Playful personnel selection: The use of traditional versus game-related personnel selection methods and their perception from the recruiters' and applicants' perspectives

Game-related assessments (GRAs) are increasingly gaining interest in practice and research. However, little is known about how recruiters view these methods. This study examined recruiters' (N = 158) reasons for using GRAs, the influence of their characteristics on their use of these methods, and recruiters' perceptions of GRAs compared to those of potential applicants (N = 144). Results indicated that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, innovativeness in IT, and video game pursuit partly explained recruiters' intentions to use GRAs, which then predicted actual usage. The expected positive impact on the organizational image and applicant reactions were among the most important reasons for using GRAs. Recruiters and potential applicants perceived GRAs as more enjoyable and modern than traditional assessment methods. Game-related assessment (GRA) is a new field in personnel selection that is gaining increasing interest among researchers and organizations, but there is limited research on how recruiters perceive these methods. This study contributes to our understanding of how recruiters view GRAs and whether their perceptions differ from those of potential applicants. Recruiters' perceived ease of use and usefulness of GRAs and their innovativeness in IT and video game pursuit explained intentions to use GRAs, which in turn predicted their actual usage. The main reasons for recruiters' intentions to use GRAs are the impact on the organizational image and implementation time. Recruiters view computer-based assessments more positively than applicants whereas the opposite was true for paper-pencil tests.