In response to ShadowFox's blog post, Britt, our director, has written a lengthy reply in the comments area. Britt has also given the green light for me to post this up, to clear up any misunderstandings about the games competition and also Titoonic's approach in looking for talents.
We're even inviting him to drop by our office to have a cup of coffee and talk to us!
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Dear Shadowfox,
As the director of the Danish chapter of Titoonic, I feel I must respond to your comment about our upcoming event in Kuala Lumpur.
Off course I do not agree to most of your comments.
However, when I read through your comments I understand that you can get the impression, if you do not know Titoonic as a company.
We have the best intentions when we ask people to participate in a workshop before we hire them.
First of all we want to see how people work creatively.
Are they capable of working with others? Or do they have huge egos so they prefer to work solo? Can they come up with creative solutions quickly? Can they work independently?
We also want to evaluate people’s social skills, as it is important for us to hire a group of people, that actually likes to bee around other people, and that are capable of having a social life with their colleagues. That’s crucial if you want to create a creative environment where people can develop their skills and competencies.
To invite people to a workshop also gives the participant the opportunity to see how we work and what values we honor. Not to mention to actually meet some of their future colleagues, before they decide if they are still interested in working for us.
We care a lot about our employees and we want them to feel comfortable also when they are at work.
It is important for us that our employees have a good balance between work and life in general. You couldn’t be more wrong when you assume that we want to be a sweatshop. We rarely have people working more than the average 8 hours pr day (Mon. to Fri.) and if they do, we often give them the extra time off at another time.
Do have in mind that we are not asking people to sign a contract just because they are coming to the workshop. We even compensate some of their expenses and give them the opportunity to win a prize that I myself would find valuable. You may be so privileged that it’s not a problem for you to buy those prizes yourself, but where I come from it is a fairly reasonable prize. There might be a cultural difference here that I am not aware of, and I apologize if that is the case.
All that in mind I really think that we are doing an effort to evaluate people thoroughly. And even giving the ones a chance that might not have a shiny CV but still would be excellent flash people. Everyone needs to be given a first chance to prove their worth before they can have that shiny CV that opens doors.
For the record we are still looking at people’s resumes. That’s why we ask you to send it in when you register for the workshop.
However it is my experience that if you are only having interviews with people and looking at their resumes, it is the easiest thing to claim, that you are creative and good at teamwork, instead of showing it!
The workshop is a way of getting to know each other a little bit better, before we decide to work together. That way we hopefully are not wasting each other’s time.
I would also like to say, that Titoonic is one of the bests and most experienced companies in our field in Denmark, and we are proud of what we are making! We do projects for some of the most important and experienced companies in and outside Denmark, and have a track record I myself are proud of.
Also, it would not be unfair to ask people to produce a small flash game in two days where I come from. But that might, again, also be a cultural difference, and accept my apology again if that is the case.
I am a bit concerned that you have got the wrong impression about Titoonic and our intensions of having a workshop.
Let me invite you out for lunch this week and let’s have a chat about the game development environment in Malaysia. As we are new here, we certainly could learn something from you. And I am quite interested in hearing your point of views.
I would also like to hear something about what do you dream of, and what your ideal working environment looks like? Maybe I could learn something from you, about how people from Malaysia prefer to work?
You are also welcome to come by the office for a cup of coffee and meet the team here, so you can see how we work.
My best regards
Britt Bargfeldt
Director Titoonic A/S
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