Industry predictions: workplace culture creativity and data-driven design

Laura Probert, chief people officer, Scientific Games Digital

Laura Probert, Scientific Games Digital

Greater creative thinking around workplace culture

No longer do Google, Facebook and other global organisations have the shortcut of offering lavish office-based perks such as free food, luxury spaces in prime locations and foosball tables, as most companies now have their staff working from home. For many, this is not ideal as most employees are in their late 20s to early 30s and are on the cusp of either living at home with their parents, sharing with flatmates or starting a family. With traditional social events unlikely to return as they were, we now have to get much more creative about how we connect on a human level, as this is what bonds us to an organisation and creates that psychological contract. The question is how we replace that while being remote and beyond a vaccine when office attendance will be lower.

When we do meet, we will do it with the main aim of connection, socialising and being human. I predict that the office space as we know it will disappear, with cheaper, more relaxed, collaborative spaces being in high demand that can be used as required. Companies that stick rigidly to the old ways of working will find it harder and harder to attract top talent as they can go elsewhere for a more flexible approach. The holy grail now is to find how to inject fun into the culture as being at home all day on video calls is not how most would describe enjoyable. I have not heard of anyone cracking that one yet, but the companies that do will be in demand and copied.

Introduction of global recruitment strategies

With people now accustomed to working remotely, companies are far less restricted when it comes to finding new individuals. Rather than being constrained to those available within certain locations, the talent pool has grown considerably and organisations are already changing the way in which they recruit new employees. People may start seeing the world as their workplace and moving to countries that perhaps they always dreamed of without having to leave their job. Companies need to find ways of making this possible, with carefully designed tax support. If they don’t, others will and everyone will want to work for them.

Greater focus on mobile technology

Being able to access everything through your mobile device has always been a trend but that will need accelerating in the coming year. Companies will spend more money on taking their technology to a better level to support the increased pressure upon it.

John Gordon, founder and CEO, Incentive Games

John Gordon, Incentive Games

Rise of free-to-play games and original content

We’ve seen the industry struggle with customer loyalty for years, and we’ve seen the gradual increase in the popularity of free-to-play games. 2021 will mark the year where free-to-play games become a necessity as opposed to a nice-to-have for increasing customer loyalty and attracting new customers. Providing the latest free-to-play games, and other original content, will become pivotal for remaining at the forefront of the industry.

Virtuals will take more of a centre stage

Having previously been relegated to side content, virtuals has cemented itself as a staple vertical after the cancellation of live sporting events over the summer. Trust has been built and this vertical will continue to grow. We can expect to see some exciting new developments in this space particularly for developing markets which has largely been overlooked on how to deliver virtual sports adequately.

The changing of the guard

2021 will see the beginnings of a considerable industry change. The Covid crisis and then the subsequent shift to online has accelerated the revenues and creativity in this space. There is an opportunity for some new and exciting companies to come in and shake things up. Gone are the days of spending money on bet 10, get 10, customers are too smart for that; now is the time for data-driven design and gamification (wink wink).