Why use gamification in Human Resources?

Offering innovative and attractive tools in Human Resources proves to be a difficult task without using gamification. HR has numerous objectives: training, educating, recruiting and communicating where you need to demonstrate ingenuity in order to create employee enthusiasm and stand out from the crowd. Did you know gamification is also called ‘edutainment’ in English?

What is gamification in the HR context?

The term gamification is coined from the English noun ‘game’ to signify taking the mechanics and unique features of games, especially video games, for purposes and applications that are not solely for playing.

The goal of gamification is to make an activity more fun, focusing more on engaging individuals taking part or even introducing a viral element eventually. In the context of Human Resources, the principle of gamification can be used for communication, training or even recruitment campaigns.

The mechanisms commonly taken from the gaming world to gamify HR are:

a scoring system
an indication of status based on level or usage time
positioning yourself in relation to others
quizzes
games and challenges with leaderboard format
the concept of having a mission

Gamification and Human Resources – a winning combo?

HR is therefore very well disposed to the use of gamification in its various tasks, but how does it work in practice?

Games in recruitment processes

One possible use for it is within your recruitment campaigns. Three main difficulties can arise during recruitment:

Time restrictions can lead to decisions based on incorrect criteria;
The speed of interviews does not offer a fair representation of the candidate;
Current methods pose a risk of bias (candidate adaptation, attributional bias…) and so you cannot guarantee total objectivity during the recruitment process.

The introduction of gamification can rectify this as it is able to:

Bypass psychological biases: candidates are not face-to-face with the recruiter and are not in a work environment;
Increase the sense of organisational justice for candidates: the process is identical for everyone and the final result is based on objective criteria.

The result of the game (win or lose) is not the main outcome; it’s more a question of the pathway chosen by the candidate to achieve the goal which matters. By taking the opportunity to observe the candidate’s methods and actions, you gain much more information about their personality. The game therefore allows an objective evaluation of the candidate and gives a better understanding of their personal and interpersonal qualities.

At Drimify, we have been lucky enough to work with different companies in developing recruitment games. Check out our collaboration with a recruitment agency to help them boost their visibility amongst new applicants.

Games to support the onboarding process of new employees

Gamification can be used as a social integration tool; the games are ideal to guide a new employee through their induction process. From getting to know the company and its culture to setting up their first network, there is so much that can be done in a more enjoyable way through gamification.

The aim is to engage the player in an experience to allow them to grow and adapt. Humans are predisposed to playing games and so using it also increases employees’ acceptance of the process by integrating games. This is very useful when introducing changes to your company!

In-house training through games

Gamification has proven prudent for training too. Learning is made better with games, and not just for children! Gamification makes the learner proactive: learners are made to call upon their own resources and try different approaches to complete the game. In that respect, gamification boosts the retention of learning in a training context.

Skills such as communication, time management or working as part of a team can be developed through gamified training. These can be presented as “physical” games or in an e-learning structure for example.

Check out our strategy for integrating games into training

Bring your teams together through fun gaming campaigns

Have you already thought about creating a series of games for Team-Building purposes? By doing so, it is possible to create digital experiences which can be shared by all employees no matter where they are or the time of year without without disrupting their schedule.

Contests can also allow you to offer incentives to your employees whilst giving them the chance to find out about company developments such as new products and services. To help with this, Drimify worked with the HR department for an energy company to create a quiz to discover the company’s latest innovations with a holiday up for grabs as the grand prize.

How to integrate gamification at the heart of HR and training

Integrating elements of gamification into your HR policies, however, requires some preparation in order to be sure it will work well for your employees.

You can, for example, suggest an implementation schedule for play-based training modules so that the learners can easily organise themselves.

You could also offer advice on effective digital communication for each of the company’s departments: ensure that within said department everyone has read the notices carefully, offer attractive communication tools…

Drimify, the gamification platform to make creating your Human Resources games simple

Certain tools even exist to create these games for Human Resources. Drimify is one example of this which can also, thanks to its expert teams, offer innovative and varied communication tools. If you would like to find out more about your game options or discuss your project with the Drimify team, we are always happy to help!