Elevating Workforce Engagement in Bowling Entertainment
Client / Company
Lucky Strike Entertainment
Category & Role:
Native Android/iOS App & Head of Design (Player Coach)
Skills:
User Experience Design, User Interface Design, User Research, 3d/2d Illustration & Animation, Gamification Mechanics, Agile Processes
Tools:
Figma, Webflow, Adobe After Effects, Spline 3d, Jira, Confluence, Rive
Goal
Reduce employee turnover and decrease callouts to stabilize the workforce at Bowlero venues. Provide a standardized training system to reduce inconsistencies in onboarding and career progression. Increase employee engagement through gamified incentives.
The Problem
Bowlero was losing $10s of millions annually due to:
High turnover (~160% annually) – Monthly worker churn required constant rehiring.
Frequent callouts – Every shift, managers scrambled to fill gaps, increasing stress and burnout.
Inconsistent training – Lack of standardization led to inefficient onboarding, especially for bartenders.
No performance visibility – Leaders had no reliable way to recognize or reward top contributors.
Solution
A gamified workforce engagement platform combining:
Standardized Training – Quiz modules covering company policies and drink recipes.
Competition & Incentives – Leaderboards tracking performance (attendance, quiz completion, upsells).
Recognition System – Venue-wide challenges rewarding high performers with tangible rewards.
Concepts
Early on, we explored a high-fidelity game concept where employees competed to support training, goal tracking, and center-wide challenges across 11,000 employees. While exciting, technical constraints led us to a more traditional task-based gamification model.
To showcase possibilities, we presented concept videos to Bowlero stakeholders:
SpaceQuest: Employees worked together to reach distance milestones, unlocking cash bonuses and ship upgrades to accelerate progress.
Buildy: Completing tasks unlocked hexagonal panels for a shared or personal map, creating a visual monument of their connection to Bowlero.
While integration was feasible, maintaining engagement required specialized developers. Given the scope, we opted for a more practical gamification approach.
Visual Identity Exploration
Later in the research phase, with the concept and direction set, I gathered early visual feedback to avoid last-minute stakeholder changes. I created three designs focused on gamifying hourly work and one with broader appeal, then presented them to leadership.
The Process
1. User Research & Interviews
Conducted qualitative research with 20+ employees (senior leaders, venue managers, hourly workers).
Identified pain points, particularly turnover, lack of recognition, and training gaps.
2. Concept Ideation & Validation
Explored three MVP concepts:
Training & Career Pathing → Standardized quizzes & career progression.
Gamification MVP → Narrative-driven incentives.
Competition MVP → Venue-based leaderboard and real-world rewards.
Leadership selected a hybrid MVP merging Training + Competition.
3. Design & Prototyping
Created a minimalist, data-centric UI for easy adoption.
Developed quizzes, challenges, and performance tracking dashboards.
4. Pilot & Iterations
Launched in select venues with weekly active usage tracking.
Analyzed early 72% active usage, 83% quiz completion, and 42% goal achievement.
Adjusted difficulty levels based on user feedback.
Optimized real-time feedback loops to inform workers of success at shift-end instead of next day.
The Outcomes
Early wins:
Callouts dropped by 13.54%
Increased engagement among hourly workers
Strengthened camaraderie and manager-worker relationships
Long-term vision:
Expand platform across more venues and frontline roles
Refine leaderboards & goal tracking to account for different venue sizes
Improve AI-driven personalized training & career tracking
Collaborations
Heyo did the logo design for Goldfish, as well as the animation for it. I feel they did an incredible job and gave us something iconic.
