Ubisoft says it’s “on the right path” years after the company was rattled by accusations of workplace misconduct, abuse, and sexism. Late last week, the French police took several of the company’s disgraced former executives into custody after a lengthy investigation into allegations of sexual assault and harassment.
Ubisoft acknowledges that its misconduct problems began with HR
Speaking at the GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit, Ubisoft’s chief people officer Anika Grant acknowledged that the company’s Human Resources department was part of the problem. Former developers previously alleged that reporting misconduct to HR produced no results and at times, ended up with the complainants being retaliated against.
“HR was considered to be part of the problem,” Grant admitted. “As a result, we had lost the confidence of our teams. Confidence in us as a function, confidence in us as individuals, and as a profession. So my first priority was to figure out how we could win back that trust.”
Grant says she endeavors to make employees feel heard and respected. She said that Ubisoft understands that it needs to go beyond fixing the damage and ensure that people feel comfortable working at the company, possibly referring to the mass exodus of talent from Ubisoft’s various studios worldwide in the wake of the accusations.
