While estimates vary, the global video gaming industry is worth over $120 billion. In Australia, the video game development industry continues to grow in size. According to the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA), between 2018 – 2019, the Australian gaming industry generated $143.5 million – that’s 21% up from 2017.
However, there is a skill shortage across programmers, artists, management, marketing, and producers, making it difficult to meet up to the growing demand. This means that the opportunity for new talents is set to increase. As gaming companies look to fill in roles, should background checks be a requirement? The post aims to explore this subject.
The Video Game Making Process
Video game development is a very complex endeavor that requires sophisticated inputs from programmers, designers, artists, and more to come up with successful games. Video games like Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat II, Star Wars Jedi, among many others, have a great story that keeps players immersed, coupled with appealing aesthetics and gameplay. It takes highly innovative and experienced individuals, working cohesively as a team to create such video games.
Therefore, gaming companies must hire the best talent. Not only that, employees that can collaborate well with others are preferred.
The Use of Background Checks
Screening checks are important for video game employees because they help gaming companies bring in the best talent. Here are how some of the background checks can be helpful.
- Education/Qualification Verification
The highest standard of delivery is required in the gaming development world. That’s why it’s important to ensure that the programmers, designers, artists, and people in other job roles have the education and qualification they claim to have.
- Past Experience
Experience level greatly impacts the ability of a person to carry out their task. Since video gaming companies are seeking to hire the best candidate, they must verify their previous experience. By speaking to previous employers, they can get a sense of the expertise of the potential hires and how well they’re able to work in a team.
- Criminal History Checks
Workplace safety should be the priority at gaming companies because of the greater need for collaboration among many parties. A developer with a record or multiple acts of violence or who is a sex offender might be unsuitable for the gaming work environment. A police check will help employers know about the previous criminal record of a potential hire before making any employment decision. These days obtaining a criminal history check is a lot more simple than what it traditionally was. Services like australian national character check have streamlined the criminal history check process and applications can be completed online in a few minutes.
- Credit History Check
For finance-related roles in gaming companies, there is a need to ensure that the potential hires will not engage in fraud. Fraud is a big issue that threatens the existence of any organization. A credit history check gives employers a peek into the spending habits of potential hires and reveal if they’re currently financially-stressed. Based on the information gotten, employers can make prudent decisions.
Conclusion
The rising growth trend of the Australian gaming industry will continue for the decades to come. Background checks can help gaming companies select the best applicants that can help accelerate their growth and market share.
