This article was originally published by the Forbes Human Resources Council. It has since been updated.
Can you think of a job opportunity you were excited about? You probably envisioned yourself in the role, but like so many others, you were concerned about the interview process, sitting face-to-face with a hiring manager to discuss your history and where you plan to be in five years.
There's nothing more stressful than being eyed with scrutiny. And it's no easier than the manager who has to judge a candidate's characteristics and qualifications in just 30 minutes. Of course, hiring managers have a punch list of talking points for candidates, such as:
- Describe a situation in which you were able to persuade someone successfully.
- Describe a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.
- Describe a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
However, as I always tell my children, the best way to show someone is through your actions. With this in mind, more and more companies are creating games to analyze the decisions people make to help them identify candidates who are best suited for their company. If creating a game sounds like a daunting task, I can attest that it’s actually quite easy to implement games to help you attract talent.
The Rise Of Gamification In Recruitment
According to one report, the “global gamification market is projected to reach USD 15.43 billion in 2024 and grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.85%, reaching USD 48.72 billion by 2029.” I see firsthand how often businesses are adopting gamification for multiple purposes, and one of them is recruitment.
Gamification in recruitment allows applicants to put their money where their mouth is before filling a role by showcasing their skills. Simultaneously, HR can assess talent adequately. This is achievable in the form of behavioral quizzes, industry challenges, company-related quests, and so on. Moreover, “increasing employee engagement” has been the catchphrase of the last decade, and according to Gallup, only 34% of the workplace is engaged. Gamification can help to immediately engage potential employees.
The purpose of what we call “recruitainment” is to assess a candidate's skills and knowledge. However, you can also use it to determine if an applicant is the right fit for your company's culture.
Implementing Gamification In Your Company
You want the best for your business. This includes hiring the best talent you can afford, but finding and recruiting them is another story. Hiring managers can use gamification to save time and increase the chances of hiring the right person for the job. The key is implementing the appropriate style of game that prequalifies candidates.
When considering recruitment games, you'll be choosing between templated or custom.
Templated game: Add your company’s content to existing game templates. Plug-and-play interfaces marry the power of games with your company's brand and content. A templated option allows for a little customization at a lower cost. Aside from our own platform, The Training Arcade, there are various turnkey game-based solutions, including Knack and Pymetrics.
Custom game: For companies that crave a much deeper storyline and customized environments, scenarios, and characters, building a custom game is the way to go.
Both options have shown to attract new talent, assess skills and personas, and drive better hiring decisions than traditional recruiting methods.
Unlike a Resume, Games Can't Be Faked
It's easy to create the tallest tales about yourself on paper or paint yourself in the best light during an interview. But, it’s harder to fake extensive knowledge on a topic or strong performance during a gamified analysis. With the right game(s), candidates can demonstrate both what they know and how they behave.
For instance, by creating simple trivia, word, or matching games, hiring managers can identify what applicants know about your industry, products, or processes. If you are looking for someone with very specific skills, ask specific questions to determine their knowledge, and make the response timed so they don’t have time to search online for the answers.
If you’re more focused on understanding someone’s soft skills, try a branching game, akin to a Choose Your Own Adventure book. These are perfect for testing sales, negotiations, communication, empathy, and problem-solving skills. Analyzing player performance can give you clear insight into a player’s behavioral trends and reveal whether they are right for your company.
Perform A Complete Assessment Of Candidates
Using gamification, you can obtain a 360-degree view of each candidate in a matter of hours. Many games adapt to player performance, meeting them where they are and giving them a sense of accomplishment regardless of their level. Most are designed to start off with easy questions/scenarios and increase/decrease the level of difficulty based on how players perform.
By creating these pre-employment games for your applicants, you engage them on a much deeper level and gain insight into their personalities, behaviors, preferences, and thought processes.
Identify the Motivated (Those Who Complete the Game)
If your recruitment game is thorough, it will identify who is truly interested. A well-constructed game should include thought-provoking questions about pertinent material and provide concrete feedback to help someone know whether they were right and/or how their decision impacted the virtual scenario.
For instance, a customer service company might ask specific questions about products or processes, or role-play how employees would handle an unhappy customer. You can score applicants based on their correct/incorrect answers, the impact their decisions can have on situations, and their timing in answering each question. Those who complete the game showcase a level of commitment and indicate a motivation to work for your company.
Making the best decisions for your business includes hiring the right talent for the right roles. By introducing the right kind of gamification to the interview process, hiring managers can bring more efficiency and insight to the important task of recruiting.
