Find out how companies are screening and attracting candidates with online challenges
Asking job candidates to participate in business strategy games may seem like an unusual hiring process step — yet it’s a tactic that can yield positive results.
Online recruitment challenges — which may, for example, ask candidates to solve a programming issue, or use a simulated scenario to demonstrate how they’d manage workers — could help convey a company culture that appeals to jobseekers.
Eighty-one percent of employees who had experienced gamification in the workplace said in a recent TalentLMS survey that the technology provided a sense of belonging and made them feel more socially connected.
Although little research on the total amount of companies using gamification for recruitment seems to exist, a number have incorporated it in the past to achieve various outcomes — such as:
Illustrating what working at the organization is like
In 2000, cosmetics company L’Oreal launched a game in which students from all over the world could helm a cosmetics company, designed as part of its Internet-based HR strategy, which the company said included a goal of recruiting 15 percent of its new employees online that year.
L’Oréal also offered a business strategy game where players assumed a management trainee role in 2010, which was given an award in 2011. Part of the game’s intent, according to the company, was to explore how suitable participants might be for different types of careers within L’Oréal.
Promoting available jobs to a wider candidate pool
Several years ago, the U.K.’s GCHW intelligence and security agency tapped into the wow factor that recruitment challenges can provide with a test designed to reach candidates who might not have seen the organization’s traditional talent campaigns.
Initially promoted through blogs, tweets and other messaging, the online challenge asked participants to crack a code; if they succeeded, they were taken to a page that revealed information about cybersecurity career opportunities at the agency.
Determining candidate proficiencies
In addition to its annual Code Jam competition, throughout the year, Google hosts online Kickstart rounds where participants can attempt to solve challenging algorithmic problems in a three-hour time period.
In addition to offering programmers a chance to test their coding skills, if participants express an interest in working for the company, they may be contacted by a recruiter about applying for a position after the challenge; their Kickstart scores, according to the terms of the challenge, have an impact on whether that will happen.
Recent research suggests using gamification in hiring may help companies assess younger candidates’ abilities, in particular, due to their familiarity with the format.
Given that 66 percent of millennials and 73 percent of Gen Z own game consoles, according to Nielsen data — and another report found the majority communicate with each other digitally more often than face-to-face — both generations are clearly comfortable with technology and gaming. Having Gen Y and Z candidates participate in gamification in recruitment challenges may glean more detailed and honest information than a verbal conversation would.
Because gamification in recruitment isn’t a completely commonplace practice, it can also help position an organization as a technological innovator — which some candidates view as an important consideration.
In a recent Randstad survey, 80 percent of respondents said a company utilizing the latest digital tools would greatly influence their decision to join the organization; in addition, 62 percent felt a potential employer having a reputation as a digital leader would play into their decision about whether to accept a job or not.
However, including gamification in hiring isn’t, of course, the only way to find and attract new employees. For more tips on successfully recruiting candidates, view our blog posts on 3 innovative ways companies are using AI in recruitment, how in-person events can help employers connect with jobseekers, why talent rediscovery solutions may help you find applicants and 4 clever techniques companies are using to recruit candidates.