Jagex: Mental health comes from our values

Once an overlooked issue, the importance of mental health has become more recognised as a global concern over the last ten years. The gaming industry has had to look hard at itself to discover if well-intentioned words were matched with action, or if the entire DNA and culture of studios had to be re-worked to support the mental health of the people within.

At Jagex, positive mental health has always been an important part of our culture, and we were early champions of initiatives that could make a difference to the lives of our employees. But dedicated counselling support and programmes designed to encourage transparency around mental health are not enough; we knew we had to do more.

After a great start to our mental health journey, our new Chief People Officer for Jagex, Keeley Vaughan-Davies, is keen to ensure that great start isn’t the end of our story.

Supporting people to become their best
Vaughan-Davies has held similar roles over the last ten years in financial technology industries, and specialised in companies that were transforming, needing cultural change, or going through a cultural transformation. Wherever she’s worked, she’s had to implement a clear cultural definition and a transformation to the way people work in the organisation and how they are supported.

A firm believer in giving people the support to be the best they can be, she knows first-hand how important personal growth is to a culture.

“Culture and values are so important to our business and any action we undertake in teams, as a business and as an industry," Vaughan-Davies explains. "There are plenty of companies where culture is viewed as just a fluffy HR thing that sits on the side. At Jagex, it’s not that way at all. Our people really want to be part of a movement around culture – they volunteer to participate, they help build it and help embed it in the business. That’s something really rare and special and one of the many great things about the team here.”

Vaughan-Davies could see that the gaming industry is special - people are so willing to get hold of an idea and run with it. They want to embrace it, be part of it, help build it and help iterate it, and she knew this would be a key driver to her work in terms of setting the values and culture.

Defining culture through collaboration
Recently, the studio spent a lot of time redefining our culture; we went through many iterations through various workshops. Some of those early workshops were two full days, but true to form, people were completely engaged in those two full days.

“We put a million post-it notes on the walls to piece our culture together, and at the end of it, you could see how much passion was in the room to make this thing come to life," says Vaughan-Davies.

"That isn't something you always get. It's the first time I've experienced that in my career. You can always find people that will be keen enough to bring on a journey, and they'll be engaged enough to make it happen, but finding so many people with that level of engagement and commitment is invigorating.

This was evident from the rest of the executive team, as well.

“We have really aligned values and even before we defined the 'lead with heart' value, it felt like we were organically leading with heart every day. Since we’ve redefined the culture, the whole exec team really care about bringing it to life. Positive intentions and passion are a great start and makes this team a joy to work with.”

"Building the culture should be a series of conversations. It's not something that can be done in a vacuum"

Challenges to make it right
While passion and commitment in evolving our culture from senior leadership was apparent, it was just as important to hear challenges to make sure we got the culture right.

Vaughan-Davies built this into the process. “When we had follow-up sessions for different levels in the organisation, people were very willing to push back and challenge ideas built by senior leaders because they felt so passionate about the culture here. They wanted to make sure it was right and were not afraid to share their opinions. They made sure their voices were heard. No matter who took part, everyone was engaged in the workshops to ensure that where we landed was something they felt good about, too.”

For Vaughan-Davies, this was critical: “If you want to make something that's actually relevant for the company -- not just set of buzz words that could sit on a wall anywhere -- you have to hear objections, challenges and aspirations. You have to be real about what the great parts of your culture are, what you want to preserve and where you want to really focus to keep on improving.”

So we rebuilt our values together, looking at what we were doing across the business, how we communicate with our staff, and how we want our employees to feel. We had to examine how we support our people on their journey with us, and make sure we are all on the same path toward success.

“Building the culture should be a series of conversations," Vaughan-Davies continues. "It's not something that can be done in a vacuum and then just imposed upon people. They need to be part of creating what it looks like in the first place. It’s not possible for a small group of individuals to really get a good understanding of a culture’s starting point or where we need to focus for improvement. Only by really looking at where you are today, and focusing on those specific points can you try and build the culture that you want.

Doing all that work and hearing all those voices takes time, but spending that time means you can create something that should resonate with enough people and create a proper movement in the organisation.”

Mental health at the heart
It’s clear that mental health is a big part of that vision, and it’s at the heart of the culture Vaughan-Davies has helped to create. Inclusivity and treating people with respect; that all are seen heard, and have a voice; where they feel they're included as part of the team - all of that matters. At Jagex, we recognise the strength of people's different experiences, from their life, history, diverse thinking and diverse ideas.

“Those strengths are also important to articulate in the culture we set," details Vaughan-Davies. "Embracing diversity of thought and being inclusive were already an important part of our culture, DNA and who we are, but we had to clearly articulate what we expect and care about as an organisation. We want to make sure that everyone that joins this business experiences this as an important part of our culture regardless of the team they sit in, their location or any other reason. It’s something the company already does well, but we wanted to provide that clarity because it's so important to us.”

“What good looks like is when people have the psychological safety to feel like they can really be themselves"

Our values enshrine the importance we place on making diversity, equality and inclusion possible. Vaughan-Davies continues: “What good looks like is when people have the psychological safety to feel like they can really be themselves. They don't have to show up in any different way other than who they are, and they feel comfortable to bring all of the different experiences they've had because of it.

"We all have different journeys in our lives; when people can bring some of those experiences to the table and we are able to listen, it makes us better. And when we understand that our unique skill sets and ways of thinking are our superpowers, it makes us stronger.”

And clarity is key, too, says Vaughan-Davies. “We have to be transparent enough about who we are, so people can make informed decisions about whether or not this is the right kind of place for them. When people do make the great decision of joining us, they can do so knowing they can be themselves and do their best work because they are accepted.”

This is one of many reasons Vaughan-Davies is delighted to launch our Level-Up partnership with Safe In Our World today. It shows our commitment to our people, our studio and the industry to further our ambitions for mental health. For Jagex, we now have a culture that makes it possible to achieve those goals.

Just the start
The journey we have ahead is now defined. We’ll know we’ve succeeded when our people totally understand what the culture looks like and they're energised by it. We’ll hire people who also understand who we are. Our leaders will fully and clearly articulate the culture and we can interview people on the basis of it.

We’ll have a positive impact on efficiency in the business, because we've removed challenges and barriers. We’ll have increased transparency and clarity and more so, people will know on an individual basis how their role helps the company make forever games to empower their community.

Everything we value will be in everything we do, and this is what Vaughan-Davies is working towards. “You will be able to feel the culture in this company when you join here, and it will be in every part of your employee life cycle. When you’re part of this business, you'll feel it in all the stages of your journey.”

Keeley Vaughan Davies is the Chief People Officer for Jagex, and is responsible for Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, Employee Experience, HR Business Partnering, Facilities and Internal Communications.

Resources:
Safe In Our World
Time to Change
The Samaritans
Suicide Prevention
The Mental Health Foundation
SaneLine