Are Gamers The Ideal Talents Of The Future?

Marie Trojani

Agility, cooperation, strategy, and a culture of achievement… What if these talents common to gamers were recognized as professionally significant?

Passion for video games, previously taboo and negatively perceived, is becoming more popular. In addition, when you look at the video-game industry today, the numbers are impressive:

  • There are more than 2.3 billion gamers in the world, a number in constant evolution
  • 53% of people say they play video games regularly
  • The average gamer age is 34 years old. Yes, video games are not only for teenagers! Only 30% are younger than 18 years.

This means that in the average company, half of all employees indulge in this hobby. What if being a gamer is a differentiating factor in today’s digital world? What if the skills a gamer develops in his living room, such as the following, are essential skills to succeed in the future of work?

1. An ability to evolve in a global organization, free of any hierarchy

In the world of gaming, a person’s country of origin, generation, or status do not matter. Only the person’s skills and what they bring to the team count. Video gamers include people of all generations, spread across the globe, working together to achieve goals, and defining the best strategies to compete. Communication and remote collaboration are natural for gamers. Your playmate is a CEO or someone looking for a job? German, American, Swedish, or in a nearby city? It does not matter!

2. A culture of sharing …

Video games have evolved to take advantage of social resources: everyone gives an opinion, offers solutions, shares in resolving a challenge. “Everybody is learner, everyone is a trainer” is true in the world of video games. Once seen as a vector of isolation, video games now have an impressive social and community aspect, with video game channels among the most-watched YouTube channels in the world.

3. … and performance

Since their inception, video games have been built around the idea of striving to surpass yourself and achieve goals. Ask a player their ultimate goal on a game, and you’ll most likely hear things like: finishing 100% of the game, having one of the best scores, unlocking all the items, completing all the missions, or getting all the achievements. “Finishing a game” can mean many things, depending on the player, but in every case, perseverance is key, the desire to excel is essential, and mutual help is part of the game.

4. Key behavioral competencies in the digital world

Fully 50% of the jobs of tomorrow do not exist today. While yesterday, education was an essential hiring criterion, now companies are seeking the most agile, the people who have the capacity to develop, evolve, and adapt to a world that moves constantly and at full speed. Agility, continuous development of skills, and finding the best tactics are common characteristics of gamers.

Online, many games have a “co-op” mode (for cooperative) that allows players to associate with one another to complete missions or help unlock situations. In business, we often talk about collaboration (interacting to achieve a common goal) rather than cooperation (contributing to improve mutual situations). What if we were able to combine both?

5. Analysis and adaptation capabilities

Video games are now recognized to have direct effects on abilities such as memory, reflexes, and information processing. Many gamers need to analyze data in real time to make the right decisions, often in a very quickly. In a world where everything is going at full speed, having the ability to react quickly and well when necessary but knowing how to take time to think or even to relax when the pace is slower can be very beneficial.

A few years ago, few people dared to list video games in the “interests” section of their resume. What if gamers were recognized as being well prepared for the future workplace and there was no more shame in proclaiming video gaming as a hobby? What if the gamer was viewed as the ideal talent of the future?

In today’s highly competitive market, companies need every advantage they can get. Be ready to challenge conventional thinking to attract the best digital talents you can.

Learn more about why “The Future Of Work Demands An Agile Approach To Talent Management.”

Marie Trojani

About Marie Trojani

Marie Trojani is a global HR Advisor at SAP. She helps HR organizations define what the future of work looks like in their companies and how they could leverage technology and inspiring practices to maximize the impact on their company’s strategic objectives. Providing HR and financial expertise and guidance, Marie helps build argument to initiate change. As a thought leader in the HR space, she frequently speaks at local and international HR conferences.