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How not to do gamification and how I apply game design to gamify my businesses.

I don't like gamification anymore.

And I am a game designer.

How is this possible?

Most articles about gamification talk only about experience points, rewards, and hooks.

The goal is to trick customers, employees, or potential hires into taking actions you want them to do.

So gamification, as it is used today, only looks at the parts of game design that manipulate people.

But gamification is so much more.

Definition of Gamification

When I talk about gamification, I mean the following:

Applying game design methods to make activities more engaging and fun for the actor.

I use the whole arsenal of game design methods when I gamify my work processes.

The end goal for me is to make work more fun and engaging.

If I am engaged, I will finish a task in half the time with higher-quality results than disengaged.

If I have fun doing a task, I will do it repeatedly without getting tired.

There is more to gamification than point systems and rewards.

Being manipulated is usually not engaging or fun.

If you want to deep dive into business gamification, let's talk.

I can help you bring your business to the next level.

Ready to grow your business and transform it into a playground that runs itself?

>>> Talk to me.

How to do recruiting gamification right?

I constantly search for new ways to gamify my work and my life.

Recruiting is one of the things every startup leader must do, but I don't like it much.

I'm an introvert entrepreneur.

I want to spend time building an incredible product my users love or playing games with friends.

I don't want to talk to strangers the whole day.

How can I make recruiting fun and keep me engaged the whole time?

Here is my four-step rinse and repeat Gamified Recruiting Process.

1. Define the Position

The recruiting process starts long before I schedule interviews.

It starts with defining the position I am trying to fill.

Everything else builds on top of this step.

I won't hire the right person for the position if I don't know who I want to hire.

It's wild that no one seems to be talking about this step.

When I read articles on how to gamify recruiting, they focused only on skill assessments.

To nail the position definition, I apply game design by asking myself seven questions:

What does the game loop look like this player will play daily (e.g. their responsibilities)?
What does the bigger game this game loop integrates into look like (e.g. your business)?
Who might be having fun playing this game?
Who do I want to play the game with every day?
Who does the team want to play with every day?
What skills, talents, and abilities does the player need to play this game?
Where can I find this player?

Not every game engages everyone the same way.

There are several types of players; each finds different activities engaging and fun.

Let's talk about Player Motivation Models another time. 😉

2. Design the Recruiting Experience

With this information collected, I start designing the recruiting game.

I create engaging assessments to solve for the prospects, and fun to review for me.

Then, I plan a date with the prospects.

What do I really want to know about them?

Not just the usual work checklist stuff, but what interests me specifically in them?

Lastly, I find fun activities to get to know them better.

Drinking a tea.
Playing a game.
Tell each other stories.

It's going to be fun. 😉

In the end, I got a process that answers all the attributes, skills, and talents I wrote down in step one.

I want to ensure they add to my fun when I hire them.

I want to know your best idea for fun recruiting activities to try out.

Shoot me a message with your idea via email or social media.

Links are at the bottom of this page.

3. Play the Recruiting Game

I should have everything in place to start playing now.

The game loop should look somewhat like this:

Find an exciting prospect.
Pick up the conversation.
Get to know them.
Make them an offer or part ways.
Repeat.

I play the long game when hiring.

Getting to know someone will take time.

If I rush it, I will end up with high employee churn and a lot of money wasted.

And most importantly, my time is wasted because I have to hire someone new.

Hire slow and fire fast.

And, more importantly, have fun while playing the recruiting game.

Fun is the whole purpose of this exercise. 😆

4. Change And Improve As You Go

I know already that, at some point, this recruiting game will become boring.

This is when I follow the fun to find new ways to get the same results and enjoy the process again.

The only constant is change.

So why not embrace it?

Make it a thing in your business and get the team involved.

By the way, this is an excellent topic for an internal hackathon. 😉

Famous Last Words

Now you know how I gamify my hiring process:

Define the Position.
Design the Recruiting Experience.
Play the Recruiting Game.
Change and Improve As You Go.

I see my businesses as a playground for me and everyone involved.

No one wants to play in a playground if it is boring or, even worse, mentally hurting.

This is why my responsibility as founder is to shape the pizza for my team.

As the founder, I might be the only team member who can shape everyone's experience.

So I have three options:

I love designing experiences, so I do it myself.
I hate designing experiences, so I find ways to make them fun.
Or I find someone else to design these experiences for me.

Now it's your turn.

Make hiring fun!

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How To Really Gamify Recruiting?