Recruiting Gets a New Life Online

The Vancouver Police Department turned to virtual reality recruiting to attract savvy young recruits. The results gained worldwide attention. Here's how they did it.

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The Seminar Goes Live

Those attending the event on May 31, 2007 witnessed a fairly faithful recreation of the real-life seminars held by the VPD about once a month.

McQuiggin and Duggan -- in avatar form -- were at the front of the room, giving a traditional PowerPoint presentation. Meanwhile, a VPD recruiting video was shown on a virtual screen behind them.

If a visitor wanted to ask a question, she could do so in real time by texting it, and the police avatars would then text a reply. "The technology for two-way voice hadn't been developed in Second Life at the time, but now if we were to do it we would run a live audio stream," said Robinson.

The virtual seminar was attended by 30 people and resulted in four new applicants, none of whom are likely to be hired. Still, the venture had a remarkable impact. Stories on the event have appeared around the globe in 20 different languages, generating a huge amount of positive press in support of the Department's recruiting drive.

"I was spokesperson for the VPD for three years, and that was one of the largest stories that I ever dealt with in terms of interest from the media. I was getting phone calls from reporters all over the world. It was huge," said Chow.

"At the end of the day, it wasn't so much about hiring people; it was about the exposure. Every story written about the virtual seminar is telling people how innovative we are and is getting the message out that we're looking for applicants," he added. "The ripple effect from that has been very beneficial for us. The seminar took place over a year ago and in just the last month I've dealt with two or three queries about it." Perhaps even more importantly, the seminar has positioned the VPD as a forward-thinking organization among today's youth.

"It was a true first. No other police agency had done this," said McQuiggin. "And we believe that it's enhanced our reputation so that in the future, when young people wonder which police force to join, there's a good chance they'll choose Vancouver, because we've created the awareness that the VPD understands technology."

Not a bad tactic. When you fish around a very crowded pool, you need all the help you can get -- even if it's virtual.