When it comes to expanding a startup game studio, it’s paramount to know what that studio is about. At Bungie Studios, The Washington Interactive Network held its third Game Startup session this year. The panel discussed Human Resources and Scaling for game companies looking to expand from their initial employees.
Handheld Games CEO Thomas Fessler moderated the panel, which featured Chris Chung, CEO Motiga; Leena Hakkanen, HR manager for Novel, Inc.; Kathi Jones, president of SwiftHR & Talent; and Carllene Placide, partner of Labor and Employment, Dorsey & Whitney LLP. Each of them stressed the importance of a transparent office identity in order to draw in the desired employees.
Defining one’s office’s culture will help developers know what games they’ll be making as well as what the studio fundamentally believes in.
“If you don’t know who you are, then how do you know who to hire?” Jones asked. If it’s a startup looking for industry veterans with a passion for mobile games, be up front about it. This statement ensures possible employees will know what conditions they’re hiring into — like getting paid less as the studio develops in return for benefits later on.
Being vocal about your company’s passion will let some employees be more lenient about payment, as most startups don’t have enough money to go around. Chung points out that the studio’s culture affects the companies pay structure and philosophy. The company’s goals and ideas will help compete with better paying jobs because people want to “feel good” about their work environment. “People want to love their work,” Hakkanen said.
Despite these goals, it is also important to remember “your studio is a business,” Pacide said. CEOs need to hire the best employee for the job but will be able to reshape his/her roll after the paperwork is filed. It’s important to ask employees about the company in order to find the ideal new employee.
On a similar note, one of the best hiring practices — according to Jones — is to ask ones employees about any possible candidates. Odds are, if the company’s culture is established, then current employees will already be friends with the perfect candidate.
