Peoplefluent uses gamification to track talent and drive engagement within an organisation
US-based Peoplefluent is claiming to break new ground by building in gamification into a talent management app.
Gamification is the use of game design techniques and thinking to drive higher engagement or adoption in a non-game environment or context. Workforce Explorer Challenge is designed to help managers gain a better insight into the talent within their organisation and forms part of the latest version of Peoplefluent’s Workforce Explorer iPad app.
Chris Caldon, senior vice president, sales at Peoplefluent, said the proliferation of tablet devices and the increasing expectation among end users of a “consumer-centric” experience were major factors in their decision to use gamification but the overall driver is to find a way of increasing adoption of the software. “The best way to get people to utilise these apps is to start changing the metaphor by which they are learning how to interact with them,” he said. “The gamification aspects and the game mechanics we’ve factored into the design get managers to use the apps on two levels: it helps them understand how to use and navigate their way through the app in a fun way and in doing so the games drive out the underlying data that the organisation holds.”
The app links to disparate data sources within the organisation, such as record-keeping and HR systems. At the moment, the applications work with the Peoplefluent talent management product suite but Caldon said that the company’s ultimate aim is to open the app up to other systems. The app uses this data to create questions such as whether the manager knows who are the top three performers in the company or which two employees have Java backgrounds.
“The manager gets pointers, tips and instant feedback on where to find this information if they don’t know it,” explained Caldon. As well as questions, rankings and ratings, Workforce Explorer Challenge also features music, sound effects and animation.
Caldon adds that gamification will be factored into all its products across the talent management spectrum, including sourcing and recruitment. “For instance, a resourcing manager could use gamification to learn about succession strength for key positions and understand where succession weaknesses are,” he said. “I believe we are on the cusp of the next wave of transformation in apps, especially in the area of talent management where user adoption is critical for better decision-making. When making a decision about talent you want to make sure your managers are fully informed and understand the data available to them.”
Richard Hamilton, marketing director of the recruitment business Guru Careers, believes that although there has not yet been any “large-scale” implementations of gamification into recruitment products, it has a real value for employers and agencies. “Pure gamification is about driving engagement, encouraging interaction and pulling people into a technology product to get the data you need … we’ll see a lot more uses of it coming out of the woodwork.” Guru Careers is working on a new application tracking system (ATS) and is exploring the benefits of gamification.
When speaking at the Alexander Mann Solutions Sourcing Innovation Summit earlier this year, Matthew Jeffery, head of EMEA talent acquisition and global talent brand at the 3D design software company Autodesk, predicted that gamification would be one of the tools of “new recruitment, version 4.0”, forming a key part of a social recruiting strategy. “Gamification is not about adding games but learning from the process of what games are about. How do we make someone have one more play and ensure they keep coming back?” he said.
www.peoplefluent.com
www.gurucareersnetwork.com
