HR INSIDER
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”.
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
WHO’S WHO IN HR
IRIS TEE
HR Director
18 ISSUE 15.7
HRMASIA.COM
CAMMY GOH
Senior HR Advisor
ZHANG XIAOCI HR Advisor
JANICE ANG
HR Specialist (Operations)
LIN XIAOTIAN
HR Specialist (Recruitment)