Gamification contains interesting options for test development, but we must remain aware of the pitfalls.
Working your way to a new job while gaming: a dream of many a gaming enthusiast or (future) reality? Implementing game design elements, also known as gamification, has been a hot topic within the HR sector in recent years. That gamification can help make the candidate application process more enjoyable and attractive. Cebir, too, pays more and more attention to candidate reservations, seeking a good balance between the attractiveness of (the tests on) our testing platform and continuing to guarantee a high-quality offering.
What is “gamification”?
Gamification is the use of game elements and principles when taking a reasoning or personality test, for example. Think for example of graphic design (images, colors, recognition, answer methods …), interactivity (the candidate performs actions in the test to reach an answer), progress indicators (time indication, levels …), feedback (per item or test section) and contextualization (providing an underlying story to the test/application tool).
What are the pros and cons of gamification within personnel selection?
There is quite a bit of debate about the added value of gamification in personnel selection. In doing so, there are numerous pros and cons in the scientific literature.
Advantages gamification | Disadvantages gamification |
|---|---|
Is more pleasurable to do | Causes noise on the measurement interpretation of the test(battery) or even systematic errors |
Provides opportunities to divert the candidate’s attention from the real measurement goal | May create negative effects in some candidates (cultural background, age …) |
Promotes motivation | Requires additional skills; experience with games or digital technology plays a role |
Can reduce anxiety/stress by distracting candidates from stressors | May increase anxiety/stress when candidates view game elements as unfair |
Measures behavior more directly than self-assessment | |
Creates a greater sense of reality by more realistically mimicking the work setting |
Advantages gamification
Is more pleasurable to do
Provides opportunities to divert the candidate’s attention from the real measurement goal
Promotes motivation
Can reduce anxiety/stress by distracting candidates from stressors
Measures behavior more directly than self-assessment
Creates a greater sense of reality by more realistically mimicking the work setting
Disadvantages gamification
Causes noise on the measurement interpretation of the test(battery) or even systematic errors
May create negative effects in some candidates (cultural background, age …)
Requires additional skills; experience with games or digital technology plays a role
May increase anxiety/stress when candidates view game elements as unfair
Gamification thus contains interesting options for test development, but we must remain aware of the pitfalls. The pros and cons are actually all based on 2 dimensions (1) candidate experience and (2) test quality. Whether the presence of game elements enhances or limits the candidate experience and test quality is thereby strongly related to the similarity between the chosen game elements, the measurement goal of the test(battery) and the chosen target group. It is therefore important to pay sufficient attention to this during the development process. The central question we always ask ourselves in this process is: “What do we want to achieve with this game element in this specific test?” or again, “What exactly do we want to measure with this test and which game elements qualify for this?”