Running a competition is one of the most effective ways to increase engagement and build learning habits in your organization.

As a Team Admin, you can use Earn XP Assignments together with the Leaderboard to create a simple, motivating challenge.

This guide walks you through planning, launching, and tracking a successful competition.

A well-run challenge helps learners:

Competitions also help overcome hesitation about learning new skills by providing:

Before creating the assignment, decide what success looks like.

Examples:

Keep the goal:

Tip: Competitions work best when they focus on one clear outcome.

Earn XP Assignments track XP earned during a specific time period.

To create one:

All XP earned during the assignment period counts toward the goal.

The Leaderboard ranks learners based on XP, the number of courses, or the number of chapters completed during a selected time range.

To access it:

You can:

The Leaderboard updates automatically as learners earn XP.

Rewards increase motivation.

Ideas include:

Recognition can be just as powerful as material rewards.

Visibility drives participation.

Announce the competition through:

Clearly communicate:

You can find more templates and examples in our Competitions guide here.

Ask managers or team leads to encourage participation. Peer support increases engagement.

Keep momentum high by sharing regular updates.

Best practices:

Consistent communication keeps the competition top-of-mind.

Close the loop properly:

You can use feedback to improve future challenges and strengthen your learning culture.

🏆 Individual challenge

Rank all learners by XP earned.

👥 Team competition

Compare total or average XP earned per team.

🎯 Target-based challenge

Reward everyone who reaches a defined XP milestone.

🚀 Fast-start challenge

Reward the first learner or team to complete a specific milestone.

Yes. Learners can view their leaderboard on the DataCamp Home page.