RolePoint: Gamification in Social Referrals and Recruiting

GAMIF ICATION IN SOCIAL REFERRAL AND RECRUIT ING

A R O L E P O I N T W H I T E P A P E R

B Y @ B I L L B O O R M A N

2RolePoint Inc. © 2013

It is easy to dismiss gamification as something of a fad.

There has been a lot talked about and written on the

topic, but for some, it is hard to draw parallels between

‘work’ and ‘play’. Currently, there are more than half a

billion people worldwide playing computer and

videogames for at least an hour a day, with 183 million in

the US alone. That is a lot of people spending time online

and a community too big to ignore. The questions

addressed in this paper revolve around the mechanics of

gaming and how this same methodology can be applied

to recruiting processes.

Recruiting, after all, is a game. There are a collection of

players (hiring companies), competing for the same

reward - the best talent. The best ‘players’ win the best

prizes, but it takes time and effort, and there is a lot we

can learn and apply from games like Farmville, Foldit,

Angry Birds and many others that can have applications

in the recruiting world. The big question is what is it that

keeps bringing us back to take part and compete? This is

one of the questions will will attempt to answer.

If companies can utilize the same methodology to enable

their employees to take part in the recruitment game,

this will have a significant impact on hiring success. The

challenge is building something that employees want to

take part in, rather than something that is either forced

or ignored. Nobody conscripts gamers. They return time

and time again for many reasons, not least a sense of

belonging. We will look at why gamers invest so much

personal time in a game, and how this can be translated

to recruitment. The research behind this paper consisted

of interviews with 30 avid gamers, with ages ranging

from 11 to 80, in order to understand how gaming

technology and methodology evokes such loyalty and

participation so that we can apply this to the recruiting

world.

INTRODUCTION

GAMIF ICATION IN SOCIAL REFERRAL AND RECRUIT ING

A R O L E P O I N T W H I T E P A P E R

B Y @ B I L L B O O R M A N

Gamifying the Recruitment Process

V

“VIDEO GAMES

ARE THE DOMINANT

ENTERTAINMENT

FORM OF OUR TIME

BECAUSE THEY ARE

POWERFUL TOOLS

FOR MOTIVATING

BEHAVIOUR.”


Kevin Werbach of the University of Pennsylvania

defines gamification in this way:

“Gamification is the application of digital game design

techniques to non-game problems, such as business and

social impact challenges. Video games are the dominant

entertainment form of our time because they are

powerful tools for motivating behavior. Effective games

leverage both psychology and technology, in ways that

can be applied outside the immersive environments of

games themselves. “ (Werbach)

Central to business success is talent. The future of any

business, large or small, is dependent on their ability to

attract and retain employees. As such, recruiting

systems and methodology are critical. With the shortage

of skills being a growing global problem, competition for

the best talent is fierce. This is commonly termed the

‘war for talent.’ Given this competition, an increasing

number of businesses are turning to the gamification of

processes and technology in order to encourage

employee participation in recruiting efforts, typically

through referral programs, content generation, brand

advocacy, and other initiatives. This paper will therefore

examine many of the ways companies can apply the

principles and methodology behind the most popular

games to the recruitment process.


On the face of it, gaming is a solitary practice. Gamers

appear to be wired in to their PCs, consoles or mobiles,

living in a virtual world. When you look under the hood at

how games are played, however, this is far from the case.

The hugely popular multi-player genre of gaming brings

together competitors and collaborators from around the

world, who team up to complete tasks and challenges

towards individual and shared goals or outcomes.

When we talk about social gaming, we refer to playing

games that require social interaction, as opposed to

playing in solitude. Specifically, it can refer to:

» Card games that involve multiple players

» Social network games that have social network

integration or elements

» Board games, in which counters or pieces are

placed, removed, or moved on a premarked surface

according to a set of rules

» Multiplayer video games, where more than one

person can play in the same game environment at

the same time

» MMO (as well as MMORPG and MMORTS)

» LAN party, a temporary gathering of people

establishing a local area network (LAN), primarily for

the purpose of playing multiplayer computer games

» Role-playing games in which players assume the

roles of characters in a fictional setting

» Live action role-playing games, which are a form of

role-playing game where the participants

physically act out their characters’ actions

» Miniature wargaming, a form of wargaming that

incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor

and modeled terrain

» Alternate reality games, an interactive narrative

that offers a platform to explore possible situations

and social interactions while avoiding real world

consequences

SOCIAL GAMING


Applying this thinking to recruiting, processes that

make it easy for everyone to interact, contribute and be

a part of the overall effort of the business encourages

participation. This can be done by creating employee

referral programs that incorporate social features and

enable employees to communicate internally and

externally, invite others in their networks to view

opportunities, join talent networks and connect with

the company. The more social the process, the more

likely the employees will want to take part.

For the purpose of this paper we are going to consider

the game of recruiting as a social game, which means

incorporating social features into technology and

methodology. The standard social features enable:

» Sharing

» Comments

» Private and public messaging

» Commenting

» Likes

» Connecting with others

» Building a network

In one format or another, the popular social games

incorporate these features. In particular, players can

communicate and collaborate with each other. It is the

player who recruits other players to join them, and

popularizes the platform through social content.

Consider your Facebook account and the volume of

invites you get to join your friends in the latest game.

Popular games like Words with Friends built on this by

getting friends to challenge each other to a word puzzle,

whilst announcing their scores and issuing challenges to

other connections.

Television quiz shows have been quick to pick up on this,

creating online and mobile applications that enable

viewers to take part in the show and compete using a

second or third screen. This has brought a new dimension

to the audience and is a key consideration of production

companies when designing the format of new shows,

allowing the viewers to take an active part rather than

being passive viewers.


Games are built on communities of players; individuals

brought together by a shared interest in the game.

Players group together formally and informally to

complete tasks and challenges together or to compete

against each other. Whilst competition features highly in

gaming, so too does collaboration. Gamers share tips,

workarounds and advice with new players in forums,

chat rooms, YouTube and all over the web, as well as in

person. The advent of the Internet has allowed traditional

communities to flourish and broaden, encompassing

many new groups of individuals from around the world.

Jenny Preece of the University of Maryland notes that:

“Until the advent of telecommunications technology,

definitions of community focused on close-knit groups in

a single location. Interaction took place primarily face-

to-face; therefore, social relationships took place with a

stable and limited set of individuals. This way of defining

community became less useful as the development of

modern transportation and telecommunication systems

increased [communication] across distances.

Researchers now consider the strength and nature of

relationships to be a more useful basis for defining

community than physical proximity”. (Preece, 2005)

The game acts as the anchor point of the gaming

community, whose members find plenty of ways to

participate, contribute, communicate, share and

network. Gamers have a hierarchy, where those with

proven expertise and a high level of social recognition

lead the way. Most online games have moderators, who

are players that keep an eye on what other players are

doing, act on disputes and maintain the harmony of the

platform.

The global programmers’ community StackOverflow has

applied the same principles in order to build a highly

successful online community. Members ask and answer

technical questions, the answers are ranked by the

members (up and down), and the contributors with the

highest rankings are granted extra privileges. The

community is run by a council of the highest ranked

members who help to shape the future of the platform.

This allows the platform to be driven by peer recognition,

social ranking and community.

Consider the benefit of applying similar principles to

recruiting, with an employee community connected by

the shared interest of supporting the business. The

more opportunity people have to contribute, the more

likely they will take part. When we talk about referrals,

we usually apply the term program. This indicates

something temporary. Whilst it might sound like

semantics, changing the name to community has a

significant impact, especially when the employee

community has a social platform on which to gather. It

provides a central channel that enables all of the

members of the community to be able to communicate

internally on a one to one level and externally to spread

the message. Organizations like Rackspace have applied

this methodology to great effect for culture branding

through the “Racker” community. Culture content is a

critical part of talent attraction as people change their

job seeking habits, seeking out authentic content and

background checks before applying for jobs. This is

evidenced by the significant rise in popularity and use of

review site Glassdoor..

When I launch any social recruiting initiative, we always

start with the internal community. When given the

opportunity, resources and encouragement to get

involved, the employee community will drive your

branding and recruiting efforts. This is especially true

when they are given guidelines and the freedom to work

together towards a common goal. The key here is

allowing as much freedom as possible to determine their

own contribution, encouragement, recognition and

reward, by employing the community features of games,

much as they do at StackOverflow. In the same way as

gamers build their own communities for the benefit of

the players, supported but not managed by the game

creators, so too can employers enable the same

employee communities to be built by adopting social and

gaming features, supporting the efforts of employees

through technology, feedback and recognition.

COMMUNITY


REWARD & RECOGNIT ION

Game design is built around giving players instant

feedback on their progress, instant recognition and

instant reward. The rules of the game are transparent,

and when a player completes a task or a challenge, the

recognition is instant and in real time. Compare this

methodology to the majority of employee referral

programs, where the rules are ambiguous and the

reward detached from the activity. Most referral

programs reward hires with a level of cash payment

between $750 and $7,000, depending on the vacancy

and the scarcity of talent. Cash rewards require due

diligence, with rules which can be confusing for

employees. Our research shows that the average

qualifying period for a reward payment is 7 months from

the referral, and that the following conditions

typically apply:

» The referred hire has completed the probation

period and is in good standing

» The referred candidate had not previously applied

to the company for a period of 2 years

» The referred candidate submitted a resume or

contact details and permission via the referring

employee

» The referring employee has correctly completed

the referral paperwork and submitted a claim

following the hire

The rules are at best ambiguous, the rewards are at best

7 months away from the action and the outcome is, for

the most part, out of the hands of the referrer. Is it any

surprise that most traditional referral programs suffer

from a lack of participation and very low volumes?

Imagine a game that applied the same rules and reward,

where completion of the task allows you to move to the

next level in 7 months. There are not going to be a lot of

players.

Taking the methodology of games, the following rules

can be applied to referral systems:

» Reward the referral because that is the behavior

you want to encourage

» Reward instantly without over qualification. Make

a referral, get the reward, regardless of the history

of the candidate

» Track the referral from source with no need for

further claims, justification or process

» Make the qualification rules simple, transparent

and clear before employees are invited to take

part, with any changes to rules or processes being

clearly communicated to everyone

» Replace the need for resumes with social profiles

and one click link submissions

The next challenge is determining what rewards will be

valued by your employees, and most of the time it is not

money. When we think about gaming, the rewards are

not financial, but they have a high social value. Consider

the efforts a Farmville player puts in to enlist people to

help them build a new barn or plough a field. These types

of games are built on enabling players to recruit others

to the game, gain instant rewards and recognition. This

might mean unlocking more advanced weaponry in a

battle game, extra builder tools on a game like Minecraft,

or it might mean unlocking badges that signify your level

of achievement or expertise. Whilst these rewards may

have limited or no financial value, they do carry a high

level of social recognition and kudos. In some games,

they also allow people with similar achievements and

levels of expertise to connect or go to the right people

for advice or assistance. The real value of these rewards

lie in what they represent, rather than what they are

worth in money terms.

The enterprise feedback and performance management

platform Rypple, acquired by Salesforce in 2012, made

great use of online badges. Badges could be awarded by

anyone in recognition of contribution or good work. It

was a virtual way of saying thank you or well done, and

everyone could see them. The badges are also displayed

on the profile of every employee, making it easy to log on

and learn something about what peers think of their

colleagues. Many of the companies using Rypple

incorporated referring to the badges in performance

reviews to assess contribution. In this way, the free

online badge was significantly valued by employees.

Consider incorporating this type of recognition into

your referral and recruiting programs. Social status

denoted by badges and other recognition for

contribution and participation, and not just results, will

drive the success of your efforts. When you consult with

your employees to determine the rewards they would

value in addition to the recognition, this ensures a

network your employees want to take an active part in,

compared to sterile email messaging campaigns just

asking for names or a hidden paper based service. One

useful feature I have seen used to good effect is applying

status metrics to referrers. Web hosting company

RackSpace have a “Certified Racker Referrer” status

when an employee’s referrals have resulted in an agreed

number of interviewed candidates. One of the big 5

consulting firms also has VIP referrers who have a good

conversion rate of referrals to hires. Employees

achieving VIP status get extra rewards and a guarantee

that any candidate they refer will be interviewed and

fast-tracked, provided the ratios are maintained.


Creating a recognition hierarchy of referrers, clearly

denoted by online profiles (with different colors for

different statuses), sets the challenge for others to

achieve, recognizes the high performers and rewards

them with privileges and social recognition within the

employee network. This is not much different to how

loyal players are rewarded in games.

WHEN YOU CONSULT

WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES

TO DETERMINE THE

REWARDS THEY WOULD

VALUE IN ADDITION TO

THE RECOGNITION, THIS

ENSURES A NETWORK

YOUR EMPLOYEES WANT

TO TAKE AN ACTIVE

PART IN...



When designing a social referral network, it is important

to consider the Yale School of Management’s Victor

Vroom’s theory of motivation. This theory emphasizes

the need for organizations to relate rewards directly to

performance and to ensure that the rewards provided

are those rewards deserved and wanted by the

recipients.

Wikipedia defines Vroom’s theory as:

“[A] process governing choices among alternative forms

of voluntary activities; a process controlled by the

individual. The individual makes choices based on

estimates of how well the expected results of a given

behavior are going to match up with or eventually lead to

the desired results. Motivation is a product of the

individual’s expectancy that a certain effort will lead to

the intended performance, the instrumentality of this

performance to achieving a certain result, and the

desirability of this result for the individual, known as

valence”

VROOM’S THEORY

IMPLEMENTATION X ACTUALISATION X VALENCE

This can be simplified as:

MOTIVATION =

In accordance with Vroom’s thinking, if we want people

to participate in a social referral and recruitment

network, then we need to make it easy for them to do so.

THIS BRINGS IN FACTORS LIKE EASE OF

PARTICIPATION, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE

TIME IT TAKES. TIME IS AN IMPORTANT

CONSIDERATION, BECAUSE EMPLOYEES HAVE

OTHER CORE RESPONSIBILITIES IN THEIR JOB.

TIME TAKEN IS CITED AS ONE OF THE TOP 3

BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION IN REFERRAL

PROGRAMS IN OUR RESEARCH.

Games are designed with an increasing level of

complexity as the player progresses, sometimes referred

to as completing levels. Sign up and the early stages of

the game are simple to do, which enables the players to

get familiar with the game and develop new skills as they

move forward. If a game is too complex at the start, new

players are unlikely to stick around. The same design

principles apply to social referral networks, where

consideration should be given to the user interface of all

the technologies involved, the information required and

the ease of operation. Where employees feel that the

social referral and recruiting network is easy to join and

participate in, as well as being able to make a difference

with their efforts, they will be motivated to take part.

It is common for employees to sign up for a new employee

referral program and participate at launch, only to drop

off after a few months. This is in part due to a drop off in

internal communication and in part due to the results

and rewards not being what was expected when signing

up. Actualization means that the employees believe that

their efforts will generate results, as is key for a successful

referral program. If they believe that their referrals will

result in applications, reviews, interviews and hires, then

the motivation to take part is high. This is why one of the

critical factors is making progress and results visible and

accessible through continuous feedback and ensuring

that candidate reviews by recruiters are completed in a

timely fashion, usually no more than 48 hours at each

stage. Employees will be motivated to take part when

they believe that they can make a difference.

In the last section of the paper we addressed rewards in

games and how similar thinking can be applied to

referrals and recruiting. The key part of Vroom’s theory

is valence. Employees must value the rewards on offer

and believe they are obtainable to be motivated to

participate. According to the CareerXroads 2012 source

of hire survey, it takes 10 referrals to make a hire

(compared with 75 standard applications). This means

that 9 out of 10 referrals result in no reward where the

reward is paid for hires only.

IN OUR RESEARCH, THE SECOND BIGGEST

BARRIER TO PARTICIPATION IN REFERRAL

PROGRAMS WAS THAT EMPLOYEES FELT THAT

THE REWARDS WERE EITHER UNFAIRLY

ADMINISTERED OR APPLIED. CONSIDER THE

USUAL RULES LISTED EARLIER; THE BEST WAY TO

IDENTIFY REWARDS THAT WILL BE VALUED IS TO

TALK TO YOUR EMPLOYEES, HAND OVER THE

BUDGET AND LET THE EMPLOYEE COMMUNITY

DECIDE.

When we think about what we can take from gaming

methodology, badges which have a recognition value in

the business should not be ignored. If a Farmville player

will go to great lengths to be rewarded with a cow, what

efforts might your employees make when a visual

recognition of their efforts, such as badges, can impact

on their reviews and ultimately careers.


This can be simplified as:


APPLYING GAMING PRINCIPLES TO RECRUIT ING STRATEGIES

With the way that social gaming engages and rewards

users in mind, there are several other aspects that can be

translated from gaming environments into helping with

recruitment strategies.

F E E D B A C K

Game players get continuous feedback on their

performance, benchmarked against other players

through the use of scores, status and leaderboards.

When a player performs a task, the feedback on progress

is instant. Players can also check in on performance stats

at any time. In game terms, this might be energy level,

scores or progress reports. The important thing is that

feedback is given in real time and is available immediately,

on demand.

Many referral programs are like black holes. The

employees feed the details of their friends and contacts

in, often after having had to go through an arduous

admin process, only to hear nothing except in the unlikely

event that their referral gets hired at the end of the

process, and then only if they have completed the

paperwork correctly. One of the big trends in recruiting

is that the time to hire and steps involved have doubled

over the last 18 months as economic pressure means

that companies want to be certain they are hiring the

right people. This has created a lengthy gap between

referral, short-listing, interview and hire.

Feedback and progress reporting is a critical factor in

the long term success of the referral network.

Employees participating in referral networks need

instant online access to feedback and progress reports

in the same way as gamers get instant feedback which

is always current and one click away.

It is important to remember that your employees may

well be getting requests from their friends and

connections as to the progress of their application.

When they are unable to give this instantly and in real

time, their future participation in referral networks is

compromised.

H A B I T

Games become habit forming. Players come back at

regular intervals for a number of reasons. Part of this is

familiarity with the game environment, part is a sense of

loyalty and belonging to the game. This is born out of the

community features, where players return to connect

with friends and to continue to progress.

Code academy is a learning platform built by computer

programmers that employs gaming principles to

encourage and recognize progress. Participants are

encouraged to return by regular communication on their

progress, updates on new features, benchmarking

against the scores of other participants and friendly

invites back when they have been away for a while. This

level of communication keeps participants connected

and reminds them to return to stay on track.

The e-learning and development sector, where

benchmarking and scoring is easier to apply, has been

quicker to adopt gamification methodology. Home

learning in particular enables parents to set learning

outcomes for students and rewards for progress. It is

also simple to benchmark test results and operate leader

boards, with set awards for achievement. This adds the

competitive elements lost when the student is taken out

of classroom learning, whilst live chat and forums enable

peer-to-peer mentoring, teaching and collaborative

learning.


The same thinking can be applied to the social referral

and recruiting networks by enabling communication

between members of the network. A crowd sourced job

description and culture content enables the creation of

authentic and shareable content, and gives the

employees a stake in the outcome from the start of the

assignment. This involvement from the onset will drive

participation and commitment through the

entire cycle.

The more involvement the employee community has in

the process, the greater its commitment to participation

and outcomes, in much the same way as game players

and learners. Benchmarking and scoring contributions,

with regular communication and updates, turns social

referrals and recruiting into an ongoing commitment.

Crowd sourcing and crowd behavior will drive your

hiring efforts.

O N L I N E G U I D E S

When you sign up for a new game, hints, tips and online

guides are never far away. When a player needs help it is

accessible and instant, and if there is a problem with the

platform, support is available in live chat or via email.

When employees view jobs or requests for referrals, a

similar level of help and support should be available. A

talk to a recruiter or live chat option opens up dialogue,

as employees can ask for help, advice and guidance when

and where they need it. If you want to get your recruiting

and referral technology used, then help, hints and chat

should be a key feature. This help should not be restricted

to the recruiting team. The best tips and advice in games

are left by players, because players want to talk to other

players rather than ‘managers’. They want to talk to

people like them, and recruiting isn’t any different. Free

text and tips boxes enable employees to leave comments

for their peers, and social features, likes and comments

enable employees to find the help and commentary they

want from the people they want it from. As has been

echoed throughout this paper, the more freedom and

involvement employees have in the community aspects

of the referral and recruiting network, the more likely

employees are to get involved and participate. People

are becoming increasingly social in their play and

recreation time, where work technology mirrors social

technology in features, look and feel. This results in your

employees being more likely to use a platform that they

recognize more intuitively.

IF YOU WANT TO GET

YOUR RECRUITING AND

REFERRAL TECHNOLOGY

USED, THEN HELP, HINTS

AND CHAT SHOULD BE

A KEY FEATURE.


C O M P E T I T I O N

The obvious feature of games is competition. People like

to compete, and they battle to get to the top of

leaderboards whilst competing against friends and

opponents alike. In any game, the rules, scoring and

reward are transparent from the start. Players know

how to compete and how to progress, and this drives

them to make extra effort. When it comes to referrals,

recruiting and content, the same thinking applies by

allocating points to participation and activity which are

visible to everyone. The competition this fosters will

drive employee contribution, particularly where the

rankings are linked to rewards and recognition.

Similar to the thinking on rewards, points should be

awarded for more than hires. All participation, from

shares, to referrals, culture content generated and

contributing to crowdsourced job specs, has a value in

the process of getting the right talent hired. This should

all count towards scores and positions on the

leaderboard. By displaying scores on employee profiles

and enabling any member of the employee network to

view how the accrued scores were earned, employees

get to see what best practice looks like. When scores are

tracked, all participants can be benchmarked and

messaging can be tailored around suggestions where

employees can earn extra points, where they are doing

well and updates on their latest achievements. By making

scoring visual and easy to interpret, participation in all

scoring areas is encouraged. Leader boards, messaging,

profile scores and similar features all add to continuing

participation beyond launch.

M O B I L I T Y

The games industry was one of the first sectors to

recognize the potential offered by smart phone

technology. In the last quarter of 2012, Arbitron Mobile

Panelists tracked the peak usage times in 5 key areas:*

» Gaming – App and web

» Social networking – App and web

» Messaging general – Apps

» Voice calls

» Browsing

The peak times for gaming mirror those for social media,

and social media means social recruiting. The time spent

gaming and in social media is the downtime, outside of

core working hours, and reflects the pattern of accessing

traditional online career places like job boards. The

hours indicate that browsing and interaction is a

secondary task during downtime, typically when people

are commuting to and from work, in lunch breaks and in

the evening whilst watching TV. The gaming industry

recognizes this behavior and promotes mobile usage by

ensuring that all sites are mobile ready and that players

can dip in and out without losing any data or progress. It

is becoming increasingly critical that social referral and

recruiting networks follow the same pattern, because

employees will be browsing and responding to

notifications during similar times.

Mobile is a key factor in developing a social referral and

recruiting network. Because mobile activity is out of

normal working hours, it is important to plan an ease of

use and operation strategy. This must involve no more

than 3 clicks and be easy to view and navigate on any

mobile device, whilst including live response features for

questions and messages around the peak times.

*Source: Arbitron Mobile U.S. Mobile Trends

PanelsTM Service; Fourth Quarter 2012. Opt-In

sample of mobile consumers; Persons 18+

APPLYING GAMING PRINCIPLES TO RECRUIT ING STRATEGIES


1:30

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6AM 8AM 10AM NOON 2PM 4PM 6PM 8PM 10PM MID 2AM

H O U R - B Y - H O U R / A V E R A G E T I M E S P E N T W I T H T O P

S M A R T P H O N E F U N C T I O N S

Monday-Friday, expressed in minutes : seconds per each hour

S O C I A L N E T W O R K G E N E R A L

G A M I N G M E S S A G I N GG E N E R A L

V O I C E C A L L

B R O W S I N G

A WELL-EXECUTED AND GAMIFIED COMBINED SOCIAL

REFERRAL AND RECRUITING NETWORK HAS THE

POTENTIAL TO GREATLY IMPROVE EVERY ASPECT

OF HIRING, FROM COST OF HIRE TO RETENTION.

A well-executed and gamified combined social referral

and recruiting network has the potential to greatly

improve every aspect of hiring, from cost of hire to

retention. Make your social referral and recruiting a

game and enjoy the rewards that come from complete

employee participation. The more involved your

employees are in the process from start to finish, the

more committed they will be to the outcome, and the

results will follow.


There is a lot that can be taken from the world of social

games that can be applied to social referrals and social

recruiting. The features that make games so popular and

habitual can be integrated into social recruiting

processes. By mirroring the mechanics, methodology

and features of the most popular games, we can build the

same level of participation amongst employees as the

games enjoy amongst players. For many companies, long

term participation in recruiting and referral efforts

seems unachievable, but gamifying the social referral

and recruiting network builds participation and,

ultimately, hires.

As an increasing number of companies look to develop

internal engagement, social referral and recruiting can

be an integral part of these efforts. In this paper we refer

to social referral networks, rather than the commonly

used term social referral program. Program refers to

something temporary like a project, whereas network

better reflects long term activity.

SUMMARY

Jenny Preece, 2005, Online Communities: Design, Theory and Practice

(http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue4/preece.html)

B I L L B O O R M A N

The author, Bill Boorman, has over 30 years’ experience

in and around recruiting. He has spent the last 3 years

working with social recruiting technology start-ups on

product and with corporate clients including Hard Rock

Café, Oracle and the BBC to integrate social into their

recruiting practices. Bill has also hosted recruiting

events in over 30 countries worldwide.

R O L E P O I N T

RolePoint delivers employee referral solutions to a range

of Fortune 500 and Nasdaq clients, building the

principles that help companies generate 70%+ referral

rates into a software-as-a-service platform.

Understanding that at the core of any successful referral

program is the employee, RolePoint focuses on providing

an engaging, transparent and frictionless experience,

making it easy to identify talented connections to refer.

For recruitment teams, RolePoint offers a comprehensive

set of tools, enabling tracking, automation and

recruitment intelligence for greater control and insight

into referrals within your organization.

NEXT STEPS

CONTACT US TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT

ROLEPOINT AND ARANGE A

DEMONSTRATION

CONTACT US TO SCHEDULE A FREE

EMPLOYEE REFERRAL CONSULTATION

WITH BILL

W W W . R O L E P O I N T . C O M

I N Q U I R I E S @ R O L E P O I N T . C O M

RolePoint Inc. © 2013 17

THE MOST POWERFUL

SOURCING SOLUTION AT

DISCOVERING TALENTED

CANDIDATES WITHIN

YOUR EMPLOYEES’

PROFESSIONAL

NETWORKS

HIGHER QUALITY CANDIDATES

REDUCED TIME-TO-HIRE

LOWER COST-PER-HIRE

IMPROVED EMPLOYER BRAND

ROLEPOINT


ENGAGE YOUR TALENT

You’ll attract fresh hires ready to make a meaningful

impact on your business, recommended personally by

your existing employees. RolePoint is built around the

premise that ‘Talent Knows Talent’.

REACH THE SOCIAL WEB

You’ll uncover the hidden diamonds that lie within your

own company’s untapped networks. RolePoint is

designed to enhance what great people already do -

refer other great people.

GROW A TALENT NETWORK

Each tool uses a personal touch that opens up ever

expanding network opportunities. Every new user will

grow your talent database exponentially. Your network

will grow itself.

INCREASE REFERRAL RATE

REACH MORE CANDIDATES

GENERATE A PIPELINE

CHANGING THE WAY YOUR COMPANY F INDS TALENT


W W W . R O L E P O I N T . C O M

I N Q U I R I E S @ R O L E P O I N T . C O M

RolePoint: Gamification in Social Referrals and Recruiting

Technology

Transcript of RolePoint: Gamification in Social Referrals and Recruiting