What Are Watchdogs?
Watchdogs are automated, Location-configurable reports that notify you about key training activities across your system. Think of them as your virtual alert dogs—keeping watch and “barking” when certain actions occur or thresholds are hit.
Once enabled at the System level, each Location can customize which Watchdogs they want to activate and how often they want to receive alerts—daily, weekly, or monthly.
Each Watchdog appears in a tab within the Watchdogs panel (found under the Slider Menu > Reports for Manager-level Users and above) and comes with two key sections:
- View Report – See data from the report itself.
- Settings – Configure how and when it works.
Admins can even rename Watchdogs to something more personalized, like turning the “Expectation Report” into “ACME Training Tracker”.
Why Should You Use Them?
Watchdogs take the guesswork out of training oversight. Whether you're managing one Location or dozens, you can:
- Monitor team engagement in real-time
- Incentivize consistent training behavior
- Track certifications and achievements
- Automate alerts so no one slips through the cracks
How to Use Watchdogs
1. Enable at the System Level
Start by turning on Watchdogs for your entire system.
2. Configure Per Location
- Location (Level) Watchdogs: Admins and Managers will see a Watchdogs button display in the Slider Menu under Reports, where they can turn on specific reports and customize their settings.
- Multi-Location Watchdogs: As the Admin, head to the Super User Dashboard and select [404] Multi-Location Watchdogs. Here you can turn on specific reports and customize their settings.
3. Choose Your Watchdogs
Here’s what you can monitor:
🏁 Training Expectations Watchdog
Accessibility: Location and Multi-Location
Set Chapter-based training goals with optional incentives.
Standard Training
- Set a target (e.g., 10 Chapters/week)
- Display progress on the Main Menu
- Helps reinforce consistent learning habits
Incentive-Based Training (Location Level Only)
- Tie training to bonuses or commissions
- Flexible options: flat dollars or percentage
- Example: $0 base → $100 max for completing 10 chapters
Use Case Examples
Percentage Based (Option 1)
Say you would like to encourage your users to do their training by offering them up to a 5% bonus each month.You can use the Training Incentive Tool to achieve that by configuring it the following way:
- Set the expectation to Monthly and choose 20 chapters.
- Next, set the base % to 0, and the Maximum to 5.
- My Users must complete all 20 Chapters in order to receive the bonus, so for question 2, I will set this to ‘Yes’.
You and your Users will be able to track their progress as the month goes by, but the percentage will never show the full 5% UNTIL all 20 Chapters have been completed.
Percentage Based (Option 2)
Let’s say you earn a 10% commission on every sale that you make, a sum which is paid out monthly. Now your boss says that you need to train more! From now on, you will only earn a 5% commission unless you login and complete your training each month. I can do as little or as much training as I want, but I’ll be paid based on the amount I complete.We can set that up this way:
- Set the interval to Monthly, at 5 pm, on the last day of the month, and 40 Chapters.
- Do users need to Complete All Training? We will set that to “No”.
- And how is this incentive measured? Well I will already receive 5% if I do absolutely nothing, so I will set that as the Base. But since by completing the Chapters I can earn up to a maximum of 10%, I’ll set the maximum to 10. * Now the Incentive is complete, I can monitor the progress of my Location at any time by visiting the Watchdog, or even emailing it to myself by entering in a custom date range on the main report screen.
Dollar Based
Let’s say you are offering your team up to $100 to complete their training for the month. You can set the base amount to 0 dollars, and a maximum amount to $100, and then assign the number of Chapters you expect them to complete.At the end of the month, if someone only completed 6 Chapters out of the 10 expected, you can run the report and see that dollar amount, and know how much bonus to give each employee. (Or, alternatively, set the expectation that they must complete ALL training in order to earn the bonus at all.)
Key Settings:
- Interval: Daily, Weekly, or Monthly
- Incentive Requirement: Must complete all Chapters or partials allowed
- Incentive Type: By Percentage or By Dollars
- Recipients: Email or SMS reports to any contact (no login required)
📈 Progress Report Watchdog
Accessibility: Location and Multi-Location
Track overall User Activity at each Location to see who’s engaging, and who’s not.
Note: Monthly reports roll forward 30 days based on your chosen day (1st, 15th, or Last Day of Month).
👥 User Tracker Watchdog
Accessibility: Location (Only)
Keep tabs on who’s joining or leaving your VT System:
- New User accounts
- Deactivations
🎓 Certification Watchdog
Accessibility: Location (Only)
See User progress through your Certification paths. Select any combination of Certifications and receive snapshot emails in batches of 5.
🏅 Leaderboard Achievements Watchdog
Accessibility: Location (Only)
Monitor which Users are racking up Badges and Points.
- Filter by specific Achievements or include all
- Weekly and Monthly reports aggregate repeatable actions (e.g., 8,000 points from repeated sign-ins)
- Stay inspired by seeing who’s rising to the top
📌 Assigned Training Watchdog
Accessibility: Multi-Location (Only)
Track completion rates for Assigned Training. Ideal for making sure required content is being completed on time. Simply select any combination of Assignments and receive snapshot emails in batches of 5.
Why It Matters:
- Spot non-compliance early
- See who’s behind on mandatory content
- Perfect for onboarding tracks, compliance training, or recurring certifications
What You Can Configure:
- Time Interval: Daily, Weekly, or Monthly
- Assigned Courses: Select all or specific assigned items to track
- Who Gets the Report: Email and/or SMS summary to stakeholders
- Completion Detail: See who completed what, and who didn’t
Final Tips
- You can enable multiple Watchdogs per Location.
- Reports can be emailed, texted, or just viewed on demand.
- Rename Watchdogs for easier internal adoption.
- Use visual elements (like Main Menu progress widgets) to keep Users motivated.