Coffee Break with Magneto: Transforming Selection with Gamified Tests at Banco Santander

Welcome and Presentation

Coffee Break with Magneto it is a space to talk about artificial intelligence And the transformation of work. In this episode, the focus is on: “How to transform the selection process with gamified tests.”

He accompanies us Lorena Aya, Selection and Culture Manager of the Banco Santander Colombia, who has extensive experience in strategic talent management.

• Lorena Aya: Passionate about the area of human talent. He began his career in the world of Head Hunter and then he made the decision to be a “client” of human talent services, assuming strategic roles in companies such as Alpina and, currently, in Santander Bank.

• Banco Santander Colombia: A company with more than 160 years worldwide and 10 years in Colombia, focused on searching disruptive ways of selection that align with your Cultural fit and enhance the Employer brand.

Focus 1: The New Way of Valuing Human Talent - Gamification

Why Incorporate Gamification into Talent Assessment?

One of the core values of Santander Bank It's the innovation in their processes. The drive to incorporate the gamification emerged from the need to attract the talent they dream of, who not only meets their technical expertise, but also their Cultural fit.

• Santander Cultural Fit: People who work in teaming, think and talk to rapidity, promote the switching and think about the customer (both internal and external).

Advantages of Gamified Tests in the Selection Process

Implementing gamification offers multiple significant advantages:

1. Positive Impact on the Brand: It generates a “wow” effect on the candidate, demonstrating that a corporate bank is willing to do something dissimilar and newfangled.

2. Candidate Experience: It significantly improves the experience, ensuring that the candidate, regardless of the outcome, gets a message that the experience at Santander was “totally different.”

3. Empowering the Employer Brand: El Word of mouth positive about the selection experience (being measured through a game) is a powerful tool.

4. Accurate Reports: Gamification generates accurate reports on candidates' attitudes and aptitudes, who provide A lot of value to the company.

Key Data: El NPS (Net Promoter Score) The selection process in Santander has improved significantly since gamification was implemented, highlighting the “test” as the moment most valued by candidates, in addition to empathy.

Focus 2: More than Play — Evaluation with Intention and Strategy

Behaviors and Skills Observed in Gamified Dynamics

La personalization is one of the great advantages of gamification. The test is adapted according to the role (operational, managerial, strategic) and the evaluation criteria.

• What you want to evaluate: That the person complies with the Cultural fit according to the position.

• Key Skills: Leadership, innovation, orientation to detail and the ability to offer feedback (Feedback) to the team.

Gamification becomes a personalized test to Banco Santander, which helps to map the potential of the individual within the organization in the future.

Connection between Selection, Career Plan and Internal Mobility

It is crucial do not view the selection process in isolation. The Selection and Culture Management in Santander connects income with development And the Career plan.

• Success Example: The current president of Santander, Marta, started 10 years ago in a program of Graduate, going through different roles (analyst, leader, director, CFO) until the presidency.

• Added Value of the Report: The gamification report not only highlights skills, but also areas for improvement that the internal leader must develop in the collaborator (e.g. assertive communication, work-life balance).

• Invitation to RR. HH. : The areas of Selection and Development must be “partners” constants to bring raw material (talent) to their Maximum potential.

Focus 3: Attracting and Valuing Practitioners - The “Talent Day”

The Great Attraction Process for Young People: Talent Day

El Talent Day is an event created for 2026-I practitioners, seeking to get to know and experience “a day at Banco Santander.”

• Talent Day Objectives: Evaluate soft skills And the Cultural fit, that they live the culture, know their leaders and improve the experience of young people who take the “such an important first decision” of his working life.

• Bilateral Process: It is sought that the candidate Choose the company, and not just the other way around.

• Scope: They attract practitioners to all business units of the bank, under the same profile as Approved cultural fit.

The Challenge of Attracting the Young Population

The biggest challenge is to go along with what this young generation wants and what motivates them.

“We are in an era where everything is in transformation, innovation... either you change or you change, or else, that wave consumes you.”

It is necessary to do processes challengers and disruptive that they use the technology (video games, etc.), making young people think: “If that's how I started my selection process, what's going to come in my development plan in Santander?” The success of this experience becomes Word of mouth and strengthens the Employer brand.

💡 Focus 4: Organizational Culture and Innovation from Talent

Strategic Connection Between Gamification, Culture and Values

Gamification is key to ensuring that the candidate complies with the Five Principles of Behavior that define Santander culture, regardless of position: teamwork, think quickly, think about the customer, and drive change.

• Profile Assertiveness: Customization allows you to measure the assertiveness not only technically, but also in the Cultural fit.

• Shared Responsibility: The evaluation of the Cultural fit It's a liability of the entire bank, not just Human Resources, to attract the best talent.

Promoting Innovation from Selection

Santander values innovation, driven by the parent company and strengthened by strategic alliances.

• Being at the Forefront: It's important to let yourself be helped by vendors and allies (like Magneto) to improve processes, bringing ideas and innovation that is happening globally.

• Continuing Actions: The bank encourages innovation with ongoing training on internal platforms (Doyo) about Artificial Intelligence, Power BI, and emerging technologies.

Focus 5: Outcomes, Learning and Future Vision

Challenges in Implementing Innovation and Adopting Change

The biggest challenge was workforce: breaking the myth that technology “came to replace the human part”.

Personal Learning: La technology It's a channel And a transporting What is coming to endorse and transform what you want to do in the area, not to replace.

• Company Mindset: The company helps overcome this fear by constantly training in AI and emerging technologies, ensuring global support.

New Bets with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Selection

The next step is to improve the experience of the selection process through the Artificial Intelligence.

• Objective of AI: Optimize times without losing the quality, the empathy And the networking with the candidate.

• AI applications: From the time of the candidatures Until the Prescreening (calls), to remove the part Operational and allow the HR team. HH. focuses on strategic part.

• Competitive Advantage: AI, with a customized system (such as “Robotina”), will help generate a More assertive match with the desired profile.

Key Reflections and Learning for HR Leaders HH.

1. Risk and Personal Awareness: On a personal level, you must Break fear and make risky decisions (such as gamification or AI), being aware that you must always be up to date vanguard.

2. Change Leadership: The leader of Selection and Culture must be the Ambassador of Change, leading by example and investing in training continuous of the team so that they become “co-teammates of transformation”.

3. Benchmarking and Alliances: It's vital Listen to the market (What are other companies doing) and work with strategic allies to leverage the transformation.

Conclusion: The key is a change in mentality (adoption rather than adaptation) and allowing technology to leverage the attraction of best talents and more assertive profiles with greater cultural affinity.

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