Gamification In Recruitment Process

Step 1: Problem Definition

Gamification is the idea which utilizes mechanics, game theory and game designs to digitally motivate and engage individuals to achieve their objectives. Organizations utilizes these gaming rules to deepen their involvement and intensify employees’ and customer’s interest in a brand. In the current highly competitive world, every organization adopt some technology of gamification on their portals. It may be any engagement operation, wrapper game prizes, simulated games, profile rating, staff-of-the month schemes, loyalty programs, hidden tokens or anything that requires interaction from the employees or customer.

For many years, the traditional process of hiring has depended on the same elementary technique: request interviews, request samples of work, collect resumes, administer assessments and check references. From all these hiring process staples, analysis consistently confirm that pre-employment evaluations, and specifically intellectual aptitude examinations, are the most efficient for predicting of job success. Pre-employment examinations provide benefits that other factors of hiring lack. Reference checks are questionable for selection prejudice since no applicant would record a bad reference (Al-Kassem, 2017). Likewise, resumes can introduce a public image, both negatively and positively. Refuses can be structured in way that they are too limited or with half-truths, therefore failing to offer the entire story about the potential of the candidate. Besides, resumes disfavor individuals who are changing fields or new graduates of a college, as they cannot adequately present the potential of a candidate.

Although the pre-employment examinations provide a fair solution to a common problem of hiring, the landscape of hiring is changing. The internet age has changed the manner in which individuals apply for jobs. Applicants can be selective and attention durations are shorter (Armstrong & Landers, 2018). Most hiring directors acknowledge that it’s the hiring market of a candidate, making the experience of a candidate a first concern for any employer that desires to invite the top candidates.

In addition to the shifting landscape, mobile is becoming more essential to the process of hiring. A study discovered that 77 percent of job applicants utilize mobile job search apps, and 45 percent of job applicants stated that they utilize a mobile gadget to look for jobs at least once a day. Adjusting to the current process of hiring needs creative strategies for engaging and attracting the modern job applicant. Gamification is one solution that is more fun than assumed.

Gamification is the concept of transforming a process into competitive involvement, making a job feel more like a game. The XYZ gamification recruitment process will be a fun and quick way to pinpoint talent. The model is currently used in the mode of brain game apps. Famous services such as Lumosity, which has about 70 million affiliates, have shown the brain game popularity as an app category. For recruitment, the game will examine particular characteristic that an employer demands, such as attention to detail, math and verbal skills, critical thinking and problem -solving. It will help to quickly evaluate a job applicant. Their marks will serve as talent signals to point out their potential as a staff, despite of what they may fail or able to show on a resume.

Step 2: Problem Analysis

Gamification will benefit XYZ university in the following sectors:

A state of equality: a powerful candidate can appear in several proverbial sizes and shapes. Old, new, Young and experienced to the industry. An applicant with one of these credentials could be a potential talented staff who can make a considerable effect on the institution. Resumes, nevertheless, cannot always cover everything that an applicant has to provide, particularly for candidates who have limited experience to the workforce (Albadan Romero, Garcia Gaona & Montenegro Marin, 2016). A gamified app that analyzes abilities and not the comprehensiveness of resume, generates a state of equality for all, permitting true skills radiate through rather than depending on the connections, background or educational pedigree of a candidate, which can be greatly affected by socioeconomic factors.

Their best shelves: certain individuals have limited ability to conduct interviews. With a gamified app of hiring, applicants can engage and relax with the games in a friendly atmosphere and also have fun when doing it.

A wider reach: the gamification app can be played and downloaded by anyone. If the games are rewarding and fun, they can invite a broad range of applicants who may have faced a challenge to the specific job opportunity by themselves (??? & Lee, Dongyeop, 2011). As such, gamification act as a talent emerging engine, revealing talent in surprising places and assisting both XYZ and applicants to connect in innovative ways.

• It should be feasible
• It should be applicant friendly
• It should generate reliable results
• It should permit candidates to move to the next level

The XYZ university wants to shift from the traditional recruitment process to gamification. As such, when coming up with solution it is necessary to understand the target recruits and the skills the university desire from them. The university wants the gamified application to reward and promote applicants to the next level in addition to creating job awareness. Additionally, the game should enable the applicants to finish at least three level.

Therefore, having these requirements, it is now easier to come up with possible solutions. The following are aspects that were put into consideration when coming up with the solutions (Ašeriškis & Damaševi?ius, 2014).

First, the gamified application should be able to create a reason for the applicants to interact with the content by allowing the subject matter to tell a story. Have the applicants get incentives and points as they progress to the next level. Secondly, it is necessary to let applicants feel that they are in control of the game and are actively engaging rather than feeling that the game is only interviewing them. The game should correct them and let them know that it is allowed to be wrong. This allows them to be good decision makers. Thirdly, the game should have levels and badges. This will guide the applicants through the segments of the recruitment process by filtering out their skills and abilities. The applicants should be informed at the start of the game how many levels they are supposed to complete and attach each level to a particular skill desired by the university. Finally, the game should be able to build a leaderboard that is impactful and simple. Personalized leaderboards let the applicants to see their relative position overall and this motivates them to want to be on top.

Based on these factors the following possible solutions were generated:

1. Organize a competition
2. Start a virtual Job affair
3. Have the applicants solve puzzles and tests
4. Allows the applicants to simulate how they can work
5. Build a badge rewarding game

To enable XYZ university to attract the best talent and skills in the industry, organizing a competition via a gamified app can be a great way. This approach has several advantages. It attracts applicants who are passionate and competitive and the university is able to get a positive exposure and encourage more people to apply (Cocu?ová, 2011). Sometimes this game requires that you offer a prize which may set the university back financially but allows it to hire the best applicant out there.

The qualifications and experiences of the applicants is easy toc check but it is necessary to check other abilities for instance problem solving capacity and the ability to think under pressure. To allow the recruiting team to understand the applicants better and collect important information about them, give them puzzles, short test, and problem during the game to evaluate their capabilities and rate them based on the quality of answers provided and time taken. In this way, you may not find the best applicant on paper, but the best when it comes to problem solving and decision making (Gupta & Gomathi S., 2017).

Virtual job fairs allow the recruiting industry to evaluate candidates’ qualifications and skills by designing the job fair that meets the job requirements. One is able to narrow down to the choice of candidate that the university requires.

The solution allows the candidates to design their own working space and control them. For instance, if the university requires a lecturer, the game should allow the candidate to design a lecture room, come up with teaching schedule, and devise ways of how to engage students. From this the university will be able to identify the best candidate will classroom control on top of experience and qualifications.

This solution may combine several of the above-mentioned solutions. It allows the candidate to participate in several activities from solving puzzles to simulating their work environments. Applicants will be able to input their experience and qualifications, test problem solving skills by answering tests and puzzles, and creating virtual working environments (Tcyplakova, 2016). The game will be able to evaluate the candidate’s performance and award them with a badge, either gold, silver, or bronze badge and from this the recruitment team will be able to select the best candidates.

Index	Solution	Reason(s)
1	Build a badge rewarding game	This is the best fit solution because it is comprehensive and tests nearly all the attributes.
2	Let the applicants solve puzzles and tests	This solution is good but does not capture all the require attributes. This solution is only limited to problem solving and thinking under pressure
3	Organize competitions	Competition is good but sometimes it is not the most effective solution because several attributes are missed out.
4	Have the applicants simulate the working environment	The university may miss out on important attribute required for the job
5	Create Virtual Job fair	The university may miss out on important attribute required for the job

Conclusion:

Examining and determining potential applicants will always be a part of the process of hiring. However, technology is transforming the manner in which job applicants are searching jobs as well as the way managers are looking for potential employees. Gamification can assist to fill the space by allowing both job applicants and employers to interact with one another in special ways, getting them a step closer to an environment where opportunity and talent are more thoroughly regulated.

References:

Albadan Romero, J., Garcia Gaona, P., & Montenegro Marin, C. (2016). Assessment model in a selection process based in gamification. IEEE Latin America Transactions, 14(6), 2789-2794. doi: 10.1109/tla.2016.7555256

Al-Kassem, A. (2017). Recruitment and Selection Practices in Business Process Outsourcing Industry. Archives Of Business Research, 5(3). doi: 10.14738/abr.53.2180

Armstrong, M., & Landers, R. (2018). Gamification of employee training and development. International Journal Of Training And Development, 22(2), 162-169. doi: 10.1111/ijtd.12124

Ašeriškis, D., & Damaševi?ius, R. (2014). Gamification Patterns for Gamification Applications. Procedia Computer Science, 39, 83-90. doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2014.11.013

Cocu?ová, J. (2011). Recruitment Process Outsourcing. Acta Technologica Dubnicae, 1(2), 46-53. doi: 10.1515/atd-2015-0045

Gupta, A., & Gomathi S. (2017). A Review on Gamification and its Potential to Motivate and Engage Employees and Customers. International Journal Of Sociotechnology And Knowledge Development, 9(1), 42-52. doi: 10.4018/ijskd.2017010103

Tcyplakova, E. (2016). Gamification — the Way of Motivation or Way of Control over the Labor Process?. Journal Of Economic Sociology, 17(3), 82-109. doi: 10.17323/1726-3247-2016-3-82-109

Lee & Dongyeop. (2011). What is Gamification and How Gamification will change our life?. Journal Of Digital Design, 11(4), 449-457. doi: 10.17280/jdd.2011.11.4.044