????Upstream Challenge于2011年年底上線以來，已經(jīng)有大約700位求職者完成了這個(gè)時(shí)長60分鐘的在線測試項(xiàng)目,。Upstream Systems公司只聯(lián)系得分超過特定水平的求職者,，克里夫說，這樣做是為了避免挑戰(zhàn)參與者錯誤地以為只要參與就可獲得一份工作,。他補(bǔ)充說,，公司已經(jīng)通過電話聯(lián)系了一些成績優(yōu)異者，最近幾周招募了4個(gè)人,，還有2個(gè)人正在接受聘任考核,。

????塔吉特百貨（Target）和谷歌（Google）等公司還使用游戲來實(shí)現(xiàn)其他目標(biāo)，包括減少差旅費(fèi),、提振員工工作效率和士氣等,。其他公司正在使用游戲擴(kuò)大品牌知名度（倘若同時(shí)還能夠招募到優(yōu)秀的員工，那就再好不過了）,。

????萬豪國際（Marriott International）就是這樣做的,。這家國際酒店管理集團(tuán)推出了一款網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲，名為《我的萬豪酒店》（My Marriott Hotel）,。參與者需要模擬完成一些與酒店相關(guān)的工作,，比如管理一間餐廳廚房，包括購買原料,、審查已制作完成的食品訂單等等,。這款游戲提升了萬豪酒店在全球的知名度，但其初衷并不是為了篩選員工,。

????一些網(wǎng)上招聘活動面向20歲出頭的求職者,，它們還增添了玩游戲的技術(shù)。位于舊金山的求職網(wǎng)站Identified.com 最近增加了類似于游戲的獎勵措施,，鼓勵求職者提供更完整的個(gè)人信息,。

????“為了確定合適的人選,，公司的招聘官們各顯神通,，采用了包括筆跡分析在內(nèi)的多種方式，”新職介紹機(jī)構(gòu)Challenger, Gray & Christmas公司首席執(zhí)行官約翰?查林哲說,?！坝袝r(shí)候，這也是彰顯企業(yè)文化的一種方式,?！?/p>

????游戲化公司（Gamification Co.）致力于把游戲思維和工具融入市場營銷，并為商界提供相關(guān)的咨詢服務(wù),。公司首席執(zhí)行官加布? 茲徹曼表示,，使用游戲機(jī)制依然是一種新興的技術(shù)?！斑@并不意味著制作一款真正意義上的游戲,，更多的時(shí)候只是汲取一些游戲元素，重新設(shè)定其意圖,?！?/p>

????當(dāng)然，游戲化的吸引力并不只限于招募和篩選人才這一個(gè)用途,，作為一種吸引和激勵人的手段,，它可以廣泛應(yīng)用于教育和醫(yī)療服務(wù)等領(lǐng)域。高德納咨詢公司（Gartner, Inc.）2011年12月份發(fā)布的一項(xiàng)研究報(bào)告預(yù)計(jì),，對游戲化方式的運(yùn)用“將在未來幾年中顯著增加”,。這份報(bào)告的作者布賴恩?伯克表示，大約70%的世界2,000強(qiáng)公司將把游戲技術(shù)作為一種行為激勵工具,，用以招募和培訓(xùn)員工,，加強(qiáng)其工作表現(xiàn)，運(yùn)用游戲技術(shù)還有助于其他目標(biāo)的實(shí)現(xiàn),，包括鼓勵新創(chuàng)意,、改善員工健康狀況、打造客戶忠誠度等,。

????Upstream Challenge于2011年年底上線以來,，應(yīng)試者已經(jīng)涵蓋了全職主婦、律師,、作家,、營銷人員和出租車司機(jī)等各個(gè)行業(yè)。其中一位是來自加利福尼亞州奧克蘭市的技術(shù)作家凱瑟琳?馬丁內(nèi)斯,，她最終被該公司聘用,。

????她說：“我在Twitter上發(fā)現(xiàn)了這個(gè)鏈接。我喜歡玩游戲,，解謎題,，特別喜歡《憤怒的小鳥》（Angry Birds）這款游戲。我當(dāng)時(shí)覺得嘗試一下這個(gè)測試肯定挺好玩的,?！爆F(xiàn)年30歲的馬丁內(nèi)斯當(dāng)時(shí)剛剛下崗，因此饒有興趣地接受了這項(xiàng)挑戰(zhàn),。

但是,，她說，它“比我想象的要難很多,，因?yàn)橛袊?yán)格的時(shí)間限制,，需要參與者跳出固有的思維模式,。”

????在完成挑戰(zhàn)大約一周后,，她接到了Upstream Systems公司打來的電話,，接受電話篩選，隨后又趕赴舊金山參加面試,。今年年初,，她搬到了倫敦，開始在Upstream Systems公司總部工作,，目前正在接受培訓(xùn),。

????“我覺得單憑我的簡歷不可能引起他們的興趣，”馬丁內(nèi)斯坦言,?！暗@款游戲發(fā)揮了我的強(qiáng)項(xiàng)，因?yàn)樗沁@份工作日常需要完成事項(xiàng)的一個(gè)縮影,?！?/p>

????譯者 任文科

?????At Upstream, some 700 people completed the 60-minute online test since it went online in late 2011. Upstream only notified those who scored beyond a certain level of points in order to discourage challenge-takers from assuming that participation would result in a job, Krief says. Those who scored well were contacted by phone, and four have been hired in recent weeks. Another two are in the pipeline, he adds.

????Businesses such as Target and Google also have used games to achieve goals like reducing company travel expenses or improving employee efficiency and morale. Other companies are using games to amplify brand awareness, with recruiting as a side benefit.

????One of those is Marriott International, which has an online game, "My Marriott Hotel," where users can simulate hotel-related tasks like running a restaurant kitchen, including buying ingredients and checking completed food orders. The game boosts Marriott's brand globally, but it is not aimed at screening or selecting employees.

????Some online recruiters targeting 20-something job seekers are also adding game-play techniques. The San Francisco-based job search site Identified.com recently added game-like rewards to encourage job applicants to provide more complete online information.

????"Companies use a lot of ways, including handwriting analysis, to identify the right people," says John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the outplacement company. "Sometimes it's a way of saying something about their culture."

????Using game mechanics is still an emerging technique, says Gabe Zichermann, chief executive of Gamification Co., which advises companies on incorporating game play thinking and tools with marketing. "It is not about making a literal game. More often it's about taking elements of games and repurposing them."

????To be sure, gamification's appeal is broader than recruitment and screening, and it can apply in areas like education and health services as a way to engage and motivate people. The use of gamification is predicted to "increase significantly in the next few years," according to a December 2011 study by consulting company Gartner, Inc. Some 70% of the world's top 2,000 companies will use game techniques as a behavioral motivator to recruit, train, and enhance employee performance, as well as to encourage new ideas, improve employee health, or build customer loyalty, among other goals, according to Brian Burke, the report's author.

????Since Upstream's challenge went online in late 2011, test takers have included at-home mothers, lawyers, writers, marketers, and a taxi driver. One of them was Katherine Martinez, a technical writer from Oakland, Calif., who was hired by the firm.

????"I found the link on Twitter. I love games and puzzles. I'm an 'Angry Birds' fan. And I thought it would be fun to try it out," she says. Martinez, 30, had recently been laid off from her job, and took the challenge on a lark.

??? But, she says, it "was a lot more difficult than I thought because there are strict time limits to finish, and it requires thinking outside the box."

????About a week after she completed the challenge, she was screened by phone, then traveled to San Francisco for an interview. She moved to London earlier this year to work in Upstream's office there and is in training.

????"I don't think my resume alone would have attracted their interest," Martinez admits. But the game played to my strengths because it is a microcosm of what you execute on this job every day