To cope with the challenge of finding qualified applicants, some HR services have turned to social media to attract talent. According to Business & Legal Resources (BLR), 69 percent of HR departments use social media for recruiting, making it the No. 1 action in employment-related social media use. For some, this might involve posting company info on Facebook or LinkedIn to promote new positions. But others extend their use of social media into elaborate games that attract prospective employees and motivate existing workers.
The term "gamification" has been applied to the trend of tracking progress and rewarding employees and consumers through a web application. For example, employees might log into an app that tracks their completed work, fills a progress bar and displays achievements. The idea is to promote enthusiasm by keeping workers consistently engaged. The same concept can be applied to customers by distributing points for purchases or other engagements with the company.
"As more 'digital natives' enter the workforce, companies that don't integrate social media into their HR function and don't adopt a systematic social recruiting strategy will be left behind," said Jonathan Wasserman, a recruiter for the Campbell Soup Company, in a report by The Conference Board. Gamification could the solution to attracting an ambitious young workforce.
