How was 2018 for you personally?
If chronologically, then: a honeymoon trip, the appearance of a cat in the house, moving to the Netherlands and the appearance of a second cat, a trip to Disneyland and other bright trips.
I began to write more and speak at conferences with joint reports.
How was the year for your company?
This year for VALUES VALUE has become a period of formation and awareness of who we are, how we have changed and what we will develop further. There are already 16 of us. Some left the company or we ourselves said goodbye to several employees. And this is my signal to other business owners and managers: we are not perfect, no one is perfect, no matter how correct reports anyone reads and writes articles. Hiring mistakes are proof that without an understanding of your company, its values and culture, business processes and structure, without having clear job profiles, every successfully completed probationary period is luck, not a pattern. Some people just get lucky.
We had the first off-site strategic session and a corporate party at sea in the summer. The first man appeared in the company in the fall, and the second in December, so we no longer take personal accusations of sexism.
VALUES VALUE’s team
We will enter the new year with a renewed strategy and values. Now I am engaged in formulating how to convey in the values our transformation from “we are standing here beautifully in a white coat” into a real concern for the industry, the candidate, the employer. From individualism and “everyone is a superman” – to the search for super-strength in the team. These transformations would not have been possible without the disclosure of the potential of our top management and the growth of all colleagues. Our brand has been strengthened and our financial goal for the year has been reached.
And breaking news for us is the first newborn in VV. Olya, congratulations on the birth of your daughter!
What event of 2018 do you consider the most important for the industry?
Traditionally, I will note those that affect the labor market. First, there are about a dozen investment transactions and mergers.
For instance, natives of Israel with experience in building large studios and a cool employer brand, uniting notable studios in their holding company, have made at least three big deals over the past six months in Ukraine.
Secondly, a freeze on the issuance of licenses for publishing games in China, and this is not only a negative thing. The need to find new markets leads the Chinese into our recruiting hugs. Following Skymoons (sold to the Chinese analogue of Netflix – iQIYI – for $300 million this year), a studio in the CIS was founded by FunPlus. We are negotiating with another very large player in the Chinese market to open a large development studio in Kyiv. This trend will continue and intensify.
And, thirdly, the arrival of very strong players from the mobile world to game development. For example, our Easybrain customers. These are companies that are more mature in terms of systematic management with an investment history and strong expertise in marketing and technology.
What trends of the outgoing year would you note?
I would definitely note hyper-casual in mobile and messengers as a niche for start-up entrepreneurs. Again, you don’t need a staff of 30+ people and a budget of hundreds of thousands of dollars to start a potentially successful mobile project. This gives a huge boost to the industry. And rapid growth is on all fronts, – for example, wages are rising. Companies also understand that they must compete not only in hiring, but also in retaining employees, strengthening the employer brand. If at the beginning of the year our customers mainly came with a request to search for recruiters, now we have three vacancies for HR directors.
Another trend is a huge demand for tools and methods of entering the industry for beginners and “switchers”. Next year, we plan to develop our initiative to support young game dev talents, and they, in turn, support us.
What are the projects of this year that you enjoyed the most?
At home, Red Dead Redemption II was the highlight of the year, a source of joy for my husband and a never-before-seen jealousy for the game for me. With God of War, there was no such case!
I didn’t have a new favorite mobile project, except for Reigns: Her Majesty. However, Beat Saber came out, which became the discovery for me in the world of entertainment and gaming experience. The emotions are almost comparable to watching Bohemian Rhapsody. I play it every day and advise everyone to try!
