EA BCI Resilience Handbook

Welcome to the Resilience Handbook, an integral part of our commitment to nurturing a resilient, vibrant, and thriving community at EA. In the ever-evolving and challenging landscape of the video game industry, resilience is not just a skill but a necessity. This handbook is crafted to guide you through the process of building and maintaining resilience, ensuring that you are equipped to handle the unique demands and dynamic challenges of our industry and environment.

How to Use This Handbook

This handbook is designed as a quick-reference tool, a companion to your resilience journey at EA.

To get the most out of it:

1. Familiarize with Concepts: Start with the section on ‘Understanding Resilience’ to grasp the basic concepts and their relevance in your work and personal life.
2. Engage with Practical Tools: Proceed to the ‘Practical Tools for Resilience’ for actionable strategies and tips that you can apply in various scenarios.
3. Reflect on Case Studies: The ‘Case Studies’ section offers real-world examples and testimonials, providing insights into how resilience can be effectively practiced.
4. Utilize Resources: Finally, explore the ‘Resources’ section for additional materials and support services that can aid in your resilience journey.

Remember, this handbook is a living document, designed to evolve and grow as you do. It’s here to support you in becoming more resilient, adaptable, and fulfilled in your role at EA.

What is Resilience?

Resilience is the ability to bounce forward from challenges and adapt to change with agility and strength. In the context of our work at EA, resilience is not just about enduring difficulties; it’s about learning from them and emerging stronger. It’s the mental, emotional, and physical resilience that enables us to navigate the unpredictable and often high-pressure world of video game development and communication with confidence and creativity.

The Importance of Resilience in the Workplace

Here’s why resilience is crucial in our workplace:

1. Adapting to Change: The video game industry is dynamic and ever-evolving. Resilience helps us adapt to new technologies, market trends, and consumer preferences with ease and agility.
2. Creative Problem-Solving: Facing challenges is part and parcel of our creative process. Resilient team members can turn obstacles into opportunities, fostering innovation and growth.
3. Maintaining Well-being: Resilience is key to maintaining our mental and emotional well-being amidst deadlines and high expectations. It allows us to manage stress effectively and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
4. Fostering a Positive Work Environment: Resilient teams contribute to a supportive and positive work culture. They are more collaborative, open to learning, and ready to support each other in times of need.

By cultivating resilience, we not only enhance our individual capabilities but also strengthen the collective fabric of our team, leading to a more productive, innovative, and enjoyable workplace.

1.  Shared Goals and Responsibilities: The BCI team is unified by a strong sense of purpose, targeting specific brand goals while engaging with our audience. We possess a rich skill set that allows us to handle diverse responsibilities efficiently. 

2.  Team Expertise and Collaboration: Team members are experts in their disciplines and are encouraged to bring their unique experiences and knowledge to create consistent messages across multiple channels. 

3.  Community Engagement Successes: Despite numerous challenges, the team has success stories related to community engagement, showing their resilience and capability in fostering strong relations with external stakeholders.

Dealing with Toxicity in Community Interactions

In the digital space, we sometimes encounter toxicity. It’s crucial to handle these interactions with professionalism and poise. Remember:

1. Stay Calm: Keep your responses measured and professional.
2. Enforce Boundaries: Clearly communicate our community guidelines.
3. Escalate When Necessary: Don’t hesitate to involve a supervisor if the situation escalates.

Courageous Conversations

Engaging in courageous conversations is about addressing difficult topics directly yet respectfully. Tips include:

1. Prepare: Understand the issue thoroughly.
2. Empathize: Acknowledge the other person’s perspective.
3. Stay Constructive: Focus on solutions, not blame.

Compassion

Compassion in communication means:

1. Listening Actively: Show genuine interest in others’ thoughts and feelings.
2. Being Understanding: Recognize and respect different viewpoints.
3. Offering Support: Provide help when needed.

Situation Agility

Being agile in communication involves:

1. Adapting: Tailor your message to the context and audience.
2. Responding Promptly: Timely responses show attentiveness.
3. Being Clear and Concise: Avoid misunderstandings with clear messaging.

Influence

To effectively influence:

1. Build Credibility: Be knowledgeable and trustworthy.
2. Understand Your Audience: Know what resonates with them.
3. Communicate With Confidence: Express your ideas assertively and clearly.

Scenario 1: Emotional Fatigue and Community Backlash 

Jane: Jane is working on managing community feedback regarding the latest game update. She encounters a flood of negative comments on Reddit, accusing the team of being lazy and incompetent. 

She feels: Overwhelmed and personally attacked, which makes her second-guess her abilities. 

Impact: She becomes hesitant to engage with the community and starts to procrastinate on her other responsibilities, fearing more backlash. 

Scenario 2: Distress Due to Multiple Responsibilities 

Mike: Mike is juggling content creation, social media management, and interacting with players on Discord. He’s also responsible for internal communication within cross-functional teams. 

He feels: Overwhelmed and stressed due to the plethora of tasks, leading to a decline in his work quality. 

Impact: He starts making small but critical errors, like posting inaccurate information, which tarnishes the brand’s image and frustrates his teammates. 

Scenario 3: Adapting to New Technologies 

Emily: Emily has been asked to migrate existing community guidelines and resources to a new platform the company is adopting. 

She feels: Frustrated and unmotivated as she has to learn the new system from scratch while still managing her daily responsibilities. 

Impact: The migration process takes longer than expected, causing a delay in other projects and creating a backlog that adds stress to the entire team. 

Scenario 4: Struggling with Creative Limitations 

Carlos: Carlos is responsible for developing new strategies to engage the community and promote the latest game release. However, budget restrictions and a lack of clear direction from higher-ups limit his creative options. 

He feels: Stifled and unvalued, as he believes his expertise is not being fully utilized. 

Impact: His disenchantment starts to affect his performance, and he becomes less proactive, leading to mediocre community engagement results. 

Scenario 5: Global Team Coordination 

Sara: Sara is based in a different time zone from most of her team members, making it challenging to collaborate and keep up with updates. 

She feels: Isolated and left out, missing the sense of team cohesion and instant communication that her colleagues in other time zones experience. 

Impact: She sometimes misses critical updates and feels disconnected, which affects her morale and causes delays in her projects.

Scenario 6: Dealing with Internal and External Issues 

Jun: Jun is a key partner for a third-party entity with an upcoming collaboration with EA but due to a controversial remark made by a public figure in the third-party entity, there’s been strong, opposing reactions to the collaboration internally.

They feel: At fault and helpless at the situation, as they could not foresee the remarks of the public figure, nor could they help the initial subjectivity of the internal reactions to the situation.

Impact: They question their skills and abilities, and lose confidence in the work, time, effort and trust they’ve built with both sets of partners.

Scenario 7: Dealing with Highly Disturbing Content

Cade: Experiences highly inappropriate images submitted on our Community forums that have to be moderated.

They feel: Emotionally distressed at the underage images which impacts his ability to continue focusing on work throughout the day and coming weeks. 

Impact: This type of content can second guess whether they want to continue this role for the long haul and can contribute to burnout.

Scenario 8: Everything is a Priority 

Sophie: Sophie is a team lead and is responsible for people across multiple functions. The range of franchises and functions covered by her team lead her to dealing with a huge spectrum of issues, from corporate politics to urgent player outreach issues.

She feels: Overwhelmed. Everything is labeled urgent and she has to deal with “fires” constantly to manage the scope of work and decision-making for her team.

Impact: She feels doubtful of her role, her abilities and embittered by the process that’s created an environment of urgency on every item.

After each live session, we’ll paste the key slides in this section!

What to Expect from Your Manager

Your manager plays a key role in your professional journey at EA. You can expect them to be a source of guidance, support, and feedback. They are committed to helping you achieve your career goals while ensuring your well-being and job satisfaction. Your manager will provide clarity on your roles and responsibilities, help identify your strengths and areas for growth, and facilitate access to necessary resources and training opportunities.

How to Communicate Your Needs to Management

Effective communication with your manager is vital. Here’s how you can effectively communicate your needs:

1. Be Clear and Specific: When discussing your needs, be specific about what support or resources you require. Provide context and explain how this will help you in your role.
2. Schedule Regular Check-ins: Set up regular one-on-one meetings with your manager to discuss your progress, challenges, and career aspirations. Use these opportunities to express your needs and seek feedback.
3. Prepare for Discussions: Before meetings, prepare a list of topics or issues you want to discuss. This helps in having a focused and productive conversation.
4. Seek Feedback and Advice: Don’t hesitate to ask for feedback on your work. Constructive feedback can provide valuable insights into your performance and areas for improvement.
5. Be Open to Solutions: Sometimes, the support you need may come in different forms than expected. Be open to alternative solutions or suggestions from your manager.

Your manager is here to support your journey at EA, so make the most of this valuable relationship to advance your career and personal growth.

Please share stories of success (What Went Well) on Slack at…

Successes and Valued Contributions: “Completing a community council with useful feedback that our developers are excited to implement; Delivering a plan that is well-received by all partners and receiving praise from those partners.” 

Team Culture and Trust: “Excited to get support from each other during a hard campaign (team building trust); Seeing team culture efforts (Slack channels, informal meetings to get to know each other, team newsletter reactions).”

Who to contact.

Becoming a champion.