Gamification, by definition, is the application of game mechanics and game design techniques to non-game

applications and scenarios to make them more fun and engaging. Gamification has an extensive area of application
ranging from being a tool for customer engagement, health and wellness programs to employee training programs.
Gamify employee engagement!
In recent times, gamification has been used in the work scenario for various employee engagement and
recruitment initiatives. According to a recently concluded imes!obs.com survey, nearly "#$ of the surveyed
employers use gamification for employee engagement. %hen asked about the key benefit of using gamification for
employee engagement, about &'$ of the surveyed employers vouched that gamification generates compelling
stories that drive enhanced employee participation. (early )*$ employers believe that gamification generated
achievable short term goals and prepare employees for reward driven long term goals.
+mployers today couple gamification with social media to attain efficient talent engagement tools. Anil Garg, vice
president, ,uman -esource, %hirlpool, said during a recent imes!obs.com boardroom dialogue that they have been
extensively using social media along with gamification to engage prospective talent. hey use cryptic pu..les through
social media to keep the brand connect alive.
Play games and get hired!
+mployers today are ready to experiment with their hiring strategies and gamification seems to be another innovation
approach in this direction. According to the survey results, nearly )/$ employers use gamification for the purpose of
recruitment. hey screen potential candidates for attributes like competitive drive and multi tasking abilities that would
set them apart from other candidates who are only academically fit for the 0ob.
Gamification plays an important role in crowdsourced recruitment. 1adu -atnayake, vice president, 2irtusa3s social
business strategy and global quality framework, said, 45ou get to real 4crowd sourced6 recruitment when you
effectively engage your entire employee base as brand ambassadors and lead generators in the recruitment effort.
Gamification is a powerful tool to create that excitement and tap into the competitive spirit of your employees to make
every single one of them an 4active talent scout6. ,iring contests, leaderboards and badges are the building blocks of
a social gamified recruitment process.6
Not all fun and games
Although gamification has wide-ranging applications in the work scenario, the process has yet to carve its niche in the
,- ecosystem. he recent imes!obs.com survey results highlighted the fact that only ))$ of the surveyed
employers employ gamification as their hiring strategy. (early ""$ employers are considering using this process in
near future. 7eing a rather new concept, there is a lot of curiosity involving this process. 8rganisations are carefully
analysing all the potential shortcomings of the process before they decide to take the leap.
he recent imes!obs.com survey results threw some light on some of the potential limitations of using gamification
in work scenario. About '9$ of surveyed employers believe the concept3s lack of universal organisational appeal is
the ma0or demerit of gamification. :uccessful models are generally required by most new concepts to pave the way.
Gamification hardly has any. (early )#$ surveyed employers this to be the most acute shortcoming of gamification.
Also there is a ma0or dearth of games with universal appeal.
Gamification in the work scenario is yet to evolve into an efficient hiring and talent engagement tool. +mployers are
curious but willing to try this new age engagement tool.