I'm currently making a small flash game of some tycoon-game idea I have. Part of this game is hiring employees, abstracted in having three different kinds of employees with a need of around 10 employees in total. Now I'm wondering if you have some ideas or have played a game that handled hiring employees in an interesting way, because personally I can only come up with something bland and generic.

Maybe instead of three types you can make the people up of several positive and negative traits, of varying degrees of usefulness or uselessness, but to determine what they are you have to pay to test the hires. E.g. "leader", "Follower", "inventor", "secretly psychotic "

Some traits of course cost more to identify than others, and you have to explicitly tell the game which ones to check for...

In a theme park management game (might have been 'Theme Park') there was a negotiation mini-game for agreeing wages/supplier prices where you gradually reach out to shake each others hands. Give too much and you pay over the odds, give too little and the deal breaks down entirely.

You could include something similar for your hiring process perhaps.

PS - It was Theme Park. See the 2nd screenshot on this page (or maybe it's the 4th screenshot really given it's from the DS): http://www.gamingsteve.com/blab/index.php?topic=7952.0)

You could consider it "hiring employees" when you choose members to form team in RPGs (some RPGs have you create your own team entirely from scratch at the beginning of the game). Each team-member has different capabilities, different growth opportunities, and etc... based on their class and how you choose to level that class.

If your employees have different abilities, and when "leveling up" allows you to grow them differently by putting points into your choices of abilities, and if they have different names and personalities, it could be interesting.

In "Faster Than Light", a 2D indie StarTrek-like starship sim game, you have to manage your crew (3-6 members). They don't vary all that much, but different alien species have different bonuses, and as you make a crewmember work in one area vs another, they become more proficient at it (e.g. repairing the engine vs flying the ship vs manning the turrets vs hand-to-hand combat fighting off boarders). When a crewmember dies from fires, explosions, attacks, or merely because you left the airlock open again () it's a significant loss.

I like Servant's idea where leveling up involves choosing new abilities for them. Just leveling up a stat isn't much of a decision, but having to choose between "Works 25% faster", "Customers' moods no longer affect employee's moods", and "Can now work weekends" could be a hard decision, and would get me more invested in that employee.

Also, let the player change employee names to their friends' names, like in X-COM. So when they quit or die or whatever, it's not just a forgettable little pixel guy I'm losing, it's my friend into whom I've invested so much.

Thanks all for the replies. I also like the ideas of Servant of having a set crew which can develop itself. I feel it would give players a more personal relation with their staff, instead of it being some meaningless chore.

Maybe instead of three types you can make the people up of several positive and negative traits, of varying degrees of usefulness or uselessness, but to determine what they are you have to pay to test the hires. E.g. "leader", "Follower", "inventor", "secretly psychotic "

Some traits of course cost more to identify than others, and you have to explicitly tell the game which ones to check for...

I think I'll implement something like this, yet less complicated. If I use only one stat I think it would give players a meaningful choice where to spend their best workers on.

or merely because you left the airlock open again

Lol

In a theme park management game (might have been 'Theme Park') there was a negotiation mini-game for agreeing wages/supplier prices where you gradually reach out to shake each others hands. Give too much and you pay over the odds, give too little and the deal breaks down entirely.

You could include something similar for your hiring process perhaps.

PS - It was Theme Park. See the 2nd screenshot on this page (or maybe it's the 4th screenshot really given it's from the DS): http://www.gamingsteve.com/blab/index.php?topic=7952.0)

And was this fun to do? To me it seems like a distraction that gets tedious after you've figured out the system.

I like Servant's idea where leveling up involves choosing new abilities for them. Just leveling up a stat isn't much of a decision, but having to choose between "Works 25% faster", "Customers' moods no longer affect employee's moods", and "Can now work weekends" could be a hard decision, and would get me more invested in that employee.

Also, let the player change employee names to their friends' names, like in X-COM. So when they quit or die or whatever, it's not just a forgettable little pixel guy I'm losing, it's my friend into whom I've invested so much.

Indeed, there should be some choices in it. And if skilled employees are required to unlock some special options, I think it would further increase the relation with those characters.

http://www.veloci.dk/gamebiz/GB3.htm

The GameBiz series has an interesting approach to hiring employees.

Each employee has several skillsets, and you can hire them for various positions taking into account their strengths and weaknesses.

There is also a salary and perks negotiation step.

https://www.origin.com/en-ca/store/buy/theme-hospital-origin/pc-download/base-game/standard-edition

Theme Hospital (now free) has a more straightforward approach. I suggest you try it out for yourself.

Wages of war allowed you to negotiate contracts as well. Employment was contractually-based however (depending if it fits your theme).

Hopefully these help?

Thanks I will check them tonight!