Let’s start off with a truism – achieving a high employee satisfaction should be one of the most important internal goals of every modern company. After all, general happiness will definitely contribute to keeping employee turnover low. And, in some cases, it can even boost the company’s overall performance.
So, to see how we’re doing in that department, we asked our team members a few questions in an anonymous survey. Among many, the most important one: are you happy about working at the company?
Since you already know the answer by looking at the title of this article, we should add that the results really surprised us. But maybe they shouldn’t have? After all, the employee turnover at Ten Square Games is so low that on paper we look more like a family enterprise than an IT company.
Although, we can’t name one deciding factor causing the overwhelming majority of the team to be happy about working at Ten Square Games, we surely can think of a bunch of reasons.
Would you like to know them? No problem! Here’s a list of things we do:
1. Detailed onboarding
First days at work are crucial in building a positive employee-employer relationship. If this opportunity is missed and a new team member feels in any way treated unprofessionally, it won’t look promising to the entire working relationship. Some newcomers even leave their new employer if the onboarding isn’t satisfactory.
At TSG, we try to keep the onboarding short (boring new team members to death could turn equally fatal as a sloppy introduction). At the same time, though, we keep it as fruitful as possible, so no important information is left out and a newcomer is equipped with all the knowledge needed to commence work.
In this text, we won’t discuss obvious things such as a welcome email, office tour or company merch (done by everyone). We’d rather shift your attention to the important stuff, like presenting essential data in an approachable form and naming all responsibilities as soon as possible.
And hey, we do one more cool thing. Although we’re growing with the speed of a baby siberian tiger, our CEO still finds time and personally greets all newcomers. It applies to every new employee, even an intern who comes in for no longer than 3 months. It is something that impresses our new employees a lot.
2. Information flow
Sharing essential info at the very beginning is vital. Nevertheless, not every employee will have a chance to participate in the decision-making process due to various and solid reasons. Some team members won’t even notice implemented rearrangements if these are not widely discussed, or correctly communicated!
Sharing essential info at the very beginning is vital. Nevertheless, not every employee will have a chance to participate in the decision-making process due to various and solid reasons. Some team members won’t even notice implemented rearrangements if these are not widely discussed, or correctly communicated!
To make sure the flow of information is constant and reaches the employees, Ten Square Games organise regular couch talks which are moderated by the CEO and board members; at these talks, general company directions and plans are presented. Additionally, employees’ questions are thoroughly answered.
3. Regular training
As a popular 1933 pre-Code Hollywood movie title states: The World Changes. Especially in such a dynamic and young industry like mobile games.
To keep employees on top of things, TSG regularly increase the development budget and encourage team members to participate in conferences, be familiarized with new literature and participate in training courses.
4. Benefits
We’re also of the opinion that benefits are an important part of employee satisfaction. Here’s what we offer:
a) Well-being Private healthcare and a sport partly-subsidized card are probably the most popular employee benefits. And it’s not difficult to name the reason – a healthy and fit person will always be happier and more effective.
b) And all the other basic stuff Coffee, tea, fruits, filtered mineral water, pizza and donut days… Sounds trivial, right? But since it’s become almost like the fundamental right of IT employees, it’s crucial not to forget about these little benefits as they are still appreciated by our staff.
5. Employee initiatives
TSG are proud to have a very creative and thoughtful team. Thanks to employee initiatives, we’ve been able to support charities, organise sporting events and do numerous positive things. Although our main goal is to support just causes, we shall not forget about the extra-added value of socialising the team and building a strong company culture by taking such actions.
And, on top of that, our team members are also proud to be organizing events like Game Jams and taking part in lectures. These aren’t just a lot of fun. It is a great way to learn something new and teach newcomers a few tricks!
6. Fun in the workplace
Recent researches show that fun, defined as a fine atmosphere at work, has been frequently regarded as an element of employee satisfaction.
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