5 Reasons Gamification in Recruitment Makes Your Business Attractive

You’re looking for a way to recruit people more efficiently, and you have heard of gamification in recruitment, am I right? 

You know that people are tired of sending cover letters that have no value, and apparently they are not even considered or read. 

Let’s take a look at how you can benefit from gamification in your next recruitment to attract the best of the best talents.

What is gamification in recruitment?

The use of gamification in your recruitment process reflects the idea of using game-like design and mechanics when hiring new talent for your organization. 

The importance of gamification in such processes has proved itself in several examples throughout the years. 

The concept might sound new, but you can spot it being used by the American army back in 1999. 

In a clever talent acquisition stunt, the American army decided to launch the game “America’s Army” back in 1999. It served as a communication tool about the different roles in the US Army. The users could play the game and learn more about the different roles of the US Army soldiers and make a decision whether such a path is a good fit for them. 

I don’t know if the American army has been a source of inspiration for others. However, many companies have since been implementing gamification in their recruitment process. 

What lead us to such changes? Do our habits and behavior encourage the use of such innovation? That’s what we’ll try to understand.

77% of Millenials play video games

Newzoo

Why should you use gamification in recruitment?

Brace yourself for a big revelation. 

Data is collected everywhere. Wow! I know, right? 

If it’s collected, then it’s being used to achieve certain things – good or bad.  

The data collected mainly serves as a way to improve processes and systems, recruitment being one of them. 

People’s habits have shifted throughout the last years. Come on, try to ask your grandparents what their favorite show was back in their time. I’m waiting for you.

According to Newzoo, 77% of Millenials play video games. Gaming is the main source of entertainment for Millennials.  

In addition, according to the game designer Jane McGonigal, Millennials would have spent 10,000 hours interacting with digital games when they reach the age of 21. So, yes, playing and gaming are becoming greatly embedded in our culture. 

Moreover, do you really like sending resumes – and even worse – cover letters? No, you don’t. Organizations not only understood that but they also try to find better ways to attract candidates

So what makes gamification in recruiting the next best talents so appealing? 

5 Benefits of gamification in recruitment

1. Unbiased recruitment

Implementing gamification in your recruitment means that you’re automating it. 

In other words, if you gamify your recruitment process, the focus is shifted toward the candidates’ skills, and not the candidates’ other characteristics, being racial, physical, or any others. 

Being biased during recruitment (or any other situation, for the matter) is totally human and that doesn’t make you a bad person. However, it might hurt your organization by overlooking some candidates due to biased perception. 

The purpose of gamification relies on uncovering the best candidates by assessing their skills and knowledge, hence it eliminates any preconceived ideas you might have about the candidates.

2. Improve candidates’ engagement 

Everyone is bored with “please send us your CV and cover letter. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible”. We. Are. Done. With. That. 

Employees, potential employees, and candidates are users of your organization as well. That means the user experience should also be concerned with those segments. 

Gamification of recruitment will do two things at the same time: 

• Increase the number of candidates: because your offer is so compelling that they will naturally be attracted to it. The unique experience will make them more engaged with it, and will give them an extra challenge to prove themselves. 

• Decrease the number of candidates: because only those who are really interested in the position will go through the gamified process. 

In the end, you’re gonna end up with more quality candidates that will make your life, as a recruiter, easier – which leads us to our next point. 

3. Save time, Save money 

Instead of receiving hundreds of applications – and most of them not being interesting – you will be going through the applications of only those who are the cherry on the top. 

Moreover, remember when I said collection of data happens everywhere? Through the recruitment process, you accumulate data that will give you meaningful insights into the candidates, their strengths and weaknesses, and if they could fit in your organization. 

Then you’ll be able to move to the next stages of your recruitment process without having to reject a pile of applications, hence saving time – and time is money. 

4. Instantly assess your candidates’ skills

The data you acquire in the process is the result of you instantly assessing your candidates’ level.

In traditional recruitment, the interview questions are predictable, and all candidates have pre-made answers that are as boring as the process itself. 

Google skips all of the useless steps and does a brilliant job at employing gamification to their advantage. Google organizes code jam competitions where they offer a financial reward to the winners. By doing so, Google detects new incredible talents that they could benefit from. 

5. Develop employer brand 

Google, Deloitte – and so on – are attractive companies for employees, and the reason is simple – employer brand. 

Those organizations have invested in creating an attractive image not only for their customers, but also for employees, and potential candidates. That prevents them from struggling to find their next talent.

Deloitte issued a report where they state more than 75% of millennials consider how innovative an organization they want to work for is, and this is even more true for the organizations in the emerging markets. 

On top of that, The Talent Games state that 78% of candidates believe that gamification in their recruitment process makes the company more desirable. 

So do yourself a favor, and invest in your employer brand to be as attractive as you possibly can.

Find your next talent

Who said recruitment can’t be fun?

Gamification in recruitment will give you and your candidates a better experience. But it’s also going to reflect well on your organization overall. Take a look at how we can help you make a great first impression here.

Caring about your employees should not stop at the recruitment stage, so check out the benefits of gamifying your workplace.

Written by:
Majdi Hentati

About the author:
When he’s not writing, Majdi is either thinking about copywriting, reading or sleeping. He helps you to write compelling copies to reinforce your e-reputation. If you want to connect with him, he’ll be delighted to chat with you on his Linkedin.