Introducing Gameployment: The Data Tool That Turns Gaming Experience into Job Experience

Saatchi & Saatchi + The Geeks Advertising agency in partnership with Good Game Industry launches Score2Skill project for the client eJobs.ro, aiming to leverage user skills learned from video games. The algorithm transforms skills from virtual games into skills needed for a real-life job.

The concept of the project is based on the assumption that the skills developed by video game users over hours, days or even years of experience could reveal key information about their profession or job profile. What if every minute spent in strategy video games, shooters or football simulators was actually a pre-qualification for a gamer's future career?

"An interesting project to say the least. In fact, 14 months of enthusiasm, passion, dozens of spreadsheets of data and people making something that seemed un-doable happen, a unique algorithm through which eJobs is going to validate hundreds of thousands of gamers. In early 2023, we set out to show that everything you do in games matters in your future career, and that your best scores can prove your skills off-screen too. Easier said than done. Especially when you want it to be as real as possible. Fortunately, the rigour of thought that the research and HR specialists brought to the table was the distinguishing factor between an "made-up" design and an algorithm that transforms two sets of data (gaming and professional skills) to reveal things to players that they didn't know about themselves. At this point, eJobs can give gamers insight into their future careers just by analysing data from games, data that any gamer is proud to offer." said Laura Belc, creative director, Saatchi & Saatchi + The Geeks.

Score2Skill is a unique project in Romania and is one of seven global innovation initiatives that made it to the finals of RingierX, the business accelerator of the Swiss Ringier Group.

eJobs, the leader in the Romanian recruitment market, set out to prove to the public that this scenario is possible by developing the first algorithm that analyses and calculates the results and behaviours of the top five most popular video games of the moment and translates them into skills and personality traits relevant to the workplace.

"I think this is a fantastic achievement for gamers of all ages, not just gen Z, the core target audience of the project. Payback time has finally come because, lo and behold, we've managed to show not only that it's not a waste of time to play games, but that it's actually useful and can get you closer to your first job. Which is really remarkable. Leaving aside the innovation of the design and the complexity of the algorithm behind it, the most valuable thing for the end user is that we are witnessing the demolition of a stigma that has been hanging around gamers' necks for free all this time. It's not us saying it, it's not some funny social media quiz saying it, it's a scientifically validated algorithm saying it: it really is okay to play, don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. It can even help you earn your first paycheck," said Raluca Dumitra, CMO of eJobs.

The creation of such an algorithm, as well as the creative use of data extracted from video games, contributed to a large-scale exploratory process, carried out in collaboration with researchers, statisticians, HR advisors and, of course, hundreds of professional and dedicated gamers.

"I really enjoyed working on this project. I have long wanted to contribute to demolishing a myth, however small, about gaming and gamers. In this case, the myth that gaming is (just) a waste of time. The reality that we have discovered through a very elaborate research process is that gaming is not just entertainment, it is also a form of investment in skill sets/competencies that are increasingly relevant to the digital world we live in", said Dan Petre, research specialist, D&D Research.

The algorithm was developed in collaboration with gamers and Good Game Industry, ensuring data accuracy and relevance to the Romanian video gamer community. The tool is available for both amateur and professional gamers and can be accessed here.

"Score2Skill is the perfect combination of out-of-the-box thinking, in-depth research and key insights from the gaming world. It is one of the projects our agency has invested the most time in and we want both employers and the gaming community in Romania to benefit from the results of the initiative," said Marius Radu, co-founder Good Game Industry.