The benefits of serious gaming for human resources
“You can get to know a person better in an hour playing a game than you can in a year talking to them.” Where does this wise saying come from? From none other than Plato himself. We wonder if he knew about the challenges of modern recruiting back then. It looks like he did. For HR managers and companies, two things are interesting about this thesis: Firstly, the time and cost savings. On the other hand, it’s the statement that you get to know the candidates better in the game than in the interview. Let’s get to the bottom of it: Do serious games really promise more efficient processes and measurable success? Do they help to attract suitable candidates for the company? And how can serious gaming be used in the recruiting process and onboarding? Read for yourself.
What can serious gaming be used for in recruiting?
Visiting career sites and browsing job postings can often be incredibly boring. The first contact by the recruiter is often just a flurry of empty phrases. Rescuing the kidnapped CEO from a shark cage in the deep sea – with a super-intelligent villain at his back? Sounds more exciting. Can serious gaming be used in recruiting? Sure it can. What for? We’ll tell you now.
Serious gaming improves the candidate experience
“Thank you very much for your application. We appreciate your interest in this position and in our company. After a thorough review of your documents, we will get back in touch with you.” Yawn! It’s messages like these that companies send to their applicants. Granted, this first point of contact is a small part in the overall application process, but it’s as much a part of the candidate experience as the drink after signing the contract. The infamous Candidate Experience describes all the experiences that the applicant has with an employer during the application phase. It is not uncommon for these experiences to then be discussed on Xing or LinkedIn and given star ratings on Kununu and the like. In this way, the experiences are shared with the general public and made accessible to all. “The most boring employer of all time!”, “Unimaginative” or “Am I supposed to start the first 4-day week of my life there?” are comments that HR managers or entrepreneurs don’t like to read. It would be better for employers to take candidate entertainment up a notch. Serious gaming is an interesting option here, because it allows you to accompany applicants from the first point of contact to onboarding – in a fun and exciting way.
Serious gaming as a tool for employer branding
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the most innovative employer of them all? Well, apparently the one with the best Kununu rating, right? And you’ll only get that if applicants’ jaws drop. Not because they’re bored, but because they’re impressed. Because nowadays, standard application methods only elicit a weary smile from many applicants. With a serious game, you can even lure candidates out of their shells who avoid boring application procedures. As a result, your application pool will be filled with much more exotic fish – who are sure to fit in perfectly with your team. Not only do they bring innovative ideas and exciting backgrounds to the workplace, but they also provide a breath of fresh air with new approaches. With a serious game, you can also encourage people who aren’t even looking for a job at the moment to get to grips with your company in a playful way. With serious gaming you have a suitable tool for employer branding at hand and get the chance to show yourself as an innovative and cool employer. And everyone knows that innovative companies also magically attract innovative applicants.
Selecting the right candidates with serious gaming
Let’s imagine Selina. Selina is a typical team player, always lends a hand when the situation calls for it and is also a real communication talent. Would you like to have more employees like Selina? You can: involve Selina in a serious game and use the knowledge to select future applicants. This way, you’ll find people who fit the company and the other team members. Speaking of getting people out of their shells, there are applicants who go into a kind of shock freeze at the interview of all things and later get angry because they couldn’t show their full potential. You also give these candidates the chance to prove their abilities and to really open up in the game. With the help of a serious game, you receive a lot of information about your candidates, presented in real time and in a clear manner. This allows you not only to structure the selection process in a meaningful way, but also to shorten the time required considerably. Your decision is then based on objective information and you can spend your newly gained time getting to know the selected candidates personally.
How helpful is serious gaming in onboarding?
The first day of work is a bit like the first day of school: excitement is preprogrammed, many unfamiliar faces are waiting and the new employees try to quickly find their way into the group. In the real situation, however, the new employee finds himself or herself lonely at his or her desk or in the home office and is initially quite lost. But onboarding is a crucial factor in successfully integrating an employee into the company, because otherwise he or she will have to wait until the Christmas party to make an unforgettable impression on colleagues.
Clever Pre-Onboarding with Serious Gaming
However, the clock for skillful onboarding is not only ticking from the first day of work: A study by the software provider Haufe shows that in many companies, 30% of newly hired employees quit again before their first day on the job. Of course, this could be because the HR manager in charge is a bit of a Grinch – but 83% of those surveyed believe that this number of early terminations could be reduced with better and earlier onboarding. In other words, you can use a serious game to get your employees on board before their first day, creating a sense of security.
Serious Games are versatile
From company history to sales training to safety guidelines in your company – there is so much (!) you need to share with your new employee on his or her first day. Serious games can not only be used to explain vision, mission and processes in an exciting way, but also to answer standard questions easily. Your employees are happy about the serious game, whose contents can be repeated as often as you like. In addition, you relieve your onboarding managers, because they can then take care of things like team building and co, instead of explaining the standard processes to every newcomer again and again.
Onboarding from the home office with serious gaming
“Dear home office god, let my internet be strong and my audio quality sufficient. And may the pet not start an attempt for more treats right now. Oh, and may the workmen postpone all drilling and hammering indefinitely. Amen.” That or something similar, might be the prayers new team members mutter to themselves in the face of their online onboarding. After all, onboarding from the home office is by no means as relaxed as many imagine. Newcomers may be able to sit down in front of the screen in sweatpants, but that fact doesn’t necessarily make the countless opportunities for disruption, embarrassment and the like any more comfortable. For many teams, online onboardings have been standard for years, for others they have only been part of everyday life since the pandemic. A quick chat at the coffee machine, a cuddle with the office dog, or lunch together? Not a chance. Often, not only is the proximity to the company lost, but also the contact to colleagues and superiors. But as Plato said, you can get to know a person pretty well in an hour playing an online game. What’s more is that the corporate philosophy can also be communicated in a playful way. And memorizing the new process flows is a lot more fun that way. Researchers at MIT even found out that people remember stories 21 times (!) better than facts. So with a serious gaming approach, you can move your remote onboarding process forward at warp speed, true to the motto: If life gives you the opportunity for online onboarding, make it a serious game.
Serious gaming is the next big thing for your HR department? Our developers are just waiting to get to work and create a custom serious game for you.
