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If you are a job aspirant, here is another reason to play Farmville or other such games on social networking sites. A number of leading multinationals are using virtual games as part of their recruitment process.
According to Mr Sanjay Joshi, editor, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) India – an association of HR consultants – the close to 10 million Facebook users in India make it a potential paradise for recruiters opting for “gamification” (hiring by using virtual games).
The Recruiters
Global hospitality major, Marriott, for instance, has a Facebook game, My Marriott Hotel. Available in several languages including Arabic, Spanish, English, French and Mandarin, it follows a concept similar to Farmville. Aspirants try their hand in managing the hotel’s kitchen operations – albeit virtually – and earn or lose points depending on customer satisfaction.
Cosmetics maker L’Oreal is the other company which has an online game “L’Oreal Reveal” for business management aspirants. Apart from this it has “Brandstorm”, an offline game, for recruiting marketing professionals. Close to 30 per cent of the company’s managerial cadre is recruited through gaming channels.
Play to grab an offer
L’Oreal’s Reveal requires candidates to train their hands in solving problems in a virtual work environment. In the game, players have to work on projects and solve business tasks across various departments, including finance, sales, marketing, operations and research and innovation.
Successful players stand a chance to be interviewed by the company. “It gives them an opportunity to potentially fast-track the recruitment process,” Mr Mohit James, Director HR, L’Oreal, told Business Line.
Brandstorm, on the other hand engages candidates to “revamp” one of its 24 international brands. The teams formulate communications strategy, service concepts and packaging to support the launch of the revamped product.
Wider reach
“Through campus recruitments we can reach out to 8-9 institutes each year. Virtual games widen our reach by over 10 times,” Mr James said.
According to L’Oreal, last year’s Reveal saw 1,031 Indian students (694 men, 337 women) participate from across 84 educational institutes. Of this, about 24 people were short-listed.
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