Hero Gaming collaborated with MadeYou to identify its company culture.
The iGaming Industry in Malta
Figures from Malta Gaming Authority show that in June 2017 Malta had no less than 275 gaming firms operating from the island, the smallest, yet most densely populated country in the European Union.
In 2015 Swedish-owned Hero Gaming became the latest firm to open an office in Malta. Joining a truly burgeoning industry and extremely competitive marketplace. From its creation by Georg Westin in 2013, Hero had gone from 0 to 100 plus employees. All are split between its offices in Malmo, Sweden, and the 24/7 tourist mecca that is Malta’s St Julian’s area.
When Luke Todd and Kelly McSherry, co-founders of MadeYou, first started working with Hero Gaming, their workforce comprised of individuals of no less than 23 nationalities. All looking after four innovative iGaming brands: Casino Heroes, CasiTabi, Betser and Speedy Casino.
Ask anyone in Malta where the money is to be made and a job in iGaming – whether it is in programming, content, legal, finance, marketing, you name it – will sure to be featured in their answer. When Tomas Bäckman joined as CEO at Hero in 2018, they had to attract and retain the best talent. He knew it was essential to make Hero Gaming stand out from the crowd.
Bäckman knew that he was facing a number of challenges, including:
- the need for better communication, and collaboration, between Hero’s locations.
- making Hero the employer of choice in a high-demand iGaming sector.
- a high rate of staff attrition to stop top talent from thinking of leaving.
the personality of your organisation
A very quick Google search and the earliest I can find reference to the phrase “company culture” is in ‘The Management of Innovation’ by Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker, published in 1961, London: Tavistock.
I think we pretty much all know what “company culture” means. In a nutshell, it’s the personality of your business or organization. But why is it important? And what happens when you don’t have a clearly defined company culture? Does it really matter at all?
Company culture and values are at the core of your brand. Think of it this way: certainly, your first and maybe all subsequent conversations with someone who rides a Harley and listens to thrash metal are probably going to be a bit different to those you have with someone who eschews all forms of animal products and whose favourite weekend activity is a climate change protest.
So when your company has clear values and a culture that embraces and reflects these, then everyone who interacts with your company knows what to expect. And, those within your company know what is expected of them when carrying out such interactions.
Secondly, your values and your culture are super important when it comes to taking on new team members, and, retaining them. With a clearly identifiable company culture which is, in turn, communicated consistently and well (and consistently well!), then you can expect to a) gain interest from the right sort of potential employees for your business because they will naturally be attracted to your company precisely because your values and culture resonate with, them and b) you will be more able to identify those applicants who, well qualified on paper though they may be, are less likely to be able to fit in with, embrace and promulgate, your company values and culture.
Redefining company values
Luke and Kelly met with Hero’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Marie Louise Theobald and CEO, Tomas Bäckman and agreed on:
- Two one-day workshops with the C- level to understand the core values of the business and its purpose.
- A one-day workshop with the extended leadership team to review and refine the output from our previous two days.
- A company summer event in Malmo to run a workshop with the whole business (130 people) and roll out the new values.
- A full day with all Hero’s managers to help them understand how they can incorporate the company’s values into their day-to-day operations.
- Another workshop with the C-Level and extended leadership team to revisit their experiences in 6 months’ time. This helps them talk about the successes and challenges they’ve experienced and understand how to move forwards by embracing the new company culture and values.
improved outcomes for all heroes
After holding the agreed workshops with Hero’s workforce, the CEO describes the experience as a
”Super-positive change in the dynamics across the business.
Tomas BäckmanCEO at Hero Gaming
We’re pleased to report that Hero’s leadership team had the willingness to take in the learnings from the workshops and make the necessary changes to strengthen their culture. From changes in their process, to how they communicate feedback and recognition. Bäckman carried on by saying that:
- Everyone in the company is now openly embracing its core values.
- Communication between Hero employees and teams across the company’s two geographic locations has significantly improved.
- As a direct result of better communication, cross-functional collaboration has also improved.
- Employee branding sky-rocketed, with Hero Gaming now seen as the place to work at.
Do not underestimate the importance of company culture and values. They can make or break your business. If you’re not sure where to start from, we can give you a hand. Fill in the form below and we’ll be more than happy to help you define or redefine your business culture and values.
