Getting Notifications Right: What to Turn On (and Off) at Launch

Notifications are one of the easiest things to get wrong at launch — too many, and the programme feels like noise; too few, and people forget it exists. Here’s a starting configuration that avoids both.

Turn these on from day one

New task assignment emails, badge and milestone in-app alerts, and redemption confirmation emails should all be active immediately. These are moments people want to hear about — missing a badge notification undercuts the recognition that badges are meant to provide.

Hold off on these until week two or three

Weekly summary emails and broadcast announcements are worth delaying slightly. In the first week or two, task and badge notifications alone are usually enough activity; adding a summary email on top can feel redundant before there’s much to summarise.

Let employees control their own preferences

Once the programme is a few weeks in, make sure employees know they can adjust their own notification settings. Some people want every alert; others want only the essentials. Respecting that early prevents the common “I turned off all Amprasell emails” outcome that happens when the defaults feel too aggressive for too long.

Admin-facing notifications

As an admin, your weekly digest — showing overall participation and completion trends — is worth keeping on permanently. It’s the fastest way to catch a stalling programme early, well before it shows up as a noticeable drop in your monthly numbers.

One thing to avoid entirely

Resist the urge to send an unscheduled broadcast message just because participation dipped for a week. A single quiet week is normal; a broadcast asking people to “please engage more” reads as pressure, not encouragement, and tends to do more harm than the dip it was meant to fix.

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