Octalysis Level 1 Certificate submission.

1. Submission for Level 1
Octalysis Certificate
Colin J. Hahn
12 January 2021

2. Table of Contents
Summary of the Experience
Chapter Background
Current Experience Overview
Octalysis Strategy Dashboard
Top 3 Business Metrics
Player Types
Desired Actions (Scaffolding)
Current Experience Analysis
Analysis
Gap Identification
Feature Brainstorm
“The mission of SEWI-ATD is
to provide world-class professional
development opportunities for the
talent development community in
the greater Milwaukee area.”

3. SEWI-ATD Chapter Background
The Southeastern Wisconsin chapter of
the Association for Talent Development
(SEWI-ATD) is a non-profit professional
association.
The chapter exists to help talent
development professionals gain the
knowledge, skills, and abilities to
improve performance in the workforce.
Our members consists of 200+ training
facilitators, instructional designers,
managers of learning functions, and
consultants in the greater Milwaukee
region.

4. Current Experience Overview
The primary form of member
engagement is attending professional
development sessions hosted by the
chapter. Members socialize extensively
at these sessions and use those
relationships to ask for support on their
work projects.
The chapter also publishes a newsletter
and social media posts to spread
awareness, and offers certifications and
e-learning courses through the parent
ATD organization.

5. Octalysis Strategy Dashboard
BUSINESS METRICS
WIN-STATE
PLAYER
DESIRED ACTIONS
RESULTS
FEEDBACK
MECHANICS
EMBEDDED
TRIGGERS
REWARDS

6. Top Three Business Metrics
1. Percentage of “engaged
members” (members
attending at least 2 events per
year) (goal is 60%)
2. NPS score on professional
development (PD) activities
(goal is +70)
3. Operating reserve as a
percentage of our annual
expenses (goal = 100%)
The chapter’s reason for existing is to
help talent development professionals
make a positive impact in their
organizations.
To achieve that purpose, we track the
following metrics:

7. Business Metric Ranking
Our engaged members metric tracks
who participates in at least 2 events in
the last year, which predicts their skill
level and impact in their organization.
Our NPS score for our professional
development activities in turn predicts
higher participation in future events,
which drives our engagement metric.
This order is deliberate. Members who
keep coming back are likely to improve
and have a greater professional impact,
even if our NPS scores on our core
events are lower.
Our third metric, operating reserve,
tracks our financial sustainability. We
aim to have enough reserves on hand to
cover one year of operating expenses. As
a non-profit organization, generating
excess revenue is not a high priority.

8. Player Type Charts
Individual-Focused
Organization-Focused
“Business Leaders”
4th Priority: Smallest/Hardest to Reach
“Talent Strategists”
3rd Priority: Transition to Senior/Exec Orgs
“Old Hats”
Top Priority: Core of Organization
“Young Professionals”
2nd Priority: Key Growth Segment
New to Profession Experienced in TD

9. Player Types
One axis of player types contrasts people
who are experienced in the talent
development profession vs people who
are new to the workforce or have
entered this field from another discipline
(e.g., operations, human resources,
education).
A second axis distinguishes people who
focus on individual development
experiences (instructional designer,
facilitator, program consultant) vs people
who are focused on organizational talent
strategy (managers of learning
programs, organizational development
leaders, talent strategy consultants).
Young professionals are trying to learn
the field, establish their credentials, and
succeed in their role.
Old hats love their learning experiences
because they push them to be creative
and solve challenges.
Business leaders are moving into the
talent space from a business function;
they care about developing the people
that will continue the business but need
to learn the field’s best practices.
Talent strategists are proven problem
solvers who love to think in systems,
process, and structure.

10. Player Type Drives
These four player types differ in core
motivations, not just career history.
For instance, old hats are not merely
young professionals that have survived
to the scaffolding/endgame phase.
Young professionals are seeking external
validation of their skills and looking for
opportunities to build their career.
Old hats have done this work for a long
time and know they have what it takes;
they seek peers that can encourage their
growth. In fact, the old hats chuckle at
formal certifications unless you have the
class time to prove your credibility.
Similarly, the business leader and talent
strategist are not just further in their
career than the young professionals or
old hats. They are both motivated more
by strategic business concerns (like
talent gaps and losing market position;
CD6 and CD8). Their CD 1 is less driven
by interpersonal relationships with their
learners (so less CD5); it is more focused
on seeing the organizational level thrive
(CD 2 and 3).
In short, these four groups represent
distinct player types, and not merely
user groups that differ by their job title
or level.

11. Top Priority: Old Hats
• Love helping others success
• Believe that learning makes work
more meaningful for others
• See their career as a vocation
• Respect career
accomplishments (but value
credentials less than other
player types)
• Driven to show how their work
improves business outcomes
• Enjoy carving out their niche of
expertise (“the go-to trainer
for X”)
• Moderate pride in their career
and accomplishments
• Less motivated by money than
organization-focused player
types
• Feel that classroom time is a
limited resource
• Less motivated by scarcity than
other player types due to an
abundance mentality
• When faced with scarcity,
believe their experience can
help them “wing it” without
support
• Love creating new experiences
• Enjoy finding novel ways to
connect with learners
• Eager to experiment with new
techniques
• Enjoy being seen as a
respected source of
information
• Love having a cohort of
similarly-minded professionals
• Believe in the power of
teamwork
• Love when new challenges
take the away from the 100th
repetition of compliance
training
• Enjoy learning something new
from each class they
design/teach
• Want to be surprised by new
questions
• Practice their craft to avoid
looking foolish on stage
• Less motivated by loss aversion
than less experienced player
types because they are confident
enough in their skills to take risks

12. Desired Actions
Scaffolding Phase
• Attend monthly professional
development events
• Network with colleagues at events
• Connect with colleagues outside of
events
• Explore additional resources
(newsletter, topic-specific group
histories, parent organization
courses & certifications)
• Join and attend topic-specific
smaller groups
• Renew membership annually
• Volunteer to help with chapter
activities
We define the scaffolding phase as
beginning when an individual has
become a member and begun to engage
with our offerings.
The transition to the endgame phase
occurs when the individual begins
stepping into leadership roles in the
organization (leading small groups or
serving in formal board/committee roles),
so the first offer to volunteer is the final
desired action in the scaffolding phase.

13. Current Experience Analysis
• Events are framed around
career/organization purpose
• Peer interactions share how their
work matters
• Lots of credentials and courses available
through parent organization
• But, little promotion of credentials
• No publicity for “engaged member”
status
• Some (limited) opportunities to
receive feedback on new skills
• Limited discussion of being a
lifelong learner
• Only some events have seat limits
• No member-only or invite-only
events
• Opportunity to join and lead topic-
specific groups
• Opportunities to volunteer talents
• Active give-and-take in discussions
and interactive activities
• Networking is encouraged at
events
• Social events held twice a year
• Opportunities for smaller cohorts
to develop
• Peer mentoring and coaching is
encouraged
• Use FOMO to encourage renewal
by identifying upcoming events
• Warn members that the field is
changing rapidly so they need to
keep upskilling
• Discussions lead to surprising
insights
• Occasional drawings for door
prizes
• Newsletter and social media
share unique highlights

14. Gap Identification
Current Experience Top Priority Player Type Greatest Shortfalls
CD 7
CD 4
CD 1

15. Feature Brainstorm
Feature Name Description Core Drive(s)
Impact Stories Share stories of how members have
improved their organizations with
TD skills
1, 2, 5
Equity Partnerships Partner with community
organizations who are working on
equity in the workplace issues
1, 5
Member Skills On member profile page, have
members rate their skills in different
areas of TD
2, 4
Progress Loss On member profile page, show
competencies where the member
hasn’t attended an event recently
(your skills are getting out of date!)
4, 8
Certificate Showcase Display certificates from parent
organization in member directory
2, 4

16. Feature Brainstorm
Feature Name Description Core Drive(s)
Topic Sets Organize events as a series and
encourage participants to attend all
X in order to receive a special badge
2, 4
Career Achievements Recognize member career
achievements (promotions etc.) in
newsletter
2, 4, 5
Last-Minute Events Offer events with short lead times
on hot topics
6, 7
Random Teams Assign attendees to random teams
for practical challenges
5, 7
Surprise Speakers Host events with a surprise
speaker/presenter
7