Online gaming ‘helps predict candidates future job performance’.

The future of recruitment lies in hiring for ‘predicted performance in role’ rather than judging a candidate on past skills or competencies. However, to do this HR would need to radically shift its thinking around how it assesses candidates and embrace online gaming or ‘gamification’.

Apparently the trouble with assessing candidates on their past experience is that it is not a particularly good predictor of future success. It will only tell you how good the candidate was, not give you an idea of how they will be once they are in the job.

Employers who hire people based on past performance find their recruitment process may only be around 25% accurate in predicating good job performance. These employers, when asked to look at their workforce and say whether they would rehire people they had selected on experience, intellect or values, state they would not rehire anybody or they would only rehire 10 out of those 90 people in the company.

Therefore, rather than relying on experience, intellect or behaviours when selecting which applicant to take forward, HR needs to look at an individual’s values and motivations as research suggests these areas are key when you are trying to understand performance potential.

Gamification can help employers pick candidates with the desired values and motivations at a very early stage. Role-playing ‘games’ can be based on a number of different scenarios that ask candidates to choose the most appropriate response to situations to give an idea of their values and motivations. If they pass they could then go on to apply, and those that fail would be prevented from applying. It is argued that this can be used as a screening and select out people immediately, with considerable associated cost savings. Preliminary research suggests that success at face-to-face interviews can increase by up to 15% due to more appropriate being invited and the smaller number of those invitations.

Customer satisfaction rates can also be positively affected, with an approximate 8%-10% increase. Successful applicants may also perform and hit their targets earlier. Anecdotal evidence suggests that those individuals who go through this process may take less time off sick.

It could be argued that this demonstrates the importance of inbuilt values and motivation and how they manifest themselves in behaviours.