Ukie’s #RaiseTheGame pledge is a call to action for the UK games industry to drive meaningful cultural and behavioural change and create a more diverse and inclusive games industry, designed in consultation with the sector to be accessible to all games companies and platforms, regardless of size or specialism.
As a studio that is all about its people, FuturLab knows that it is our differences and unique perspectives that add depth and value into our work. As our little studio becomes a not-so-little studio, we want to formalise this view by taking actionable steps to ensure we are doing right by our team and industry. Therefore, we have signed up to the Ukie #RaiseTheGame pledge, committing to champion and foster diversity and inclusion within our studio across three key pledge pillars:
- Creating a Diverse Workforce
- Shaping Inclusive and Welcoming Places to Work
- Reflecting Greater Diversity in our Work
To give each pillar the attention it both deserves and requires, we will be focusing on each pillar individually, beginning with creating a diverse workforce.
This initial pillar deals mainly with creating hiring practices that are more inclusive. Our first step was to go right back to the start, crafting more inclusive job adverts that avoid gender-coded language and are clear about the actual requirements for our open positions.
Once someone chooses to apply to an open position, their application will be kept anonymous to reduce the potential impact of unconscious bias. Successful applicants moving through to the next stage will be interviewed by select interview panel will be chosen for each role, ensuring each candidate meets with and is interviewed by the same people. The panel will assess candidates using a scorecard, again aiming to mitigate unconscious bias by rating people solely on how they meet the actual criteria for the role.
Once we successfully roll out this first pillar, we will focus on meeting the best practice guidelines for the remaining two.
“FuturLab is a studio that is passionate about people, and we are excited about scrutinising and improving our policies to reflect our beliefs and make real change in our studio and industry, under the guidance of Ukie. We are already making good headway with creating new hiring policies that put inclusivity at the forefront and will continue to build on these changes in pledge pillars two and three.”
FuturLab’s Head of people, Keira McGarvey
FuturLab is proud to be a part of this incredible pledge to #RaiseTheGame in our industry and is dedicated to creating new avenues for a diverse range of talent to find our not-so-little studio where everyone belongs.