God-level: diagnóstico de um processo seletivo gamificado para atração de talentos em tecnologia sob a ótica da gestão de processos

Abstract

This study aims to diagnose God-Level, a hackathon used by Nola, a technology company (Software as a Service) focused on restaurant management, as a recruitment and selection strategy for software development interns, through the lens of Business Process Management (BPM) and Continuous Improvement, operationalized by the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) and DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) cycles. This is a single-case study, predominantly qualitative in nature, with units of analysis embedded in the stages of the process, grounded in documentary analysis of Nola’s internal materials and in the participant observation of the author, a member of the process’s operational team. The God-Level funnel gathered 1,661 registrants, 930 candidates approved in the online test, 143 technical challenges submitted, 30 finalists evaluated at the interview stage, and 7 hires in the original round, complemented by a second-round selection of 4 additional hires. The results reveal bottlenecks and risks related to process management, particularly the absence of formal documentation of its design, and identify improvement opportunities aimed at the standardization, governance, and replicability of the selection process. It is concluded that God-Level achieved its central goal of technical quality screening, operating as a signaling mechanism in a market saturated with graduates but scarce in qualified professionals; it is also concluded that the Control phase is the least developed stage of the cycle, with the high dependence on tacit knowledge concentrated in leadership being the main finding of the diagnosis and the main barrier to replicating the model. Finally, the formal recording of design decisions, the strengthening of anti-fraud mechanisms, and post-hire follow-up are recommended as conditions for turning the hackathon into a standardized and replicable selection process.