It’s time to switch things up! Up until today, traditional psychometric tests for candidates’ haven’t changed in the slightest. Those willing to be ahead of their time already shifted to the state-of-the-art candidate game-based assessments. As an alternative for multiple choice psychometric test, more and more employers tend to shift to fun video-games. Don’t get mislead though, apart from being fun; recruitment games are backed up by the solid scientific approach, providing recruiters data-driven results on candidates soft skills.
Game-Based Assessment: a Hidden Gem for Employers?
While it’s rather obvious that playing a fun video-game is more exciting and less stressful for candidates and can lower the guard of candidates to answer more truthfully, what’s in it for the employers using these tools?
Routinely, companies examine their candidates via interviews on their academic achievements and past professional experience; occasionally combining the latter with technical/numerical tests. The biggest problem employers are facing when applying the traditional evaluation tactics alone is the subjectivity level and inability to determine candidates’ soft skills. Not to mention the biases that predetermine our choices and impressions. Professionals state that “unconscious biases have a critical and problematic effect on our judgment, leading to making decisions in favor of one person to the detriment of others”.
It is proven that companies applying a combination of several selection practices end up generating greater productivity and increased sales per employee. Here is where the game-based assessments come into the fray. The use of games for HR purposes helps to recreate real-world situations and true candidate reactions; disclosing their soft skills (i.e. adaptability, flexibility, resilience, decision-making, teamwork, work ethic, etc.) which are difficult to ascertain from traditional multiple-answer tests or interviews.
Gamified psychometric tests vs. Traditional assessments
Soft skills are the so-called indicators of candidates’ working potential and there are more than few reasons explaining the necessity of uncovering them via game-based assessments. Let’s take a closer look at the most important ones.
#1 Time-consuming: possibility to screen more people in less time
Game-based soft skills assessments don’t require the presence of an interpreter, moreover, they do not even require the candidate to be in the same country. Instead of spending a day for conducting interviews, recruiters are able to devote their time analyzing the results and then making a hiring decision. This approach also motivates recruiters to assess a larger amount of candidate profiles, than they would have if running traditional interviews, allowing them to cherry pick the best profile.
#2 Reliable and objective results
Another advantage of game-based psychometric tests against the traditional methods is that during the game, candidates can hardly fake their reactions; what they would normally do when asked directly. This provides recruiters with a rather powerful, factual, objective and unbiased ability to evaluate candidates’ fit for the position. Owiwi’s analytical report is available to the recruiter upon completion of the test; illustrating the potential hires’ strengths and areas of improvement, enabling them to shortlist candidates and hire the best person for the job. The tool is designed to assess the following soft skills of the candidate: Resilience, Flexibility, Adaptability, Decision Making.
Due to the human factor elimination, recruitment games also lessen discriminatory judgments such as gender or ethnicity, providing a unique opportunity for fair comparison for every candidate. In turn, this adds credibility to the company’s employers’ brand, representing the company as an innovator and thus making it an employer of choice; providing a base for top talent attraction.
#3 Easy – applicable
Game-based assessment focuses on the evaluation of soft skills or cognitive aptitude, which are necessary and are applicable across all the industries and position levels, regardless the seniority. Additionally, there is no difference whether the candidate is an “experienced gamer” or not. Recruiting games are self-explanatory and offer each candidate a unique experience.
Furthermore, companies of all sizes can gain from game-based tests, however, it’s the bigger (most often multi-national) companies that can profit the most out of it. This is due to their focus on the employees’ personal skills, rather than their practical/technical abilities. More importantly though, is that due to a large number of assessments that take place in large corporations, it’s the increased ROI that makes the difference.
Evolution of Technology brings more changes to HR
There is no doubt, HR techniques are changing, following the general digitalization trend and the needs of Millenials. In line with game-based assessments the most bright example is LinkedIn, and Social Media Recruitment. The current changes that we are already witnessing are only proving that more changes based on technology incorporation into HR field, are still to come.
