second cohort was launching in January 2026. The first cohort (managers and senior leaders) had been highly engaged, however had been working with them for some time and already had the personal relationship and connection. This second cohort would include team members who couldn't hide behind the same level of in-person accountability. They needed a different engagement system.

Cue gamification.

We evaluated adding in some gamification to their existing program in September. They decided to move forward in late January, 10 days before go-live, while simultaneously onboarding another B2B client.

What we built (and why it worked)

We implemented the Gamiflix template from Jiffy Courses, a gamification system that integrates directly into Kajabi.

And here's what we built...

★ REWARDS: An animated reward 'medal' system with strategic triggers at Module completion, End of Module quiz completion and key supporting email link clicks. Medals appeared greyed out until earned, then displayed as moving, sparkly GIFs. Design stayed professional, awards and recognition markers, not gaming 'pokemon' style tokens (but that would be fun for the right students!).

★ PERSONALISED MESSAGING: A dual notification system sending emails to both learner (congratulations medal email with community prompt) and admin (real-time progress ping). No more logging into the backend to check reports. The admin notifications became prompts for human touch points such as a personalised congratulations message, a check-in call and/or a shout-out in the next live session. If the cohort were larger, I'd also consider setting up regular report automation to be sent to a dashboard or inbox of clients choice.

★ REAL-TIME FEEDBACK: Popup feedback forms at the end of selected modules with one bespoke targeted question to collect feedback right as someone finished their learning, while they're still fresh in the learning buzz - not 5 days & 25 meetings after.

★ INSTINCTIVE DASHBOARD NAVIGATION: Netflix-style navigation with the dashboard background changing based on the next module in queue. We chose the slider layout (horizontal scroll through lessons) over the grid views, to match their cohort-based pacing. With collapsible menu, resource and community links to ensure a smooth UX throughout. Future options with this template also allow learning pathways, which I'm already utilising with another client who is jumping on board the Gamiflix template also. Think Netflix's: 'if you liked that one, you might also like this one' style of navigation.

The system handles the back end automation, workflows and tracking. The academy team handles the personal touches & celebration. 🎊

What changed (and what surprised us)

Immediate wins:

🎈 Real-time visibility into learner progress without pulling reports. Admin notifications ping when someone hits a pre-set milestone, creating natural moments to celebrate or check in. The automation flags the moment. The team decides how to show up, be it a short personal message, a call or an acknowledgment in the next live workshop in front of their peers.

🎈 Frictionless feedback collection. Popup forms capture responses at strategic points without asking learners to navigate elsewhere, or losing their attention the second they finish the learning.

🎈Community engagement increased. Medal emails prompt learners to share progress, creating peer accountability. The automated prompt creates the opening. The human response in the community creates the connection.

What surprised us:

The biggest change was the pace that the individual cohort members started their learning as soon as the Module drops each month. Rather than leaving it to the last minute, night before the live group coaching call, we can see them getting started soon, but also pacing themselves in the lead up to the call at month end.

Due to the leadership strategy & development they're learning in the program itself, this allows them to implement in real life scenarios as they continue to move through the lessons and then allows meaningful discussion in the month end coaching calls, rather than all theory based.

This is the real gold, that no system automated stats really divulge.

The setup also revealed more possibilities than expected. Bonus content unlocks. Link-click reward triggers. Email automation options (after every lesson vs module completion). Incentivised prizes for completing medals by certain dates and opportunity to create Learning Pathway style content in future.

We realised there were more strategic progress markers available beyond just the standard module completion & perhaps a sub-standard system certificate. Next time, we'd map those touchpoints before launch rather than discovering them mid-build.

The balance between automated tracking and human celebration became clearer. The system doesn't replace the academy facilitators. It tells them when to step in and make it personal.

Current state:

This cohort only knows the gamified version. They're showing genuine engagement, able to learn and implement with purpose, not just the novelty effect. The academy team & their clients management is happy with progress and participation, particularly given this cohort was expected to need more encouragement.

The template scales across all future cohorts and products. The next use case is their B2C general population product, where gamification will play an even stronger role without organisational accountability. And from my own personal experience in gamified learning environments, I'm expecting their B2C learners to move through and complete the learning at even higher rates than most, as I've seen how people strive for greatness when there's a visual or physical incentive in the mix! (even for less competitive people like me!)

Setup: 10 days from purchase to launch, utilising existing learning content. The Gamiflix template cost: USD $597 one-time, with unlimited use across all products on their Kajabi site for the rest of their lifetime (including future updates to the template itself as it's constantly being evolved by the talented developers at Jiffy Courses).

What this means for your learning programs

If you're running internal training programs, selling B2B learning products, or managing leadership development initiatives, standard progress tracking often isn't enough.

You need visibility into how people learn and that they're able to implement, not just whether they finished. You need feedback at the right moments. You need ways to celebrate progress that feel meaningful, not generic completion emails.

Gamification isn't about replacing human facilitation with automation. It's about using automation to surface the moments where human connection matters most.

The system tracks. You celebrate. The system nudges. You show up.

Gamiflix template for Kajabi: USD $597 (one-time purchase, unlimited use on your Kajabi site)

You can check it out here, give it a demo and buy this (amongst other cool templates) right here: https://www.nzoutofoffice.com/gamify

Side note: if you don't yet use Kajabi for your online learning but curious to learn more, or dive in to give it a test drive, grab a 30 day free trial right here.

Want to skip the research and set up yourself?

Great news! I love working in the gamified templates and setting them up on your Kajabi site for clients.

You purchase the template here, book a call with me to discuss how we can best utilise all of the features on your program or online course and then I'll configure it in your Kajabi site with your existing content and branding.

What you get: medal reward system configured and automated, email notifications set up for learners and admins, feedback forms embedded at strategic points, Netflix-style navigation, community integration, progress tracking that tells you how people learn.

Timeline: 14 - 28 days from template purchase to launch (depending on the scale of your existing content and number of gamified touch-points required.

This isn't theoretical. This is what we built in two weeks for my existing client, on-boarded their new cohort and it's running live right now - with huge delight and success for both my clients and their learners.

If you're curious whether this would work for your corporate learning program, let's talk.

Hey, I’m Kate and my business is NZ Out of Office. I help established business owners and their teams launch and manage their online digital products with strategic guidance, tech know-how and hands-on implementation.

If you’ve got the vision but need someone to help you actually make it happen - I’d love to connect. Book a call here