The Interview: Creating Corporate Cool!
Issue 31 - Jul 2007

EA Games, the entertainment software giant, is a company
that prides itself on fostering creativity amongst its staff.
RFP talks to Jon Niermann, President, EA Asia, on how the
built environment and corporate culture is instrumental to
business success.

the difference is...
“We have a basketball court as our reception area at our IFC office, simply because we walked in and we saw 15 foot high ceilings and we thought: basketball hoop, ten foot. Cool - that’ll work!” Jon Niermann is perhaps not a typical example of an Asian head of a US$3 bil corporation. However, in the global electronic gaming business, where customers are always demanding the newest and most exciting experience, thinking out of the box is vital. Niermann places a strong emphasis on the importance of innovation and openness to new ideas for employees and external stakeholders alike, in his own words: “We want people to embrace that type of creative thinking”.

Asked about the importance of the built environment, he says “It’s
the number one thing that attracts people, keeps them happy and
retains them.

managing Asia
When asked about the best approach to managing a diverse region that spans from New Zealand to South Africa and everything in between, Niermann cites the importance of diversity. “A lot of companies make the mistake of having a cookie cutter approach to Asia, but it doesn’t work that way”, he says. The nature of EA’s business means that three very distinct business models are in operation. The first covers Japan, where the market is all about consoles such as the Sony Playstation or Microsoft’s Xbox; and while EA is the top western publisher, Japanese games have 98 percent of the market. Localised Japanese content is the key to success and says Niermann: “We’ve started doing local development to adapt these products into the market there, which has helped”.



The second market model for EA Asia is countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Niermann says that, in terms of the markets, “These territories are similar to Europe so our approach is very alike, we take the western content and put in there with minimal changes”. This strategy has been successful and EA has 25 to 45 percent of the market there. The final market model spans everywhere else in Asia, and is “Arguably the most challenging”, he says. There is a diverse range of and demand for content, both legal and pirated, but mostly this is played on-line, and EA is currently exploring on-line models to capitalise on this area.

Jon Niermann, President, EA Asia

We have a
basketball court
as our reception
area at our IFC
office, simply
because we
walked in and
we saw 15 foot
high ceilings
and we thought:
basketball
hoop, ten foot.
Cool- that’ll
work!


It’s not about
how you
dress or how
you look. It’s
about how
comfortable
you are and
how much fun
you have each
day. Personally
I think that
leads to greater
productivity.

expanding presence
EA currently has 15 offices and three studios in Asia, many of which have been opened within the last few years. When approaching a new market, securing local support is a big part of the process. “I think one of our keys to success is that we admit upfront that we’re not experts in local markets”, says Niermann. The first step is “To hire locally or find a local partner”, and their knowledge is then leveraged to find the right space Niermann says the process is not too difficult, “We say: ‘hey, where do you want your office to be’, and then we went and got that locally”. EA’s global RE team based out of the US is there to support on the corporate standards and requirements, and Niermann himself is involved in the lease negotiation on the ground.

One of the main challenges of implementing new offices for an organisation of this type is the technology requirements. For the development studios in Japan, China and Singapore “IT requirements are very high, and we use Maya and similar type software”, explains Niermann. “We’ve also implemented Oracle all across the company, and we’re now focusing on digital downloads into markets so that’s a whole new aspect of requirements”. In addition to that, EA also relies on POS programmes such as Vision for real time sales and market data. Generally, Niermann observes, “Hardware comes from local sources”, as this avoids complexities in importing the materials into Asian markets.

a work community
One of EA’s global key values is “a sense of community and a one-class culture”. This ideal shows that everybody is equally valued by the corporation, and an open environment is key to this. In the US offices this translates directly into the physical environment with all open plan seating and no reserved car parking space for senior executives. In Asia, says Niermann, “We do have local adaptation, but we try to remain I think 80 percent true to that corporate culture”. A big part of that is accessibility: the ability for every employee to contact each other, “regardless of the hierarchy”. For example, he explains that “Here in Asia, we do have executive offices because I think culturally people do want privacy”. While the open corporate culture is preserved in the design using glass partitions, it is important to be
practical and flexible to local needs.

space to create
When fostering a creative work culture, a hugely important factor is the employee experience at work, “It’s not about how you dress or how you look. It’s about how comfortable you are and how much fun you have each day. Personally, I think that leads to greater productivity if it means people work the hours that they need to work to get their jobs done”, says Niermann, who also highlights the importance of a work/life balance. Unlike many large corporations, EA actually puts its money where its mouth is on this issue, and in Asia where there is a culture of long work hours Niermann says that “It starts with the GM leading by example, showing flexibility with their own schedules”.

To help facilitate a laid back work community environment, EA puts a lot of care into creating exciting corporate offices. Besides the inclusion of open space, bright colours and pictures, communal areas have a high priority. Niermann describes the break-out area in their Hong Kong HQ, designed to be “Like a real coffee shop, somewhere you can go in to hang out and relax, read the paper”. Wifi enabled, Niermann is delighted to have “A different environment within the office: somewhere people can be comfortable in”. Unlike many similar corporate areas that look great but are underutilised, the flexible work culture at EA means that “People will go in there, they’ll have their cappuccino and be sitting on a bench, doing some emails or taking a call”, he says.

built environment - corporate culture
For Niermann, having great offices and facilities is one of the best methods for inspiring employees. When asked about the importance of the built environment, he says “It’s the number one thing that attracts people, keeps them happy and retains them”. A lot of people don’t want to work, he continues, and “There is nothing worse than having to work in that library atmosphere, people are just trying to kill eight to ten hours a day”. That type of attitude is anathema to facilitating creativity and achieving results, so “You might as well make work enjoyable at the end of the day.”

EA are lucky to have low staff turnover, even in the dynamic Asian job markets, and the investment in their workplace and flexible culture seems to be paying
dividends. At the end of the day, says Niermann, people spend a huge proportion of their lives in the office, “I want people to come in and be part of an environment that they’re really proud of, that they think is fun, that they think is unique they call their own and are really comfortable in. It really truly ecomes a home away from home”. RFP

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