Glassdoor Updates
Sky Betting & Gaming CEO: “I Really Believe We Have a Better Culture Than Most Organisations”
Glassdoor Team
Glassdoor Team | Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 6 Dec 2018
Tech gaming company, Sky Betting & Gaming, was this week crowned as UK’s #6 Best Place To Work in 2019, beating the likes of SAP, Taylor Wimpey, Capital One and Google. So, how does a Leeds-based online gaming company manage to be a better place to work than some of the biggest and most popular brands in the world?
Here we speak to their new CEO, Ian Proctor, to find out how they encourage openness and collaboration across the business and understand how they believe their culture is better than most UK organisations.
What does it mean to have your employees honour the company as a 2019 Best Place to Work?
We are very proud to have achieved such a high ranking from the people that matter most- our employees. We also recognise the importance and reputation of the Glassdoor awards, which of course makes the achievement even more significant, as we aim to attract and retain the very best talent from the region and beyond.
What are two or three steps your company has taken within the last year to double down on company culture, employee engagement and employee feedback that may have led to this win?
At Sky Betting and Gaming, we encourage a culture of openness and collaboration. It’s important to us that our staff feel they are empowered to try new things all the time, some which will succeed, others that won’t, but failing fast is also important as we learn together. If I was to call out just two developments in the last year, I would mention the coaching culture we are embedding right from early days in the Management Academy throughout the company, which aims to provide individuals with the skills required to benefit from more effective conversations with colleagues. The second would be scrapping the ratings based annual assessment system to determine bonus. This has been replaced by a guaranteed thank you bonus, paving the way for much more constructive and high-quality conversations with line managers.
This award speaks volumes about the company but also signals to job seekers that this is an amazing place to work. Why should job seekers apply for an open role at Sky Betting & Gaming. What are two to three benefits, practices or traditions that are unique to your company?
I believe we really do have a different and better culture here than most organisations, it’s something we’ve worked hard at. We like to be informal, challenge traditional rules/ways of working, operate under a flat structure, and do everything we can to make the working environment both fun and stimulating.
What kinds of roles are your company prioritising right now? What types of innovation are you investing in within that specific department?
We’ve always got opportunities for talented technologists, and we make sure we invest in cutting-edge software and hardware for them to work with. We’re focusing a lot at the moment on using Kotlin, Kubernetes, Kafka, Node.js & React to build our next generation products – but don’t worry if you’re not up to speed on them. As well as hundreds of learning and training courses, we have our own in-house Tech Academy, where we upskill our engineers on the latest technologies. And we offer every new starter in technology a £1000 Tech Ninja fund for them to spend on their own development.
Glassdoor is all about transparency and helping people everywhere find a job and company they love. What insights can you share about the interview process at Sky Betting & Gaming. What types of questions do you ask?
The reason that we’ve been so successful over the years is all down to our culture and ways of working. So, we try to hire people who can work our way. People who are collaborative, curious and driven to make betting and gaming better. So, you can generally expect questions relating to The SBG Way, our behaviours and ways of working. Those interviewing for Tech roles will also have the opportunity to sit our Tech Test, measuring technological capability.
What keeps you at the company for the long haul? What advice would you give to companies focused on retention?
Our learning culture and the constant challenge are what our people tell us they value. Also the freedom to contribute in a way that matters to each individual colleague. We ensure our people are focused on a clear goal, the rest is up to them.
Workplaces are evolving and its people who like change, are adaptable and keen to progress who tend to be happiest, so being comfortable with autonomy and with a drive to push harder and go further is important.
Apply for jobs at Sky Betting & Gaming today!
Glassdoor Team
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