Can Ubisoft create a respectful and safe environment?
New measures unveiled in response to harassment claims met with skepticism
In old movies, cowboys would cut themselves and suck out the venom after being bit by a snake. Although it looked cool, it turns out that the trick doesn’t actually work. Dealing with poison in your body is a little more complicated.
On Tuesday, in reaction to the recent wave of sexual harassment allegations that have shaken the company to its core, Ubisoft announced a series of “concrete measures for a respectful and safe environment for all.”
The six-point plan includes independent investigations, an external audit of company practices and policies, a more diverse management team, sensitivity training for all employees, a new code of conduct and the creation of an ombudsperson post.
“These measures are only the beginning of a profound change that is taking place at all levels of the company,” reads a statement on Ubisoft’s website.
It sounds serious, but will it be enough? How do you transform the culture of an international company with 18,000 employees?
(Reached Monday, a spokesperson for Ubisoft Montreal said the company would not be giving interviews at this time.)
Heads have rolled over the crisis. Ubisoft’s France-based CEO Yves Guillemot remains in place, but his right-hand man, chief creative officer Serge Hascoët, resigned in July, as did Cécile Cornet, director of human resources. Yannis Mallat, managing director of Ubisoft’s Canadian studios, also stepped down.
The moves surprised many employees in Montreal, who viewed these leaders as untouchable. But weeks later, questions remain as to whether such actions will lead to real change in the workplace.
One Ubisoft employee, interviewed for another story in mid-july, was not encouraged by what they have seen so far.
“Since the allegations dropped, there has been an effort — I wouldn’t say concerted or even directed, but definitely an effort — to sweep it under the rug, to repeat the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ narrative, and to tone-police women and allies who bring these issues up internally on the company message board, Mana,” the employee said.
“And there have been lots of jokes about, ‘Better not do that — you might get accused of sexual harassment,’ giving a sense of martyrdom to some individuals who stepped out of their positions or have been dismissed by the company.”
Such problems are not limited to Ubisoft, the employee argued, but are rampant throughout the video game industry — a refrain echoed by other employees who spoke with the Montreal Gazette and who have worked at other companies in the field.
“I expect this regardless of the studio I go to,” they continued. “You stick with it until it becomes unbearable, then you go somewhere else and you start building that tolerance all over again.
“Women develop different tactics for dealing with it. Some will trade their complicity for the ability to advance; some just get burned out by a toxic system and move on to other things; some try to change the system themselves; and a lot would rather not have to deal with it so they choose not to confront it, because it’s exhausting.”
Contacted for a followup interview in relation to this article, the employee declined to comment further for fear of jeopardizing their position. But they expressed skepticism that the measures Ubisoft is implementing are much more than an elaborate PR campaign.
“I don’t think anything is going to change,” the employee said in a written message, “and I don’t think Ubisoft has learned anything from this experience.”
Andrea (not her real name), another employee, has been at Ubisoft for some time and feels that things have been slowly getting better over the years. The company still has a long way to go, she noted, but it’s no different than any other video game company.
“I don’t think this is a Ubisoft problem. It’s more of an industry problem. I find it very interesting that the media grabbed onto Ubisoft, when other companies here in Montreal are exactly the same, and are probably very happy Ubisoft is getting dragged through the mud.
“Big companies like Warner Brothers, Motive and Square Enix all have the same issues of power imbalances, immaturity and people behaving badly.”
Ubisoft started hiring more women and people of colour over the years, Andrea said. And yet just 22 per cent of worldwide staff consists of women, making it still very much a boys’ club.
At the heart of the problem, according to Andrea, is an abusive workplace climate perpetuated by those in positions of authority. And while it’s not all bad, experiences at the company can vary greatly depending on the team you’re on, and who’s your boss.
“There are managers that feel like yelling the loudest means they’re the best,” Andrea said. “What I’ve seen is that when management is causing problems, the person who complains usually becomes the problem.
“There are a few managers who are protected politically, who are not very good at their jobs. They try to intimidate people and end up driving people away from the industry. Really good people are quitting, or leaving projects, or refusing to work on certain projects because of certain managers.”
This week, the company initiated mandatory training for managers on issues of harassment, but Andrea doubts it will do much in terms of getting those who are causing the most distress to change their ways.
“The people who this is targeted to probably don’t have the maturity to self-reflect,” she said.
“(Ubisoft) has a lot of work to do to reclaim their image. There’s a lot of people that should be looked into — and maybe are being looked into, who knows . ... I think they’re trying, but they’re only doing this because of what happened in the media.”
One employee, “Lisa,” received a valuable piece of advice from a mentor before she entered the video game industry. He told her that sexual harassment was rampant, and to be prepared to speak out.
“He said, ‘It can be hard, but never hesitate to report it. It’s not acceptable.’”
She now looks out for younger female employees, and gives them the talk when she feels they are in danger.
“A new girl started a few months ago, before COVID,” Lisa said. “She was young and very pretty. My first instinct was to warn her, ‘There are creeps at the studio.’
“It’s part of the culture, and always there, but as women and minorities you learn not to react. Half the things, I don’t see anymore. I got used to it.”
That said, Lisa views her overall experience at Ubisoft as positive. She has met good people, and often worked with good managers on stimulating projects, with one or two exceptions.
She is now a manager herself and able to actively contribute to creating a positive work environment for others.
She thinks Ubisoft’s ability to move forward comes down to accountability.
“It’s about showing, first of all, that there are consequences,” she said, “and not just saying, ‘Let me get rid of the head of studio,’ or cutting a few heads off. It needs to be on all levels, zero tolerance.”
Sarah Bédard offers sexual harassment sensitivity training, and provides mediation to employees and management in various companies and industries. The non-profit organization she works for, Le Groupe d’aide et de l’information sur l’harcèlement sexual de la province du Québec, has existed for 40 years.
She describes issues of bullying and sexual harassment as the tip of the iceberg, reflecting deeper-rooted problems within a company.
“Harassment is the symptom of an unhealthy workplace culture, which includes its values, beliefs, interactions and what guides the company, internally and externally,” Bédard said.
“Some companies would rather focus on profit and profitability than on human capital. If they looked closely at the numbers, they would realize it costs them a lot more in the long run.”
Firing those in charge can give a sense that important changes are happening, but it’s not a cure-all solution to such a complex issue, according to Bédard. She believes Ubisoft has some soul-searching to do.
“They have to sit everyone at the same table and ask, ‘What are our objectives? Why do we exist? What are the choices that got us here?’ The big mistake all these companies make is to start at the top, and push down to apply a new culture; but that’s not how it works. It has to be bidirectional. Managers have to be sensitized and trained so everyone is speaking the same language about harassment in the workplace — employees, too.
“Once everyone understands the new culture, and channels of communication are open, people can talk, understand and accept what’s happening. But these things change slowly. It takes months, years. The new culture has to be developed, but also maintained. I doubt that any company, in (a matter of ) weeks, can reorganize itself so quickly. It remains to be seen.”
These things change slowly. It takes months, years. The new culture has to be developed but also maintained.