HR Wizardry

1
HR Wizardry

• GDC 2005 Roundtable
• Mark Kluchky
• HR Manager
• BioWare Corp.

2
Attendance

• Session 1 had approximately 50 attendees.
• Session 2 had approximately 20 attendees.
• Company sizes of attendees ranged from small 10
  member studios to large multi-location
  organizations.
• Most folks were from the business side but not
  necessarily specifically from Human Resources.

3
HR Wizardry-Roundtable agenda

• The following topics were covered with
  approximately the same amount of time dedicated
  to each topic.
• Recruiting the best in the face of cut throat
  competition
• Managing outsourcing
• Quality of life issues (no bashing of companies)
• Managing performance in a production environment
• Other issues and challenges?
• HR SIG growth

4
Recruiting the best in the face of cut throat
competition

• Companies are recruiting online through websites,
  chat rooms, and message boards.
• Other recruitment efforts focus on schools,
  conferences, and employee referrals (with or
  without a placement bonus).
• Recruitment firms are also used, but it is
  important to work closely with them to identify
  the correct candidates.
• Effective PR for the company was another way of
  recruiting candidates by getting information
  about the company out in the public and
  increasing overall company awareness.
• It was noted that to recruit strong candidates a
  solid job description was required. This
  assisted in getting the right person to apply.
• To further assist in getting the right candidate
  a series of on-line questions can be asked
  focusing on talent and cultural fit.
• When (and if) recruiting from competitors you
  must be very careful not to damage the existing
  business relationship. Some people will even ask
  the candidate to inform their existing employer
  of their intentions.
• When recruiting from competitors you also need to
  ensure there are no non-compete agreements in
  effect.
• It was discussed that the competition for talent
  between companies is healthy and the exchange of
  talent can be a good thing.
• Reference checks were also seen as a source for
  candidates as the contact allows you to introduce
  yourself and ask about their skillset and
  possible interest.
• Companies should consider recruiting from
  industries similar to ours, not specifically just
  the game industry.

5
Managing outsourcing

• In deciding when to outsource, the decision is
  dependent on the task. Is it an ongoing task?
  Is it outside the game (i.e. cutscenes)? Is it
  something new where you would want to keep the
  learned knowledge in-house? Is timing an issue?
  What is the priority of the task? How integrated
  is the task with the rest of the development
  team? Is it a port to a different platform?
• For Developers, outsourcing may be Publisher
  directed.
• When deciding where in the world to outsource,
  location wasnt always an issue, however, some
  found it useful to have the contractors nearby to
  facilitate communication and the delivery of a
  quality product.
• Of issue is the fact that the costs must be
  lower.
• One key success factor is to have very specific
  instructions for the contractors to follow.
  Provide feedback until the quality is at the
  level required.
• Another is to ensure that the contractors are
  well supported and monitored. This quickly
  catches problems that arise and prevents them
  from having too much of an impact.
• An option for outsourcing was to work with
  ex-employees, especially if they were an expert
  in that area.
• It was recommended that you meet the contractors
  and tour their offices. While there take the
  opportunity to train them on your processes.
• Provide them with test pieces to better
  understand their ability to perform the tasks you
  require of them.
• Some people expressed problems with language
  issues.

6
Quality of life issues

• The majority of our discussion focused on two key
  areas communication and events.
• Events
• Cross project kick-off parties were suggested to
  help integrate different departmental teams.
  This forces people to meet with other staff
  members that arent part of their usual circle.
• Scavenger hunts with teams consisting of varying
  members to again get different people working
  together.
• A Business Book Club is another way to encourage
  participation from people in different areas of
  the company. It also has the benefit of
  encouraging differing perspectives on how a
  concept might affect the different components of
  a company.
• Communication
• It was identified that exclusive information
  naturally creates exclusive groups.
• While people do not like unnecessary meetings,
  ones which add value are important. Some
  meetings that were identified as being helpful
  were
• Weekly meetings to check in with everyone on the
  team
• Company-wide meetings with the goal of
  distributing information to the whole company
• Bubble meetings where it is shared how
  different groups affect one anothers jobs
• Personal status update meetings.
• Some other suggestions to assist communication or
  understanding were
• Internal job shadowing
• Weekly newsletters
• Lunchtime group sessions
• Mentorship programs
• Organizational structures that cross disciplines.

7
Quality of life issues (cont.)

• Another area discussed briefly was the need for
  proper schedules.
• Review them as often as possible (catch problems
  early).
• Have a flexible management style and encourage
  people to bring problems forward as soon as they
  are identified.
• Encourage employees to identify (and know) how
  long it ACTUALLY takes to complete a task.
  Analyze existing data for information on time to
  complete a task.
• HR should step up and assist in the promotion of
  the need to analyze the software process and
  assist in the analysis of the schedule at
  critical stages of the project.
• The software industry was presented as a model to
  investigate and learn from with respect to
  project scheduling.

8
Managing performance in a production environment

• It was agreed that it is essential for managers
  to communicate with their team members. However,
  review preparation is something that usually
  occur outside the normal workday. Time needs to
  be budgeted in the development schedule for the
  review process.
• It was also suggested that reviews be built in to
  a mangers job description ensuring
  accountability.
• One review schedule discussed was a 3, 6, 12, and
  24 month schedule.
• Some companies used quarterly reviews instead of
  an annual approach. Company size may play a role
  in the ability to implement this.
• Another approach mentioned was a formal annual
  review with an accompanying midpoint review.
• Some companies tied reviews to salary increases
  and others did not.
• A database can be utilized as a method to track
  completed reviews.
• Managers and employees should develop personal
  growth development plans as well as
  career-pathing.
• It was suggested that a key group size would be
  ten. Any larger than that and it is difficult to
  administer reviews effectively.
• Leaders need to set the example. They can help
  promote a culture of open feedback by conducting
  reviews and providing their direct reports with
  feedback.
• It was also identified as an important
  consideration that you need to grow your
  managers experiences and abilities as the
  company grows.
• Management by Objectives was also discussed.
  Employees and Managers meet and set common
  objectives which are then revisited to measure
  progress against the agreed objectives.
• Companies have to consider why they are
  implementing or continuing to use certain
  processes. Are they using a process for process
  sake or is there a benefit to it? For example,
  a bell curve for review scores may work in a
  large company, but will not be effective in a
  smaller one.

9
Other issues and challenges?

• Interpersonal Conflict
• The smallest number of individuals should deal
  with the conflict.
• One individual mentioned that their company has a
  no bullshit policy where you discuss the issue
  directly and out in the open.
• A key success factor for dealing with
  interpersonal conflict is for HR to have
  processes in place for managers to follow. This
  is especially useful for new managers who have
  never had the experience of dealing with
  interpersonal issues from a management
  perspective.
• Non-compete agreements
• From a hiring perspective HR needs to check with
  applicants to see if they have a restrictive
  covenant in place. If so, you need to ensure
  that the applicant and your development team
  understands how that will impact what they can
  and cannot do.
• When developing one for your own company (or
  reviewing your current clauses) you need to
  ensure that the clause is not too restrictive.
  If it is so restrictive that it prevents an
  employee from finding meaningful related work, a
  court may disqualify the clause.
• Interview process
• One company utilizes a two day process where
  candidates were placed on a project team and
  their behaviours were observed.
• Another company discussed a one day process where
  an applicant would meet with their manager,
  co-workers, and general management.
• Multiple companies indicated that they used some
  form of skill testing.
• Informal lunch interviews were also used by many
  companies as part of their interview process.
• How to get management to change their views.
• Needs to be done incrementally (baby steps).
• In getting management to change their viewpoint,
  you also need to fully understand their
  perspective on the issue before you can help them
  understand yours.
• Who fulfills HRs role in the organization?
• If done by Leads may lead to inconsistencies
  and a fracturing of the corporate culture.
• If Ad Hoc you need to ensure that processes are
  documented.

10
HR SIG Improvements

• In an effort to increase the value of the
  offerings from the HR Special Interest Group we
  asked attendees for their feedback.
• One suggestion was to broaden the scope of the
  issues that are discussed.
• Promote the fact that this SIG is not just for
  HR, but for anyone who fulfils HR functions.
• Have a relevant links page. Become a portal for
  useful and helpful HR information sources.
• Have templates for forms and processes used by
  HR.
• Offer training sessions in support of HR
  practices.