GET THE BALANCE RIGHT Enhancing the identity of Reflections and Leamington within Ubisoft and the wider industry and building a more diverse culture are of course long term goals for Opie, which is to say longer than the ten months she has been in post. Has there been much opportunity to effect more immediate change within the organisation, or put her own stamp on how Reflections will operate in the months and years ahead? “I’ve been learning a lot and I’ve been listening even
more, because I think having a plan that is everybody’s plan rather than just mine has been critical,” she says. “Part of that plan has been to make Reflections and Leamington more transparent. We’ve also kind of restated what we want to achieve and what those objectives are, as I’ve talked about; being brilliant at codev, skills are a big issue, and attracting and retaining the best talent. It’s about creating a culture where people feel that they’re cared for.” Opie is the first to admit that the foundations
were already in place before she arrived: “There was a brilliant team when I got here and they’d done a great job at putting those things in place. But building on that, we’re now beginning to involve people and thinking how we can best support neurodiversity within the studios.” Opie mentions that Reflections has 20 wellbeing champions; “mental health first aiders that reach out to individuals and provide massive support. Being a great employer is a big part of what I would like to achieve, and having a real focus going forward on people’s work-life balance, wellbeing and offering them good support.”
SHADOW OF THE BEAST This is all good to hear, coming as it does in the wake of a number of revelations that have rocked the likes of Team17 and TT Games since Activision Blizzard rose to the top of the workplace toxicity hit parade this time last year. In response to that, we know that close to 500 current and former Ubisoft Employees wrote in solidarity against ‘a widespread and deeply ingrained culture of abusive behaviours within the industry.’ Opie will no doubt be aware a year previous to the Blizzard revelation, Ubisoft was rocked by many of the same accusations that the letter claimed had yet to be addressed. “It’s been a challenging couple of years
for the industry,” says Opie, putting it rather mildly. Thankfully, keeping
June 2022 MCV/DEVELOP | 21
charges of workplace bullying and discrimination to an increasingly distant past is something that she is anxious to oversee. “I think that it’s about a constant focus and attention on transparency, and openness, and trust; giving people the opportunity to raise a flag and do so anonymously and know where to go.” Opie says she maintains an open door policy, and
will always have time to listen to any concerns. “I think hearing what people have to say is really, really important. Cultures are living breathing things. They constantly need to be looked after. You constantly need to make sure that people feel that they can speak out and that they’re heard. I think in especially successful creative organisations, it always needs to be ongoing. “These things come around for all sorts of reasons.
And the best thing about it is that people talk about them. We need to create a culture where people feel they can say what they want and speak freely because
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