Corporations are increasingly using online games to recruit and train new employees, and just to better keep people in touch.
Companies around the world, including McKinsey & Co., Royal Philips Electronics (PHG), and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development (JNJ) are bringing games with 3D computer graphics into the workplace to appeal to the generation raised on Nintendo (NTDOF.PK), World of Warcraft, and Second Life. They are using games to recruit new talent, improve communication between managers and their far-flung staff, and train employees and new hires at all levels.
My Virtual Career
Since 2000, McKinsey's German headquarters has run a computer game called CEO of the Future, based loosely on the popular NBC reality show The Apprentice. The goal is to cast a wider net for new talent. In 2007, nearly 5,000 managers and students from all over the world between the ages of 22 and 32 tried their hand at challenges such as starting a European insurance company in Korea or developing an R&D strategy for a new pain reliever made of a genetically modified fruit.
Next year, McKinsey has decided to make the game downloadable from a Web site so you can play offline and then upload the results. This way, those who don't have regular Internet access won't be penalized. In next year's version of the game, competitors will tackle renewable energy businesses, says Marco Ferber, a Stuttgart-based engagement manager at McKinsey. McKinsey has hired several past winners of CEO of the Future. In 2007, the winners (there was a tie) also received about $20,000 each.
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