Emphasis on onboarding helps German Goodgame crack the global code
25 March 2015
Attracting talent from across the globe and asking them to up sticks and move to Hamburg can prove quite a challenge, but German gaming software developer Goodgame Studios believes it has cracked the code.
Thu, 26 Mar 2015
Attracting talent from across the globe and asking them to up sticks and move to Hamburg can prove quite a challenge, but German gaming software developer Goodgame Studios believes it has cracked the code.
Speaking to Recruiter, Goodgame’s head of talent acquisition Ina Bourmer (pictured) says a real emphasis on onboarding means the Hamburg-based company can successfully recruit from a global talent pool.
She offered an example of the most recent intake: 43 new recruits from 16 different countries, including Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, starting this month [March].
“It’s not hard to find them but we know it is not just a matter of finding them… it’s a matter of integrating them.”
A dedicated onboarding team of eight people will begin by showing new recruits a video about life in Hamburg, so they know what to expect, as well as helping them start to learn German. When the recruits arrive, the team helps them find accommodation, open a bank account, look for schools or kindergartens and more.
“We know that there are many people who wouldn’t have started if we didn’t have the onboarding team because it is a matter of coming here, taking care of your bank account; looking for housing; finding a job for the spouse; getting language courses, learning German, also for the spouse; looking for international schools and so on.”
The onboarding team also helps German recruits who are moving from other areas, though generally only for more senior hires.
The company employs about 1,200 people from around 60 different nationalities and has roughly 30 recruiters, or sourcers as Bourmer refers to them, who are constantly scouring social and professional networking sites, as well as forums and other online groups, to keep tabs on talent.
Speaking to Recruiter, Goodgame’s head of talent acquisition Ina Bourmer (pictured) says a real emphasis on onboarding means the Hamburg-based company can successfully recruit from a global talent pool.
She offered an example of the most recent intake: 43 new recruits from 16 different countries, including Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, starting this month [March].
“It’s not hard to find them but we know it is not just a matter of finding them… it’s a matter of integrating them.”
A dedicated onboarding team of eight people will begin by showing new recruits a video about life in Hamburg, so they know what to expect, as well as helping them start to learn German. When the recruits arrive, the team helps them find accommodation, open a bank account, look for schools or kindergartens and more.
“We know that there are many people who wouldn’t have started if we didn’t have the onboarding team because it is a matter of coming here, taking care of your bank account; looking for housing; finding a job for the spouse; getting language courses, learning German, also for the spouse; looking for international schools and so on.”
The onboarding team also helps German recruits who are moving from other areas, though generally only for more senior hires.
The company employs about 1,200 people from around 60 different nationalities and has roughly 30 recruiters, or sourcers as Bourmer refers to them, who are constantly scouring social and professional networking sites, as well as forums and other online groups, to keep tabs on talent.
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