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Stuart Gentle Publisher at Onrec

Gamification in Hiring: Why and How it Works or Recruiters

Forever looking for the best talents, it’s sometimes not enough to simply post a convincing job listing complete with favorable payment terms and extras.

People at the very top of their respective fields can get comfortable in their current setting or simply might not be looking for a new challenge.

This is why gamified approaches to recruiting have become rather useful. Posing a challenge that’s open to anyone who’s interested can catch the eye of these entrenched professionals and encourage them to try something out, all while they’re essentially enjoying themselves in trying to complete the given challenge.

It’s a crafty technique drawn from other entertainment industries that’s looking to be quite useful.

Drawing from the Experts

In the modern world of entertainment, gamified experiences are everywhere. The rise of mobile app revenue is a clear sign of this, even though the vast majority are free to start.  However, to compete, even products that are already games have been further gamified.

You can go online to play the Huff N Even More Puff Grand slot as a straight-up game in its own right. It comes with the Wheel Feature, Super Wheel Feature, and Ultra Wheel Feature in a hit, high-volatility package. Many sites will also leverage a popular game like this to further engagement by including it in promotions like leaderboards.

This way, a slot game becomes even more gamified by pitting all of its players against each other. Extra prizes can be won by those who partake, and for the site, they can include additional, lesser-known games to encourage players to try out these new experiences. All in all, it adds that extra reason to partake, which is the main lesson here.

People are naturally competitive, especially in arenas that they’re familiar with. Posting an individual or group challenge can work this angle and, for the recruiter, work as a kind of proving ground for potential hiring targets. Plus, adding those with a competitive mindset and a knack for problem-solving will only help your business.

Gamifying the Process in a Relevant Way

Simply posting a few anagrams with a clue and getting people to solve them isn’t the best way to approach a gamified recruitment campaign. You’ll want the challenge to be relevant to the job role. Not only will this lead to more creative challenges, but it’ll also help you to find the potential recruits with the most applicable skills.

Google famously made the gamification procedure work for them way back in 2004. Three years before the release of the iPhone, the web search company posted some mysterious banners around. As NPR explains, Google’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, challenge was {first 10-digit prime found in consecutive digits of e}.com.

Those who solved the puzzle found a website with more puzzles. Upon completion, a request was made for the participant’s CV. Problems can also be made into games that test the person’s key traits. For example, gamified customer service problems, as explored by the Workable Resources note on HR Avatar, work well.  

You can also look to the Pymetrics games of Unilever, the Plantsville simulation run by Siemens, or the Brandstorm competitions of Nestlé for further evidence of the scope of gamifying the recruitment process. Ultimately, a gamified recruitment process is still a unique selling point, and one that can home in on top hires quite quickly.

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