Page 24 - Developer

exiting gracefully
Not every studio closure has to be a 38 Studios-esque gossip-strewn 1. If you have no money and you cannot guarantee salary—and you
affair. I was with Pandemic Studios when it closed in 2009, and its closure know it—don’t let your employees work another day.
was as well thought out and orderly a process as one could expect. A huge 2. If you terminate your employees and still haven’t paid their
group of HR agents and escorts were on hand to manage the process, group wages, then the clock starts ticking.
meetings were delivered on each floor to make the announcement and
outline the procedures for termination, and support programs to help people In the situation where you have unpaid wages, the following rules then go
write résumés and find new jobs were discussed. Surprisingly, there was into effect:
laughter and smiles, unsurprisingly mixed with melancholy and sadness. In
the end, Pandemic’s closure was executed in a manner meant not just to care 1. Each day that goes unpaid is charged a full day’s wages.
for the employees, but to engender a little bit of hope in them as they left the 2. This goes on for 30 days.
office for the last time. If you have to close, that’s how you want to do it. Given
that I was also one of those employees who received my layoff notice that After this period, the laws regarding unpaid wages are different in every
day, I can tell you that I’m not speaking from the perspective of those who state. In California, we could have incurred penalties from the state; in other
were in charge that day. states, it could have been a misdemeanor or even a felony.

judgment calls pr epping the employe es
The bottom line is that closing a studio is a horrible experience no Preparing the employees for the studio shutdown can be the difference
matter what you (or anyone else) do. People in charge never relish the between a chaotic closure and an orderly, responsible one. Here are some
opportunity to do layoffs or mass firings. The best thing to do is not lose suggestions and guidelines on how to bring the house down while limiting
focus of the people during the process. Focus on closing your studio in collateral damage.
the fairest way possible. This starts with being honest not only to your Close your studio earlier than you want to. In an ideal scenario, it would
employees, but to yourself. It’s very easy to justify keeping the team in the be best to prep for a shutdown before you have run out of money. It’s not
dark, telling yourself that you are shielding them from harm, but most of easy, of course; often, many founders are extremely driven individuals who
the time this is just nonsense. The selfish part of you is saying “If I tell them may have misplaced optimism regarding the state of the company, and can
what’s going on, they’ll leave,” but the compassionate part of you is saying, end up being their own worst enemy. But if the reality is that you have only
“I need to let them know what’s going on.” one month of funds left with no potential financial solutions on the horizon,
If your conscience still hasn’t triumphed, you might be more persuaded you might be better off laying off your staff with at least one month of
by the law: The simple fact is that you cannot let people work for free, knowing severance and outstanding vacation pay.
that you cannot pay them. (See the Fair Labor Standards Act in the Resources Tell everyone together. Ultimately, it’s best to perform a mass layoff
section.) Two things are important here: together, as a company, in one room. If you are a larger organization, you

ILLUSTRATIONS BY jUAN RAmIRez

22 game developer | october 2012