Famitsu has published a lengthy interview with Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino in which a number of topics are covered. One of the revelations from the interview is that Level-5 employees are extensively tested on their knowledge of the company, its games, and its philosophy. Those who excel at answering the questions receive a significant pay rise. That’s not all as Hino says that those with the knowledge are ideal candidates for taking the lead on various projects. Here’s what was said via machine translation:
Mr. Hino, do you still conduct interviews for new hires?
Hino: Basically, we only have a final interview, but this year we also participated in the first selection round. That’s because I wanted to redefine what it means to “select people” these days. If we don’t truly value things like philosophy rather than superficial technical skills, we’ll end up rejecting the right people in the first interview. This “selecting people” is something we also ask our current staff, and we’re testing how well they understand the company’s content.
A test…?
Hino: That’s right. We conduct a content knowledge test, and employees who score highly will receive a salary increase of around XXXXX yen, regardless of their career level.
(All interviewers looked astonished.)
Hino Even if they’re newcomers, we’ll treat them fairly. And we’re thinking of raising this amount to XXXXX yen in the future.
Interviewers (with even more astonished expressions) — I understand the article will omit the specific amount, but it seems like it would have a big impact on staff morale.
Hino: Making games has made me realize something: when you entrust a task to someone, whether or not they have knowledge of that title is truly important. If they lack the knowledge, you’ll need other members to support and check their work. On the other hand, if they have the knowledge, they can become the central figure and streamline the work. In other words, we now consider knowledge of and love for the company’s works to be a “skill.” And it can also be said to be a part of our company’s value. You were surprised by the amount earlier, but if you consider it as a company cost, it represents an efficiency gain that is even greater than that.
