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Ubisoft has outlined its approach to dealing with its reportedly toxic culture which permitted sexual abuse and misconduct to occur without consequence.
Last week, a number of stories were told of endemic harassment and misconduct from Ubisoft employees and Ubisoft’s workplaces. Due to the internal investigative process, the developer was unable to share anything specific, but it is known that director Ashraf Ismail and “several” others have been placed on administrative leave. Now, an email sent to Ubisoft staff has been published by Gamasutra, and it details what the developer intends to do about its worrying culture.
There will be a “multidisciplinary working group” who will be responsible for the effectiveness of new “solutions and tools to detect, report and resolve any incident or serious problem without delay and in an impartial manner.” As well as an internal investigation, external consultants will also be involved in this process. Additionally, CEO Yves Guillemot and chief talent and communications officer Cecile Cornet have addressed the allegations and the approach to resolving them.
“I have gathered all of my direct reports to address this subject and your feedback. I would like us to thoroughly review all of our systems so that these types of situations cannot happen again,” said Guillemot in the email, and Cornet emphasised the need for “greater transparency” in the system. “Some of these investigations end in sanctions (warnings with required training, suspensions, dismissal), while others prove groundless,” they explained, and announced the development of an “anonymous online reporting tool.” This tool will be available at the end of this month.
“[This tool] will be managed by the Corporate Social Responsibility team in HQ,” continued Cornet. “In the meantime, we have set up [a] mailing list and I want to thank those of you who have already reached out and with whom we are in contact.” Investigations will range from “two weeks to two months depending on the case,” and each investigation will not be public knowledge in order to protect all of the parties involved.
“Diversity and inclusion trainings have started in multiple locations but we need to go further and provide specific training on harassment, sexism and all forms of discrimination in the workplace,” concluded Cornet.
