Gamification in the recruitment process

Abstract

Computer based simulation games also known as ‘serious game’ are becoming very important in HR domain. These are increasingly being used for training, recruitment and performance management of the employees. Serious games bring objectivity in evaluation, customizability for different skills and eliminate human-biases. Further, games can significantly improve the recruitment process by making it fast and interesting for candidates and offering better fit candidates for the companies. Through this project we wanted to explore application of serious games in HR sector particularly for recruitment processes. The objective of the project is to understand the scope for gamification in the recruitment processes for various roles. To attain that, we plan to identify a set of skills and evaluate effectiveness of games for assessing those skills by conducting experiment on candidates. Also, we intend to create a simulated job-market model where algorithm-based mapping of requisite skills and candidate skills can be done. We also plan to introduce a structured game in existing recruitment process of a company to assess its effectiveness. In the simulated job market analysis, we found that Gale Shapley algorithm generates candidatefirm matches such that maximum candidates get their topmost preferences and will have less or no incentive to switch their roles. This holds true for the companies also. In comparison to unidimensional scoring of candidates, multidimensional scoring improves overall satisfaction level as more candidates get their top preferred job roles. The increase in satisfaction level or stable matches achieved through the Gale Shapley algorithm (as demonstrated in Method I) helps in reducing the attrition rate in the job market, which in turn, would save significant time and cost of the recruiters as well as the candidates. From a bird point of view, this would increase the overall productivity of the workforce. Extending the concept of simulated job market, gamification can be utilized by the job-portals and can strengthen their position as a major recruitment aggregators. The platform can evolve to connect the most suitable candidate with the best available job.