A Kinder Gentler Electronic Arts



A couple of posts ago I wrote about how inspiring it was to hear EA's CEO talk about respect for creativity and the need to maintain the integrity of team. The part I missed was how EA defines a team. Internally they are developers, outside they are prey.

Recently a developer who finished a product made a responsible business decision and in the interest of ensuring the long term stability of the company let some people go. Not a fun thing to do, but something that has to be done from time to time. The funny thing is that the company will ship two games on six skus this year! I know it will shock those of you familiar with the game business, but word spread quickly. EA responded by sending emails targeted at various company employees. Since I am confident the emails were an expression of EA's altruistic desire to make every one of the developer's still employed team members feel wanted, I thought I would post them here. You can have a look after the jump.




From: Christina Kerekes
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 2:47 PM
To:
Subject: What you may not know about EA!

Hi **********,
I can see from our files that my team has corresponded with you in the past, you have an impressive profile on LinkedIn so I am both excited and also hesitant to reach out to you at this time, we have heard through the proverbial grapevine that there may be some changes in the near future at DEVELOPER so I was hoping to connect with you and share some news about EA. We are extremely proud of our new approach to acquiring talent: instead of trying to fit someone into a particular job description, we reach out and find out YOUR career goals and wishes, such as career path, studio or game of preference, etc. Then we take a hand-held approach and make sure we can meet all of the items on your career "wish list". And with all the buzz of our new re-org, coupled with a brand new line of games coming out in the next year, this is truly and exciting time to join EA! Please feel free to contact me should you want to hear more about a future with EA -- and if not, then please feel free to forward my contact information to anyone you may know who is as qualified as yourself. I look forward to hearing from you!
All the best,

Christina

Christina Kerekes
Lead SE Talent Scout
Global Recruiting
ELECTRONIC ARTS


From: Peter Grassi
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 4:21 PM
To:
Subject: Opportunity with EA

Hi ******,

I noticed you are the *** with DEVELOPER, a company we admire. Currently, we are looking for a COO at a few of our key EA studio locations. I've included a brief synopis of the role below for your review.

The COO, in partnership with the GM, is responsible for planning, oversight, and execution of the studio’s business and operating plan. Working with other leaders, the COO will drive the planning process for the studio and deliver a three year strategic plan and one year operating plan. The COO will work with studio leaders and project teams to ensure timely delivery of high quality products. A key focus for the role is to improve systems and processes to promote quality execution, improve the way we work, and foster creativity and innovation.

****, if you are interested in discussing this role, please let me know the best way to reach you.

Thanks

Peter Grassi


Senior Recruiter
Electronic Arts

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