108. Inside Lightforge Games: Is Open Salaries For You And Where To Begin?

Rise and Play Podcast

What would happen if someone leaked their company's full compensation information to the entire company? That's how you can evaluate your readiness to move your company toward an open salaries policy, or not. In the future of work, where more and more employees will prioritize transparency and equality, open salaries are poised to become a standard for Gen Z in Western cultures. If you want to remain competitive in the long term and hiring talents, you may want to consider embracing open salaries.

In this episode, Matt Schembari, CEO at Lightforge Games, shares the research on open salaries and the current state of the open salary movement and provides concrete benefits and challenges from Lightforge's experience practicing open salaries over the past three years.

You can find additional resources from Matt's GDC 2023 talk here.

As a recognition for their effort in pioneering a better culture for the game industry, Lightforge Games received the 2024 Game Changers Awards by Lightspeed and Gamesbeat.

Topics covered:

• Why open salaries make sense in specific contexts and how to determine if it applies to your situation.


• Steps to initiate open salary practices if you haven't already.


• Establishing a company with open salaries from the ground up.


• Exploring the pros and cons of open salaries, including potential pitfalls.


• Embracing a coaching culture for leaders and employees.

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