HR Tech Isn’t Stale: Recruitment & Corporate Training Games

A few years ago, experts were taking bets on the validity of gamification, deciding if it was the next important tool or just one of those buzzwords destined to fizzle out. While HR trends go in waves, and HR and recruiting is no stranger to that.

Gamification was one of those terms that used to rule the HR tech news airways. Of course, just like any industry, trends and buzzwords go through cycles. However, unlike some buzzwords, this one carried some value. Many well-known organizations like Marriott and Deloitte have integrated gamification into their recruitment and management processes. Tools like skill assessment and company training games are bringing a whole new dimension to HR and recruitment strategies.

Back it Up a Bit

Gamification is the use of gaming elements (rules, competitions, etc.) to encourage participation and engage the participant through a specific process. In many cases, the process is considered tedious, boring or disengaging in general. In talent acquisition, gamified skill assessments can introduce your candidate to your company culture while also determining their proficiencies for the job or role. In talent management, tools like corporate training games, employee referral programs and performance programs excite your employees and reward their progress.

Gamification for Candidates

Our partners over at Talent Tech Labs have had their eye on gamification in HR and recruiting for quite a while now. In their talent acquisition trends report, they spoke with leaders in the space about behavioral tests, skill assessments and all the ways employers can use the power of games to better connect with talent.

“No longer are TA professionals denying the importance of candidate experience, but neither are they backing down when it comes to finding the right fit in a hire. Establishing the right balance with both in hiring processes is a challenge, but one in which HR and Talent Acquisition have taken on with grace and persistence.”

-Jonathan Kestenbaum (@JKestenbaum), Managing Director of Talent Tech Labs

The balance he’s discussing is important in both recruiting talent and engaging current employees. Last year, CareerBuilder found that 60% of job seekers stop an online job application because of their length or complexity. This poses a difficult question for employers: do they sacrifice important parts of their pre-employment assessments or do they gamble on losing a qualified candidate.

Even more, recruiting tools like HackerRank and GapJumpers allow employers to gain a more in-depth view of their candidates’ abilities by inviting them to respond to pre-employment challenges. Their responses are used to assess their fit to the position. How is this more engaging than the usual application? Well, the candidate isn’t judged on their resume or job history, but instead upon their ability to perform. The applicant has the chance to prove themselves while the employer has more opportunity to work with well-fit talent.

Did you know that 86% of surveyed recruiters say it’s hard to find tech talent, while nearly 60% of those with software engineering, programming or computer science titles did not carry a computer science degree? In fact, 36% of IT workers do not hold a college degree at all.

Gamification for Employees

Roughly $162 billion was spent on corporate training in the US in 2012, most of which didn’t yield any significant ROI. Why? Michael Beer, Harvard Business School Professor says, “It’s not that the content of training programs is necessarily bad; rather, it’s that the companies are not laying the proper groundwork to get the most out of what is being taught.”

Companies like Kahoot! are building engaging and easy-to-learn technologies to provide simpler solutions for training and engaging large, corporate teams. Kahoot! Plus believes there is a creative learning in everyone, every age, making their program highly effective for training and engagement strategies.

“Billions of dollars and millions of hours are wasted on ineffective corporate training every year. All of us have suffered through dull presentation decks and boring training sessions. We believe training should not only be useful, but also fun, memorable, inspiring, and even magical.”

–Erik Harrell,” CEO at Kahoot!

HR tech builders are aiming to make recruiting and management processes simpler and more engaging so employers can experience real return in terms of finances, engagement and overall company growth. These are only a few examples of how that effort is progressing. Are you using gamification? Tell us about it on our twitter @RedBranch!

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