Gamification of business: using games for recruitment

Looking for some evidence for the "gamification of business" trend, I came upon this interesting example (thanks to Gerd Leonhard).

(From Springwise.com )

The gamification trend has been going strong in recent months, but until just recently we hadn’t seen it applied to recruiting. Sure enough, though, none other than hospitality giant Marriott International is now using a Facebook game to try to fill some 50,000 open jobs by the end of this year.

At My Marriott Hotel on Facebook, gamers begin by managing a virtual hotel restaurant kitchen, including buying equipment and ingredients on a budget, hiring and training employees, and serving guests. Much like in the wildly popular Farmville game, players earn points for happy customers but lose points for poor service; they’re also rewarded when their operation turns a profit. The game can be played in English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Mandarin, and after playing in the restaurant portion of the game, users can then move on to other areas of hotel operations. The video below demonstrates the game in action:



David Rodriguez, Marriott International’s executive vice president of global human resources, explains: “As Marriott expands in growth markets outside the U.S., and as we seek to attract more Millennials – those between the ages 18 and 27 – to our workforce, we must find new ways to interest them in hospitality careers. This game allows us to showcase the world of opportunities and the growth potential attainable in hospitality careers, especially in cultures where the service industry might be less established or prestigious.”