The UK is currently experiencing a shortage of professionals with essential STEM skills (that’s where our virtual training can help) and as a result recruiters are starting to think outside the box. One such suggestion is gamification.
With technology at home and work, professionals are starting to seek a cross over between the two and for those who are big into gaming this could be a solution.
So, What is Gamification?
‘Gamification’ is the term given to the introduction of game-like elements or thinking to real-life processes. And although this isn’t a new phenomenon, with the recent surge in digital, it is becoming increasingly popular.
In fact, according to Markets and Markets, gamification will increase by 67% over the next 3 years and by 2018 will be worth a huge $5.5 billion (£3.57 billion).
Why Should Recruiters Adopt This Strategy?
When there is a skills shortage, companies enter a competition to fight for the best job candidates. Here brand image and work culture become more important than ever; a business needs to stand out from the crowd. Equally, the organisation’s recruitment process can have a huge influence.
Introducing gamification at the recruitment stage not only makes the company appear forward thinking, innovative and fun, but it is a quick and easy way to whittle through and find the most suitable candidates. An example of this could be an immersive game that emulates the day-to-day tasks the role involves and the working culture. This is the ideal way to show what is expected of an applicant and what working at the organisation would be like.
Siemens Industry, has put this into practice with great results. It launched Plantville, which simulates the role of a plant manager, where players have to care for their plant while also running the facility. As a bonus, the game increased the brand’s public awareness too.
Taxi app, Uber, is also a fan. UberDrive is an online driver recruitment game released in June 2015 that gives job applicants a taste of what working for Uber is like. A safe journey means a player scores highly and continuously doing so allows players to unlock new map levels and cars.
This may be fun, but does it translate? Well, a number of people look good on paper but fall short in person when they have to put theory into practice. This eliminates this confusion.
Gamification also means less admin for your HR department and can save you money in the long run. Plus, this competition attracts candidates who strive to be the best they can be at everything they do – a great quality in any employee.
Recruitment tests can be off-putting to candidates, so why not replace them with a game? It can do the same job, but will be much more interesting.
Virtual Training at Global Knowledge
Sadly, we don’t yet have a game to help teach our virtual training courses for us; however, we do offer a blended learning approach. Whether you’re looking for IT development or business skills training we have a course for you.
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