It’s been about three weeks since Riot was first accused of sexual discrimination and misogyny in the workplace. Riot issued a formal apology shortly after but now they have finally laid out their plan to improve the company.
The 7-step plan starts off with another apology in which Riot addresses multiple interest groups such as Rioters themselves, players and fans, partners, and potential future employees. They state that Riot has not been the place that it promised its employees and that they have let down their fans and players of the game. They also ask partners to have patience while they fix things internally and ask for potential future employees to still give Riot a shot and that Riot is in desperate need of employees with a fresh point of view.
Now onto the actual plan. The first 2 steps that Riot wants to take are centered around the culture of the workplace, which was described as a frat house by former employees. They will do so with a new team that is put in place to lead culture change within Riot that is focused on keeping the parts of the culture that work and changing the rest. The other change focused on culture is to revisit the cultural definitions that the company has put in place in the past. They will go as far as changing their entire manifesto if it needs to be.
The next 2 steps of the plan are centered around evaluation and investigation, for both of which Riot has hired third-parties to help them out. The first third-party that Riot has hired are, according to Riot, leading consultants on culture change. These consultants will help Riot with evaluating the culture within the company and how Riot can become a leader of the industry with regards to diversity and inclusion. The second third-party will assist Riot with investigations regarding claims and accusations made within the workplace. According to Riot, nobody in the company is sacred which is why they brought in an unbiased third-party. Riot has also installed an anonymous hotline where Rioters can issue complaints if anything happens within the workplace.
The last 3 steps are mainly centered around the employees and future employees of Riot. They will be overhauling all job descriptions so that hiring new employees will be an easier process but also fairer to anyone that applies, regardless of gender or race. Riot is also going to double down on trainings. Trainings that were once only mandatory for higher-ups will now be mandatory for all employees. These trainings will include anti-bias training, interview training, inclusion training, and more. Managers will receive new trainings on how to build and support teams and all these trainings will be mandatory. Lastly, Riot is in the process of hiring two new people for their D&I. A Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO).
It’s good to see that Riot is actually committing to changing the company and culture in the workplace, rather than just issuing a public apology and sweeping it under the rug. It’s still too early to say whether the changes will actually work or if Riot will just stay the same, however, this plan is definitely a step in the right direction.
