The most important key to successful talent management involves knowing and interacting with a business’ people, according to Gabbie Badman, HR manager at global interactive entertainment software company Electronic Arts.
With more than 9000 employees worldwide and net revenue of US$3.8 billion last year, Badman says it is critical to empower managers and their teams to deliver an exciting product to customers year after year.
“Nurturing the teams developing our titles and ensuring a harmonious work environment allows the necessary creativity to arise,” she said.
Successful talent management involves many ingredients, but she said the three primary ones are people, knowledge/culture and market awareness.
“Knowing the EA business units ensures that we add the right talent to our teams,” she said.
“It is imperative to work closely with key stakeholders to ensure that we hire candidates with the necessary skills and brand knowledge”
“In order to be a success, it is important to know the various teams and work with them to determine the qualities they seek to find in their new teammate. A cultural fit, not only on a local level but also globally, is important when assessing new hires.”
Badman works closely with the leadership teams on both the publishing and development side of the local business, which have a very clearly defined talent strategy that searches for the “best of the best” across Australia.
“Additionally, we ensure that all functions across the business have core strategic objectives in place to measure success as well as delivering the desired financial results for the company,” she said.
Electronic Arts develops and publishes games for a variety of platforms, so Badman says the need for a diverse and varied talent management strategy is pivotal to success.
“Sourcing and securing the right talent often presents a challenge. It is imperative to work closely with key stakeholders to ensure that we hire candidates with the necessary skills and brand knowledge,” she said.
“With the studio side of the business, tertiary education is critically important. Finding the right candidate can be challenging, as the game development market is still relatively niche. Securing the talent early who is passionate about development can be difficult at times.
“Identifying the behavioural, the softer side of what drives the employee, is also an important factor across my role in general. It’s not necessarily about what you studied but how you can utilise the skills needed for the role.”
