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Staffing the Gaming Industry

CMMA Blog

Gaming is a complex ecosystem of creators and technology. Together, it’s shifting the passive way we formerly consumed entertainment towards interactivity and immersive realities. The gaming industry’s current value is $43 billion , which is more than the music and movie industries combined! While a select few brands have already capitalized on partnerships within gaming and esports, others haven’t quite realized the potential it has to offer. There’s a critical need for brands and development studios to improve the gaming workforce by hiring top talent, maintaining compliance, increasing employee satisfaction, and reducing turnover.

Scope of the Gaming Industry

Video game enthusiasts have evolved beyond the stereotype of lazy players in basements. A 2019 report from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) notes that “75% of Americans have at least one gamer in their household, and 65% of American adults play video games.”

It’s no secret that the industry is massive and still growing. However, it can be challenging to understand the full scope of this vast ecosystem. An excellent place to start is in learning the key components and terminology.

  • Development studios are where video games are designed and created. 
  • Publishers provide funding for development studios, distribute games, and launch marketing campaigns – including hosting esports events. 
  • Emerging technology like streaming , VR, and 360-video are making entertainment interactive beyond traditional consoles. 
  • Combine all of the above components, and you get esports . In esports, video games are played competitively for a prize. These competitions are often broadcasted live from arenas or stadiums.

 

The Expansion of Esports

In 2019, CNN  projected that esport events and competitions would have 345 million viewers by the end of the year. It’s not a surprise either since esports teams, such as D.C.’s own Washington Justice , are rapidly earning fans in their home cities. Gaming arenas are even popping up across the U.S. to support the booming growth of gaming viewership.

 

Gaming arenas in the U.S. include:

 

1 Fusion Arena 2 Esports Stadium 3 HyperX

 

Impact of Gaming Across Brands

It’s evident that gaming and esports viewership is booming – now, let’s talk about the implications for brands and organizations.

Screen time is a hot commodity for brands since time spent playing (or watching others play) video games is at an all-time high. As a result, brands are struggling for market share to turn those viewers into customers. Non-endemic brands, like GEICO , consistently market towards gamers by partnering with publishers and streamers. Even luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton realize the advantage of getting involved. During the 2019 League of Legends World Championship in Paris, Louis Vuitton found a creative way to gain recognition by making a custom trophy case for The Summoner’s Cup  (see below), awarded to the winning Chinese FunPlus Phoenix team at the end of the competition.

Not only are brands embracing gaming industry technology, but so are government, medical, and educational institutions . Many have reaped the benefits of using 360-video and virtual reality (VR) for training. The implication of gaming across these industries increases the need to hire talent such as actors and engineers with experience in this new medium.

 

Competition and Compliance

The scope of the gaming industry is impressive, but success also brings significant challenges for both companies and the talent they employ. Tech giants like Apple, Google, and Amazon attract large applicant pools, especially as they try to expand within the industry . As a result, it’s challenging for smaller development studios and publishers to hire top candidates , especially with competition so fierce.

Turning to the workforce, creative and technical employees strive to keep the machine in motion. However, those employed in gaming work under immense pressure from external and internal expectations. Developers even have a specific term for periods of high stress, called “Crunch .” Leading up to fast-approaching game launch dates, patch releases, and the holidays, Crunch is a pervasive compliance issue in gaming. Crunch can be characterized by intense periods of overtime during the development process, in which the employee, or game developer, may or may not be adequately compensated by the employer. Some Crunch time is voluntary, but a majority of studios make it mandatory .

It’s no surprise that studios have high turnover and unaddressed complaints when the stress of burnout couples with HR issues . Luckily, change is on the horizon. Some work environments have improved since Gamergate  in 2014, and organizations like the International Game Developers Association  (IGDA) are moving efforts forward to make a change. Development studios are now partnering with staffing agencies to increase the scalability of the contingent workforce needed during busy months. 54% of developers now favor unionization , and this opinion is gaining more traction with organizations like Gamer’s Unite. 

 

Partnering for Success

There are many benefits for companies developing teams in the gaming industry to partner with staffing agencies for success. Staffing agencies, like TeamPeople, can be your one-stop-shop for recruiting, onboarding, management, payrolling, and scalability. They are uniquely equipped with agile resources, large talent databases, and knowledge of compliance and legality in the workforce. Studios and development teams are utilizing these outsourced talent solutions to increase sustainability and focus on creative development. 

 

Talent Retention and Satisfaction

Once companies build their ideal teams, it’s imperative to retain that workforce and reduce turnover. Providing employees with benefits coverage and professional development opportunities can increase productivity, satisfaction, and retention. Many staffing agencies already have agile resources like benefits packages and growth opportunities in place. For example, TeamPeople offers talent LinkedIn Learning as a professional development tool so they can explore further training . Hiring a diverse  group of employees can also increase retention, yet 28% of developers said that studios don’t invest anything in staff inclusion and diversity issues.

 

One-Stop Solution

The gaming industry’s existing success has exponential potential, but the ecosystem can’t sustain itself alone. TeamPeople can find the next graphic designer for your development team, or even staff your next marketing event with expert audio technicians. Working with a staffing partner like TeamPeople will lighten the workload for game developers and brands so they can focus on making impactful entertainment experiences.

 

Let’s improve the gaming workforce, starting with your team! We’ll work with you to find the perfect solution to enhance or grow your gaming department or studio. Reach out to learn more !

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Relax, Refill, Refresh that browser: Recalibrate your Virtual Presence

CMMA Blog

Spring is here and that means your calendar is about to be booked solid with networking events, meetings, and to-do items. You’ve got a lot on your plate, so I’ve compiled a short list of the state of the hybrid and virtual event space. Everything you should be aware of as you begin planning your company or organization’s next event, meeting, or conference.  

 

One thing I want to put front of mind, because it is my personal soapbox and war drum, is if you are planning an event today, you need to accommodate accessibility. It is not a feature; it is an expectation. How you scale that is based on your budget and needs of course, but all events should have AI captioning in one way or another. The technology is cheap and available for any workflow. As a bonus, once the event is finished you have a nifty transcript generated from the captions that can be utilized for blog posts! Most businesses will list sustainability and accessibility as an option. Use what is available, your audience will thank you.

 

Questions? We’re here to help. I’ll jump off my soapbox now. 

 

 

Now onto the realities of 2024’s Events: 

 

1. In-person events are back. Hybrid and Virtual have not vanished.

 

People may be populating your office with new return-to-office policies but that doesn’t mean the content trends have shifted backwards. Hybrid and Virtual events are still in high demand. Teams of technicians have swelled to handle the flow of in-person events and the volume of virtual events.  

 

Hybrid and virtual events continually provide additional reach and flexibility to participants, whether that distance be in miles or accessibility. 

 

This is a hard transition. Hybrid events are more complicated than fully virtual or fully in-person. When done properly they create an incredible engagement experience for both audiences. As you approach your return to office and hybrid work schedules the extra polish on your QBR, new DEIB initiative or webinar can remove those “could have been an email” attitudes.   

2. Immersive Venues and Experiences

 

Many agencies that had a stake in the in-person event space may not vocalize it, but they definitely didn’t want to deal with the reality that large conferences of the past were gone. And in a way they are. They have evolved and continue to do so. 

 

The lighting and sound have gotten more creative and reliable, video walls are providing more impressive set dressings. Speakers that were not willing to travel to your event are willing to connect remotely to participate.  

 

If you do go for an in-person event with any dreams of remote attendees, you need to pay attention when selecting a venue to ensure internet speed and bandwidth are available to not only your team but the participants. Boy is it more expensive now. If you’ve ever connected to a meeting from hotel Wi-Fi, you understand. Video calls quickly become internet-based conference calls reminiscent of people sitting around a conference room shouting into a black box telephone in the center. 

 

For my friends who do Virtual events, the cost may be different due to the lack of venue costs but that doesn’t mean you should decrease your budget to its barest needs. Look into adding interactivity to your event, different concurrent learning paths, pre-produced videos highlighting staff or achievements, polling, breakout sessions for team building, etc. The possibilities are endless. When working in live the planning happens in pre-production before the event. That means meetings to make sure everyone is on the same page. Rehearsals are not only for those running the sessions to rehearse but for your technical team to run through everything. Both with the speakers/assistants and without. The goal is always to be what we call “Frame perfect”: Every frame of video is exactly how it is expected. 


3. AI Experimentation

 

If you haven’t heard about ChatGPT yet I’d like to crawl under the rock you’ve been under because it must certainly have been very cozy there to have missed this. The AI techniques utilized for professional events are very different from the chatbots your 12-year-old has been chatting with.  

 

Generative AI like Firefly , Midjourney , and DALL-E are a first leap for graphic designers to get a general feel to work from. Think of it as a more accurate Pinterest board as you try to build a conference off the prompt “dream biggest” from the stressed executive with little idea for creative direction. 

 

This isn’t limited to the pre- and post-teams. AI eye tracking from Nvidia has fixed that pesky eyeline for people reading from a script without a teleprompter. Adobe Sage and many other platforms are streamlining edits of content to decrease turnaround times for quick edits to social media. ElevenLabs and Heygen AI enable you to upload content to be translated into various languages to supply to international audiences with ease.

 

Are any of these technologies perfect? No. But we inch ever closer. Jump in and try it out. 

 

4. Find New Ways to Drive Engagement

 

Just because an event is over doesn’t mean that the discussion ends. Take note of important points made that may deserve some extra time. Maybe there was a question that couldn’t be answered without diving into another large discussion. Snip the question and quick answer into social content and use that to promote a follow-up webinar. This keeps the content you generate more organic and (everyone’s new favorite corporate term) evergreen.  


5. Technology is King

 

As a technology professional, I am a bit biased here, but for good reason. Events that spare the time and the budget to scale their event for hybrid or virtual, benefit from greater engagement with their customers and members. We spend lots of time in preparation for an event going over workflows to sustain the highest probability of success. As live event professionals we’ve done thousands of meetings and events for various organizations, all with different priorities, sizes, and needs. When we make a recommendation for a rehearsal or a deadline for assets it’s because clients that have followed these guidelines have benefited from it. We do our research on the industry’s hottest innovations, trying out new software and hardware so we can help you produce an engaging event for all your viewers, either in person, virtual, or hybrid.

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To view our Partner blog, click here

Here’s What to Think About if You’re Expanding Your Business (And Therefore, Your Payroll)

CMMA Blog

If you’re planning to expand your business, one of your top priorities should be making sure you’re in position to classify and pay employees and independent contractors properly. This is especially important if you’re looking to hire people in any state without any red tape. Today, we’ll talk about what it takes to run payroll and when it’s helpful to engage a partner.

Doing Payroll Right

Since payroll is always a complex, high-stakes business, it’s worth investing anything required on the front end to make sure you do it right. Whether you train an in-house team or engage a partner, they need to be in position to classify correctly, stay on top of laws as they change, identify and respond to the different tax requirements, and have a system in place that allows the process to be simple, accurate, and fast. This helps you avoid future fines and legal battles.

Doing it right means doing the following:

  1. Learning local employment laws. This includes identifying regulations regarding working hours, holidays, sick pay, insurance, and more and having a (preferably automated) system in place to follow those rules.
  2. Onboarding workers. This includes collecting information such as name and date of birth as well as tax forms, background checks, benefit status, and work eligibility.
  3. Storing and securing data. Since you’re dealing people’s personally identifiable information (PII), you MUST have a way to secure that highly-sensitive data. The fines for mishandling data are serious, so you should be equally serious.
  4. Authorizing payments and ensuring your employees get paid accurately.  This includes identifying the appropriate deductions/taxes, keeping accurate records, paying on time in every location, sending out notifications, reporting as required to government institutions, etc.
  5. Having a system in place to identify and adjust to changes. You don’t always have time to wait weeks to adjust to new laws. Things evolve rapidly, so your system needs to be ready to evolve just as rapidly.
  6. Staying compliant. Laws are different from place to place and do change frequently, so your payroll management software solution should have systems in place to ensure  compliance wherever you operate.

Would Outsourcing Payroll Benefit Your Business?

Outsourcing payroll is especially valuable in certain situations. If a company needs to hire employees in multiple states, is growing rapidly, and/or needs to hire temporary workers frequently, engaging an Employer of Record (EOR) could be a game changer. An EOR mitigates compliance risks, increases payroll efficiency, and eases the administrative burdens of managing a workforce.

The Bottom Line

Payroll is one of the most complex and challenging aspects of operating a business and should be given appropriate attention by every business. When a company is growing, payroll is one of the most important aspects of business to have in good working order. The right people on your in-house team or the right partner are essential. If you think a partner would be beneficial to your business, reach out ! Relax: We got it.

The post Here’s What to Think About if You’re Expanding Your Business (And Therefore, Your Payroll) appeared first on PayReel .

To view our Partner blog, click here

Workforce Trends To Watch

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Still reeling from the effects of the Great Resignation, the workforce landscape has yet to settle. Compounded by an uncertain economic outlook and louder calls for a more positive employee experience, smart organizations are rethinking their labor policies and considering ways to restructure their workforce to stay productive and generate profits.

Let’s explore rising workforce trends and the most effective strategies to stay ahead.

Healing pandemic trauma to boost productivity

While the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has receded, societal, economic, and emotional turbulence remain a reality, resulting in overall negative emotions in the workplace. In 2022, 48% of U.S. employees felt stressed on the job, and over 70% of those surveyed believed their organization did not care about their well-being, according to research by Gallup .

Companies are taking note of these concerns, seeking to better support their employees via employee-centric initiatives such as proactive rest and schedule flexibility. These recovery strategies, which encourage workers to stop and recharge guilt-free, have proven effective in significantly reducing employee burnout while enhancing performance and productivity.

With this focus on healing, businesses are also creating open forums and inviting employees to raise concerns and voice their opinions. Such discussions, held without consequence or judgment, provide reliable insight into employee experiences and pinpoint areas where improvement is needed.

Further, more managers are being trained in trauma counseling and conflict resolution. Not only does this training assist them in navigating difficult conversations with employees, but it helps decrease employee stress for a more enjoyable work environment.

Restructuring the workforce

The Great Resignation was an eye-opening experience for a vast number of organizations. Paired with economic uncertainty, it has turned the workforce status quo on its head. Many organizations are abandoning traditional staffing models to commit to the “new normal” of remote workers and hybrid flexibility.

Frontline workers, like those in healthcare and manufacturing, have realized there are different types of work available to them — many with much more flexibility than they are accustomed to. They are leveraging these opportunities to have conversations with their employers about job satisfaction, stability, and retention.

Moreover, with the advancements in collaborative technology, there is a significant rise in part-time and temporary hires — otherwise known as contingent workers.  This workforce boosts productivity to meet growing market demands while helping companies scale effectively, reduce risks, and manage costs.

To encourage contingent workers to join their organizations, businesses are turning to employers of record (EORs) that handle more than just payroll. Certain EORs provide complete HR solutions, including but not limited to:

  • Handling all expenses — from personnel to insurance
  • Managing benefit, retirement, and worker compensation plans
  • Tracking personal and sick leave
  • Ensuring compliance with local employment law

Hiring nontraditional candidates

The phenomenon of “quiet quitting ,” defined as employees who do the minimum required in their role in order to retain employment without going above and beyond for their employer, has dominated work-related headlines over the past year. While these disengaged employees may not physically leave their positions, their impact is still felt because most jobs today require some level of extra effort to meet customer demands and establish strong relationships with co-workers and management.

Moreover, as many employee career paths continue on nonlinear trajectories, with roles and responsibilities blending into one another, employers face the challenge of pinpointing suitable people to fit ever-evolving positions. Many companies are seeking to diversify and expand their talent pipelines to bring in fresh, albeit nontraditional, candidates.

But to do this successfully, employers must be comfortable assessing and evaluating candidates differently than they have in the past — in some cases, removing prerequisites like formal education and specific experience requirements from job postings. As many employers struggle with taking such a nontraditional approach to attracting talent, they are increasingly partnering with staffing and executive hiring firms that have access to a wide pool of promising candidates.

An experienced staffing partner helps guide their clients through the end-to-end hiring process, alleviating their burden by providing robust talent acquisition solutions — from screening candidates against organizational requirements and running background checks to negotiating contracts and wages on the employer’s behalf. Not only does outsourcing connect organizations with quality talent, but it also helps reduce the strain on their HR team — saving time, money, and energy.

Stay on trend with Maslow Media

As the global workforce model continues to evolve, it is more important than ever that businesses stay on top of trends to keep their competitive edge.

Established in 1988, Maslow Media Group strives to be a single resource for its clients, providing qualified talent while offering comprehensive EOR, executive recruiting, and HR management services. With a team of over 1,800 talented individuals nationwide, Maslow Media is the name in workforce management solutions.

Bring workforce management into focus with maslowmedia.com .

The post Workforce Trends To Watch appeared first on Maslow Media.

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