source 8.1

Introduction to Gamification in Employee Selection

• Emergence of Gamification: New technologies like gamification and serious games are gaining traction in talent identification, enhancing traditional recruitment methods.

• Serious Games: Defined as games created for purposes beyond entertainment, such as assessments in a work context.

• Game‐Based Assessments: Integration of gamified elements in employee selection methods (e.g., multimedia situational judgment tests, various game styles).

• Applicant Reactions: Gamified methods aimed to improve applicant experiences and potentially enhance job performance predictions.

• Study’s Purpose: Investigates the applicability and effectiveness of gamified selection methods in HR practices, questioning their potential to enhance hiring decisions.

Gamification and Selection Methods

• Reducing Inferential Leaps: Traditional methods require judgments on applicant competencies with potential bias. Gamified methods may reduce biases by revealing natural behaviors through less structured assessments.

• Bias Reduction: Gamified assessments may mitigate common issues like faking responses or social desirability biases, improving the validity of the results.

• Comparative Effectiveness: Previous research failed to confirm the superiority of gamification's effectiveness in the recruitment setting, necessitating further exploration.

Studies Conducted

Study 1: Development of the SJT (Situational Judgment Test)

• SJT Framework: The study initiated by developing a traditional SJT to assess soft skills relevant to job performance, focusing on:

  • Resilience

  • Adaptability

  • Flexibility

  • Decision-Making.

• Construction of Assessment: Includes scenarios with multiple-choice answers, grounded in concrete incidents to measure competencies.

Study 2: Confirmatory Analysis of Gamified SJT

• Gamified Transformation: The original SJT was converted into an engaging gamified assessment employing storytelling, avatars, and interaction to enhance user experience.

• Engagement Mechanisms: The gamified approach incorporated game elements such as:

  • Progress tracking

  • Immediate feedback

  • Narrative depth

  • Choices allowing for more personalized interaction.

Implementing Gamified Assessments

• Practical Implications: The findings highlight potential use in real-world organizational settings, with gamified assessments promising improvements in applicant experience, increased engagement, and effective skill evaluation.

• Behavior over Traits: Emphasizes assessing actual behaviors over self-reported traits, reducing distortion in responses and improving the selection process validity.

Conclusion and Further Research

• Value of Gamification: The study posits that conversion of traditional assessment methods to a gamified format can effectively predict job performance and assess candidate skills better than traditional methods.

• Future Exploration: Additional research required to solidify claims about the advantages of such assessments, with attention to large sample sizes and diverse contexts to verify findings and enhance validity.