Doing our thing: Goodgamers launch an employee representation committee
Today we can announce and celebrate a very special launch! After six months of hard work, we’ve finally done it: our very own employee representation committee has been kicked off and is ready to cater to the needs of every employee here.
Over the last few days, more than 1000 Goodgamers who were eligible to vote had the chance to back their favorite candidates for the nine-member committee via an online voting tool. Before this, the candidates had the opportunity to drum up support and share their opinions on important company issues. They did this very successfully, as nearly 80 percent of the Goodgamers eligible to vote took part in the vote. In the upcoming weeks, all of the representatives will receive in-depth training on topics like termination protection and flexible working hours to help them achieve an optimal understanding of their new work.
Loyal readers of our blog and other social channels know that here at Goodgame Studios, there is one very special characteristic that makes us stand out from the rest: we love to do things ourselves. Thanks to our approximately 1200 employees, we tackle almost every challenge with our own solutions, even those outside of game production. Regardless of whether we’re developing a special software, taking care of our players, or activating new marketing channels, a Goodgamer always has a hand in everything. That’s why it’s not surprising that we mutually decided upon our own tailor-made solution for an employee representation committee at our company assembly last January.
In a questionnaire, around 700 Goodgamers identified the most important issues where employees should have a right to participate. On the basis of this questionnaire, and originating from long-term projects for optimizing the working situation, a five-member team, likewise selected by the entire employee body, developed the specific topics of the agreement and negotiated these with management. The team was further aided by 6 support groups who focused their research on certain areas. In addition, they received the professional support of an external labor law specialist who helped them finalize the extensive legal agreement. In June, an impressive 86 percent of employees then voted in favor of this contract between the management and employee body. In total, 86 percent of Goodgamers eligible to vote took part in the online vote.
Alex from the quality assurance department was already a member of the core negotiation group and has now also been chosen for the committee. “I’m happy that all the work we put into the contract paid off and we now have an elected committee which is supported by an overwhelming majority of all employees. Over the course of the negotiations we built a strong relationship with the management based on open communication and I’m confident that we’ll be able to expand on that. We now have the chance and the potential to work collaboratively in the interest of all employees and I’m sure that we can achieve an even better working environment for everyone.”
We are definitely excited to see what the employee representation committee will bring and will keep you posted on any updates. Until then, we’ll of course continue to keep you up-to-date on all our new launches. But next time for new games – we promise.
