????去年，美國家庭人壽保險公司（Aflac）的高管們為一些高薪職務尋找員工時，他們摒棄了傳統的簡歷和面試流程。

????相反，他們從《美國偶像》（ American Idol）這類電視真人秀節目中找到了靈感。

????謀求晉升的Aflac員工變成了“參賽者”，他們將走進公司總部（位于佐治亞州哥倫布市）的一個房間，站在五位“評委”面前。面對攝像機鏡頭時，他們可以自由發揮，力爭把自己描述成某個職位的最佳人選。

????那么，這個創意的妙處是什么呢？促使參賽者隨機應變，展示出常規面試時無法見到的一面。從準備不足的一分鐘演講，到使用個人口號、PowerPoint演示文稿和其他小道具進行的才藝演出，參賽者的表演可謂五花八門，不一而足。“它有點像《美國偶像》的企業版——只不過我們不會嘲笑他們，”評委之一，Aflac公司負責索賠事務的副總裁布雷克?沃爾茲說。“這種比賽讓他們經受考驗，非常類似于一旦獲得這份工作他們將面對的那種考驗。”

????現如今，真人秀占據所有電視節目的一半以上，全美各地的公司正在直接從《飛黃騰達》（The Apprentice）和《創智贏家》（Shark Tank）等競賽節目中汲取創意，以挑選最好的應聘者、培訓工人，建立部門同事的友情。

????真人秀電視節目制作人斯蒂芬妮?德拉赫科維奇說：“測試人們決策的能力，思維的敏捷程度，目睹人們成功完成任務或以失敗告終，的確別有一番妙趣。這種創意的精彩之處就在于，不成功便成仁那一幕活生生地展現在人們面前。”德拉赫科維奇參與制作了《單身漢》(The Bachelor)，并制作了《嫁給軍隊：阿拉斯加》（Married to the Army: Alaska）等節目。

????安緹安如意卷公司（Auntie Anne's Pretzels）的高管創作、拍攝了一個客戶服務培訓視頻。在視頻中，這家公司的店長們模仿真人秀《飛黃騰達》進行了一場真實的比賽。管理層希望制作一個妙趣橫生的培訓視頻，而不是簡單地讓企業培訓師舉辦一個講座。“這種培訓方式有寓教于樂之效，”安緹安如意卷公司的女發言人瓦萊麗?金尼這樣說道。

????為了制作這段視頻，這家如意卷連鎖商致電旗下的 1,200家門店，要求店長們制作一段90秒的試鏡表演錄像。高管們選擇了6個人參加一個相互PK的系列挑戰賽，競賽內容是在一家商場運營一家門店。6位參賽者飛赴蘭開斯特，在酒店中進行了為期兩天的比賽。其中5位參與者獲得了400美元的獎勵，但贏家則捧回1,000美元。

????When insurance executives at Aflac sought employees for plum assignments last year, they abandoned the traditional resumes and job interview routine.

????Instead, they found inspiration from reality TV competitions like American Idol.

????Aflac (AFL) employees in search of promotions became "contestants" who would walk into a room inside the company's Columbus, Ga., headquarters and stand before a panel of five Aflac "judges." While cameras rolled, they could do whatever they wanted to sell themselves as the best one for the job.

????The idea? Get candidates to think on their feet and show a side not seen in a formal interview. Performances ran the gamut -- from the ill-prepared one-minute speech to shticks with personal slogans, PowerPoint presentations, and props. "It was kind of like American Idol in corporate America -- except we didn't ridicule them," says Blake Voltz, Aflac vice president of claims and a judge. "It puts them under the heat, much like they would face if they got the job."

????Reality TV makes up more than half of all television programming today, and companies nationwide are plucking ideas straight from competition shows like The Apprentice and Shark Tank to pick the best job candidates, train workers, and build camaraderie among departments.

????"There is something about the idea of testing people to make a decision, the nimbleness of thought and watching someone succeed or fail on a task," says reality TV producer Stephanie Drachkovitch, who helped develop The Bachelor and produced Married to the Army: Alaska. "It's do or die right in front of you."

????Executives at Auntie Anne's Pretzels created and filmed a customer service training video using a real contest among managers modeled after the show The Apprentice. Executives wanted to make a training video that was more interesting than a corporate trainer simply giving a lecture. "People would be entertained while they were learning," says Valerie Kinney, a spokeswoman for Auntie Anne's.

????To make the video, the pretzel chain put out a call to its 1,200 stores for 90-second audition tapes from managers. Executives selected six people who would be pitted against each other in a series of challenges while running a store in a mall. The six contestants were flown to Lancaster and put up in hotels for the two-day competition. Five participants received $400, but the winner took home $1,000.