The Game Changers

There are few among us who are not delighted when faced with the prospect of getting a free sample of chocolates, shampoo, chips or perfume when we walk into a general store. The freebies give us a test drive of the experience we will have before we decide to pay for it. What if we could have such a test drive for the jobs we intend to pursue? What if recruiters could know beforehand what kind of ‘drivers’ they are about to onboard? Would it not be easier for them to match the skills of the driver (race car driver, Road Rash hooligan, slow crawler etc.) to the cars (read, roles) they drive? Concepts such as gamification are riding on the wave of cutting edge analytics and social media boom to answer some of these questions and in the process, change the game of Talent Acquisition.

Engaging aspirants

It is no secret that recruiters are increasingly using analytics to add value to their operations. Predictive modelling uses the application of modelling techniques to predict candidate behaviour. To add to that, instead of segmenting on basis of gut feeling, the use of clustering or other techniques to organize prospects or customers into meaningful groupings for hiring management are coming to the fore. Also, strategic data analysis holds a lot of potential and implications for recruiters as monitoring and analysis of trends observed in historical data produce conclusions which could have significant strategic impact on hiring operations.

Social networks are also finding braver innovations to engage potential candidates. 48 per cent users of Facebook and Twitter check or update their accounts before bedtime. To leverage that, many Recruitment Heads reply to potential candidates on Facebook using an informal tone. This promotes a student friendly image of the organization and breaks the invisible bubbles between the organization and the candidates, engaging them where they would least expect it.

Organizations have evolved from using these platforms from branding avenues alone to leveraging them for the entire recruitment value chain- attracting, engaging, screening and converting prospective candidates. Maintaining and harvesting these talent pools is the new Shangri-la for recruiters. Organizations are soon realizing that recruitment practices based on “One size fits all” principle hold back the business from ensuring quality of hire and satisfaction to the customer. Traditionally, traits such as innovation, decision making and problem solving are taken on face value based on answers to questions asked. But it is not necessary that such an evaluation will ensure the right decision and eventually, the right fit for the role and organization.

Practical Application

This is where the exciting new concept of gamification comes in. Gamification, like the name suggests, selectively uses the mechanics which bring out people's natural desires for competition, achievement, status, self-expression, altruism, and closure when faced with a real life situation in form of a game. For example, a software firm can host an engaging contest like a coding challenge to check the candidates on their coding skills. This can be followed up by another level which tests behavioural traits. Another example could be LinkedIn’s profile completeness concept. It challenges users by showing a progress bar on “profile completeness”. This induces the user to go through the site’s resources, spend more time on the site and finally, give him the sense of confidence for his profile on the site based on his “accomplishment”.

Gartner predicts that by 2014, more than 70 per cent of global organizations will have at least one “gamified” application, which can range from mastering a specific skill or improving one’s health. Gamification throws up a plethora of possibilities owing to the advent of social media and increasing focus on analytics within organizations. But Gartner also says that 80 per cent of the gamified applications will fail if not designed correctly. Locating the right talent pool and engaging specific segments by customized gamified modules promises to be a pragmatic solution to recruitment woes across industries. For example, The Hotel Marriott has launched an App which makes candidates virtually perform hotel service industry tasks. This gives insights to the candidates on what the real work is going to be like and also, helps sieve out the applicants who do not have the patience or aptitude for such a job, basically separating the race car drivers from the slow crawlers.

Gamification is also re-casting the way onboarding programs are conducted in organizations. The gamified new hire programs are personalized, engaging and represent the innovative outlook of the organization the hire is stepping into. Instead of sitting through a couple of days of lectures, e-learning modules or videos, the new hire will be pleasantly surprised to play a game which will give him all the information he needs, connect him to his peers and have fun on his first day of “alleged” work.

Social networking

But gamification could never have had the potential to be this big without social networking, which provided it with the greatest resource needed, a stable network of players. The like-tweet-share generations coming into the market today demand to know how awesome their job will be and whether recruiters like it or not, the ways of working in an organization are no secrets thanks to a plethora of social media channels. Generic smiling faces and talking about being an “employee friendly” company hardly strums any strings with this breed. Only authenticity of information to the candidate helps getting the right candidates with the requisite culture fit and right expectation setting. Hence, concepts like gamification lead to better quality of hire and ultimately, retention. Organizations realize that engaging talent is not just about finding the right leads only, but also adding value through the interaction. The value addition, more often than not, creates a loyal talent pool that truly buys into your brand and will recommend your organization at least, if not join it. Gamification not only engages the candidate but also fosters the interest by challenging him to come again, based on the premise that once he has played the game, he becomes an advocate who brings family, friends and acquaintances to have the same experience in the future.

As Albert Einstein put it, “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else”. The rules of the Talent Acquisition game just changed. It is time to leverage social media and analytics to get the better talent into the organization faster than anyone else. Game On!

(The writer is Global Head, Talent Acquisition, HCL Technologies)

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