Case Studies
Sumathi V Selvaretnam
12 Aug 2015
The creator of popular video gaming franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six and Far Cry – Ubisoft has been rapidly expanding its presence in the region after opening its Singapore studio in July, 2008.
From an initial staff strength of 20 people, the company has now expanded to become a diverse team of over 300 employees from 30 nationalities. “The studio has full capabilities in game development, including game designers, programmers, artists, animators, testers, community developers, player intelligence analysts, and producers,” says Iris Tee, HR Director, Ubisoft Singapore.
The studio recently won the Singapore Computer Society’s Best Tech Company to Work For Award. Tee says that recognition is testament to Ubisoft’s push for innovation, its great working environment, and agile HR policies.
Hiring for the right cultural fit
Maintaining this growth trajectory comes with its own set of challenges.
One challenge is finding and attracting diverse talents who are not only good at their job but who will also fit well with the Ubisoft culture, says Tee. “The video game industry is one that changes rapidly, with new technologies and game innovation emerging all the time. To develop the next big game, we need to recruit ahead of time for emerging job roles, many of which require skills that are not readily available locally or even globally.”
It is not sufficient for potential candidates to just have the right skills or expertise, says Tee. “Game development is a team effort. Like team sports, the chemistry and synergy of a good team can really push the bar up in terms of quality and innovation. Hence, we are always on a lookout for talents.
“We spend considerable efforts building the talent pipeline, and it takes time to understand the candidates before finding a good match for hire,” she adds. All HR policies and practices are aligned with the company’s core values and strategic priorities.
Ubisoft tackles its hiring challenge by building professional relationships and social networks with good talent pools. “Instead of relying on traditional job postings or advertisements, we recruit via social media like LinkedIn and Facebook,” says Tee.
The company’s employee referral programme is its next most effective recruitment channel. Ubisoft also participates in key industry events and networks with potential candidates.
“Within the Ubisoft Group, there is an active mobility programme for inter-studio movements. Lastly, we invest in hiring young talents – fresh graduates from polytechnics and universities – to groom them for the future,” Tee says.
Two years ago, Ubisoft increased its external communication efforts to raise awareness of the career opportunities available in the games industry.
“Many people may not realise that game development is a multi-billion global industry and it offers professional challenges not inferior to any of the better known high tech companies. So, these targeted career talks and campaigns were fruitful to influence some to consider a switch to the games industry,” Tee says.
Fostering a positive work environment
Creating a conducive and inspiring environment for employees to learn, grow, excel and be innovative is another important challenge to overcome, says Tee.
When the studio was small, everyone worked on one project and the friendly environment and closely knitted work relationships came naturally. “Now, with 300 people working on different projects, conscious effort is required to sustain this unique environment,” she says.
The studio is managing this challenge by building cohesive, collaborative, and high-performing teams. These teams are given the creative space to chart their own missions and career aspirations, says Tee. Nurturing a fun, open and creative environment is also crucial for individual growth, she adds.
This process requires Ubisoft to listen to its employees and maintain open communication with them. “Our employees are surveyed regularly at key project and career milestones to gauge staff engagement levels and the overall team health. New employees and their managers are asked to give feedback on their experiences in the second week and third month of joining. We also have a biennial global people survey to gather comprehensive feedback on employees’ experiences,” Tee says.
Team health surveys need to be followed up with swift actions, says Tee. “For example, following up from the 2013 Survey, we swiftly addressed the dissatisfaction with the benefits package by introducing a flexible spending account benefit and enhancing medical coverage,” she explains.
Ubisoft has created several internal channels to facilitate information sharing. Its team leads and managers have regular one-on-one discussions with team members to hear their concerns and render support. Initiatives like communities of practice gatherings, lunch-and-learn sessions, peer group learning using massive open online courses (MOOCs), hobby clubs, and language classes are organised to encourage interaction at both the professional and personal levels.
Helping employees grow
Employees at Ubisoft can choose from a variety of learning options, delivered through different modes that cater to individual preferences and project constraints. For example, one can learn by attending the soft skills, leadership skills and technical skills training courses that the learning and development team rolls out every year.
Alternatively, an employee can choose to undertake a MOOC, together with their peers. These learning groups normally consist of three to seven people who come from different projects in the studio. Each group is given a budget of $200, which can be spent on items such as, reference materials, magazine subscriptions, and even snacks. Attending an online course in a group creates greater accountability and reduces drop-outs, says Tee.
Employees are Ubisoft are also encouraged to pick up new skills on the job, by shadowing an expert or taking on stretch assignments.
“Some of our employees get the opportunity to attend the Ubisoft Academy courses held at our headquarters in Paris. They are also given opportunities to attend big industry events like E3 and Gamescom, as well as group-wide knowledge sharing sessions to network with development teams in other studios,” Tee says.
Ubisoft is made up of a young staff population that is eager to develop and progress fast. “So, the enhancement of learning options and career development support makes a difference also in staff retention. With the career planning tools and more guidance on internal growth opportunities, employees can better visualise their career evolution and be motivated to stay,” Tee says.
Recognising and rewarding good work
On the production floor, no one is taken for granted, says Tee. “Contributions are duly recognised through words of appreciation by the manager, and acknowledged at team meetings or other team events to celebrate successes and contributions,” says Tee.
Teams are also presented with limited edition game merchandises and memorabilia to commemorate completion of each game. A service award is given to celebrate five-year work anniversaries.
Ubisoft’s monetary reward system is meritocracy and performance based. “Basic salary rewards the level of responsibilities, skills and experience. Annual increments and other incentives are prioritised according to the level of individual and team achievements,” Tee says.
Teams behind financially-successful projects are given a bonus. Long-term rewards like stock options and stock awards are also used to retain key people and the employee share ownership scheme enables all employees to share the group’s financial success.
Lastly but not least, Tee says Ubisoft regularly reviews its total remuneration and rewards package regularly to ensure competitiveness in the market.
Driving innovation
Innovation is at the core of the business at Ubisoft. “We always encourage people to challenge and champion new ideas. That spirit of being an entrepreneur is the main stimulus for everyone,” Tee says.
Ubisoft also encourages autonomy in its job roles. “We strive to educate everyone that they have the ability and the empowerment to influence their job role and come up with initiatives to do better in their own work,” she says.
The various project teams have a clear idea of the vision of the game that they are working on. “This is a strong driving force to be creative and innovative,” says Tee.
The studio is also free of hierarchies and employees are free to give comments on projects. “We foster strong collaborations so that employees benefit from the diversity and cross-fertilisation of different ideas,” Tee concludes.
At a glance
Total number of employees: 300
Size of HR: 7
Key HR focus areas: Talent Acquisition, Innovation Culture, Talent Development & Employee Engagement
Ubisoft’s partnership with Digipen
Ubisoft started its partnership with Digipen in 2009 when it jointly launched the WSQ DigiPen-Ubisoft Campus Programme to groom local talents for the games industry. It is a collaboration between DigiPen, the Workforce Development Agency, and Ubisoft to develop a programme that prepares students to enter the game industry.
Students of the campus go through 10 months of intensive training, split between rigorous academic coursework and five months of production that mirrors real experience in the industry. During the production phase, students form teams to envision, design and develop a video game from start to finish using a commercial game engine under the mentorship of senior Ubisoft Singapore staff.
The campus has had five cohorts of graduates to date with at least half of each cohort going on to take jobs with Ubisoft.
“The campus was really a win-win-win creative collaboration that boosted our recruitment of promising young talents,” says Iris Tee, HR Director, Ubisoft Singapore. “It is especially heartening to see the campus graduates well-equipped to perform their roles in Ubisoft and a number of them have grown professionally to become seniors in the studio – they are now mentoring new campus students”.
Epic staff parties
Ubisoft believes in working hard but also playing hard. It organises three parties a year so that employees can let their hair down and have fun with their peers.
The upcoming one is going to be “awesome”, says Iris Tee, HR Director, Ubisoft Singapore. “It will be a casino night and we are redecorating the whole place so that it looks like a Macau casino. At the end of the night, our very own Ubisoft bands will be playing on stage,” she explains.
The fun doesn’t stop there. Every year, Ubisoft organises a t-shirt design competition to commemorate each anniversary. “We always have a lot of entries, and then we vote for the best design. And you know what? It’s not always the art directors who win,” Tee says.
In addition to such office celebrations, Ubisoft believes in maintaining a convivial work environment. It offers a casual dress code, flexible reporting hours, an open concept office, as well as a games corner and pantry for rest and relaxation.
“Nurturing and sustaining a friendly, engaging work environment has been the most powerful retention tool for us. Our employees stay because they are passionate about making great games enjoyed by millions of players, and Ubisoft is a cool place to do that,” Tee says.
Who’s Who in HR
Iris Tee
HR Director
Cammy Goh
Senior HR Advisor
Zhang Xiaoci
HR Advisor
Janice Ang
HR Specialist (Operations)
Lin Xiaotian
HR Specialist (Recruitment)
Employee engagement
Article Summary:
In the rapidly-evolving video gaming industry, being the first to innovate and develop new ideas is crucial for success. In this exclusive interview, HRM finds out how Ubisoft leads the pack by hiring for new skills and emerging job roles ahead of time
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Case Studies