The leadership’s less-than-optimal behaviour caused a ruckus, and it didn’t seem to bring many changes within the French company.

A French publication, Le Telégramme, investigated around Ubisoft, and it turns out that the first wave of legal proceedings regarding the harassment cases start in May. The collective action is led by Solidaires Informatique Jeu Vidéo, a games workers union that had previously called for testimonies to build a case against Ubisoft.

The leadership/management of Ubisoft (as well as its human resources, HR department) led Ubisoft to a toxic working environment, and Yves Guillemot, the company’s CEO, promised changes, but Le Telégramme says that the impact of these changes seems to have been minimal so far. Céclie Cornet, the former director of HR, stepped down from this post in July but has only just left the company. The replacement is Anika Officer, who spent three years at Uber. Another Uber-to-Ubisoft person is Raashi Sikka, the vice president of global diversity and inclusion. However, an elected representative from Ubisoft’s social and economic committee said they don’t „expect anything to come out of these appointments.”

Why? The HR staff who covered the harassment issues are still in position. A few people who have been accused are also in their previous working spot, such as Florent Castelnérac, who heads Ubisoft-owned Nadeo (he was accused of harassment by a dozen employees), because (according to a union representative) the management is „protecting him.” Another person that we can name is Ubisoft Singapore director Hugues Ricour, who stepped down in November but still works at Ubisoft in a different role according to his Linkedin profile. The situation in Canada is not much better (according to Le Telégramme’s source, „nothing has changed”), despite the July 2020 appointment of Christophe Derennes (who happens to be Yves Guillemot’s cousin…). Those who reported the issues have been sidelined in December, and new harassment cases have happened since!

There were initiatives by employees groups to try and help solve the crisis, including measures of positive action to make sure more women are hired at Ubisoft, but to no avail: the idea was not addressed by management. They did rework their code of conduct, which until now didn’t mention harassment as a „non-negotiable interdiction,” according to an elected representative of game workers union STJV. The updated version will be published this summer. Twenty thousand employees have had half-day training following the crisis, with managers given more advanced sessions focusing on accountability. „We perceive a desire [from management] to leave the crisis from summer 2020 behind as it represents a risk for the group’s durability. But training must be renewed regularly and offered to new staff. For now, this request has not been addressed,” a source said.

A Ubisoft representative responded to Gamesindustry: „Over several months, Ubisoft has implemented major changes across its organization, internal processes and procedures to guarantee a safe, inclusive and respectful working environment for all team members.” They listed a few actions (external investigations of all allegations, anonymous reporting tools, mandatory training on appropriate workplace conduct, the revamped code of conduct, the hirings of Grant and Sikka, as well as the appointment of Lidwine Sauer as head of workplace culture). „These concrete actions demonstrate the profound changes that have taken place at every level of the company. Additional initiatives are underway and are being rolled out over the coming months. We are committed to strengthening our culture and values in the long term, to help ensure every team member at Ubisoft is heard, respected and valued in the workplace,” they added. Wow, what a PR-reply…

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Source: Gamesindustry