Bangalore – Online games are emerging as a recruitment tool. For tech-savvy millennials, games are fun and constitute a higher engagement model. For companies, it’s a tool that allows them to better quantify the performance of a candidate.
At L’Oreal India, graduates and post-graduates being considered for a job have to play a game called Reveal, which simulates a real work environment at the cosmetics and beauty products company. Players move through various challenges across departments, including finance, sales, marketing, operations and research and innovation.
Candidates pick an avatar and interact with graphical characters from different departments. They start with product development, and then have to navigate through three rooms and answer over 500 questions. Meanwhile, a computer program running at the backend keeps a tab on the time spent to complete each task and assesses logical reasoning and analytical skills.
“Many candidates get stuck when they have to design the media plan for their product launch. They have to choose between print, TV and social media. And different graphical characters pitch for a specific media, throwing up data as to how it has helped brand L’Oreal. It can be tricky for candidates,” says Mohit James, HR director, L’Oreal India.
The first edition of the game played last year in India saw 1,031 students from 84 educational institutes participating. The company shortlists candidates based on the game, and then holds an on-ground event called B-Revealed, which is the final round. “The game also reduces process-oriented delays,” says James.
Aditya Narayan Mishra, president of staffing at recruitment firm Randstad India, says gaming as a tool for recruitment has been prevalent in the West for the last couple of years and is now fast picking up in India. “Technology companies typically use games to test strategy, intuitiveness, logical reasoning, personality identification and problem-solving capacity of the candidates. Defence organizations create real-world scenarios in the form of games as part of the recruitment process,” he says.
Hotel chain Marriott International has a social game called My Marriott Hotel that is similar in concept to the popular Farmville and Cityville games. Gamers first manage a “virtual” hotel restaurant kitchen before moving on to other areas of hotel operations. They can create their own restaurant, they can buy equipment and ingredients on a budget, hire and train employees, and serve guests. They’ll earn points for happy customers and lose points for poor service. Ultimately, candidates are rewarded when their operation turns profitable.
“The game adds a layer to the conventional interview process and enables you to quantify the candidate’s performance,” Gurleen Bhalla, HR director at Ritz Carlton-Bangalore, the wholly owned subsidiary of Marriott, said. She added that since a lot of non-hotel management graduates are hired in the hospitality sector, the game is useful to give them a hands-on experience of things like running a kitchen. It is yet to be used as a recruitment tool in India. Agencies
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