Company culture has found itself in the spotlight in recent years, especially since the pandemic, with betting and gaming businesses having to find new ways to meet the demands placed on them by their teams.

From the shift towards remote working, to the increased focus on employee wellbeing, the focus is much more on the positives of coming to work, rather than meeting corporate objectives.

For PandaScore, this focus on company culture is nothing new. In fact, building an environment that fosters a sense of community and facilitates employee progression has always been core to PandaScore’s ethos and has helped shape the brand’s operational strategy over the years.

There have, however, been some changes that have been introduced since the pandemic.

Shift in working patterns

For Jérémy Picard, Chief of Staff at PandaScore, the prospect of moving towards remote working did initially pose some questions about how the brand would manage to maintain that synergy and sense of company culture among the team. However, the results so far have shown that offering the team flexibility has been much more beneficial.

He began: “During the pandemic, we set up discussions with all our employees to find out what they wanted from work – the result of those discussions was the introduction of a fully flexible work policy that has been designed by our team.

“Our employees, or Pandas as we like to call them, can choose if and when they want to go into the office. We wanted to make sure that everyone has full freedom to work in a way that works best for them.”

When developing the company’s current working practices, Picard explained that PandaScore actually drew inspiration from the team’s love of gaming – something that he believes has helped make that shift towards online team calls and remote working much easier.

“This flexible working approach has suited our company really well,” Picard added. “Much of our team enjoy playing video games, so they are used to having their social life centred around the digital world. That shift towards remote working has, as a result, been somewhat of a second nature for us.

“We ensure that we’re constantly communicating with our team via Slack and Discord. The great thing about these two platforms is the ability to connect with one another is seamless and instant – you don’t have to spend the time creating meeting links or sending out calendar invites. You’re only one click away from chatting with your colleagues.”

Alongside the calls on Slack and Discord, PandaScore facilitates team-wide discussions with its weekly calls that often feature a company-wide game or icebreaker that helps take some of the focus away from work.

This is then complemented by regular in-person meet ups and team building sessions that help foster those relationships between the team. And for those food-motivated people among us, these meet-ups often include the addition of pizza.

“On a yearly basis, we also host in-person gatherings such as our tech team building, our pandackathon, or a long gathering weekend which tend to be hosted in a different city every year. We also run regular gaming sessions, otherwise known as pizza lol, where Pandas come together to game and enjoy pizza together.

“These face-to-face meet ups are great for building team morale and fostering those relationships. We also encourage all remote pandas to come and visit the office as soon as they feel disconnected from it, on a voluntary basis.  When you have a remote company, it’s so important to have that strong connection with your employees.”

One to One

As a remote company, it can sometimes be quite difficult to not only maintain that sense of collaboration within the team. But from a managerial perspective, it also presents challenges when monitoring employee well-being.

When you’re not physically seeing team members daily, it can be difficult to assess how that employee is feeling, whether they are going through a difficult time, or if they may need additional support.

Picard explained that employee wellbeing is incredibly important to PandaScore. With this in mind, the company often rolls out anonymous mood surveys that allow the team to voice their opinions and share how they are feeling. PandaScore can then use this feedback to adapt to any potential issues that the Pandas are facing.

He added: “Communication with our employees is key, especially around the topic of wellbeing and work-life balance. We also encourage our department leaders to have regular discussions within their team too to discuss how they feel about working remotely. And we do yearly HR follow-ups where we always learn a lot.

“As Chief of Staff, I also regularly sit down with members of our team from across the company to discuss how they are feeling and what we can do better. We strongly encourage open and honest communication.

“At PandaScore, there are no wrong questions, no wrong feelings. We want to keep that dialogue open and to make our team feel like they can share anything with us.”

This emphasis on communication carries through to the company’s senior management team too, who ensure that they are open and honest about any ongoing changes within the business.

The measures that the esports provider has introduced over the years have clearly resonated with the team, as Picard pointed out that in a recent employee satisfaction survey, 99% of Pandas said “they wouldn’t change anything about the company’s current working policy”.

Picard said: “In addition to fostering open communication and adapting to feedback, we recognise the importance of striking a balance between structured processes and flexibility in our workplace culture.

“At PandaScore, we are always listening to feedback from our Pandas and use these insights to evolve our working policy. Our policy does, and always will, reflect the people within our company and that’s something we’re very proud of.

“As we look to the future, our focus is not solely on promoting remote work but on finding the optimal blend of remote and in-person collaboration that maximises productivity, creativity, and employee well-being. We must continue to find new ways to keep your team happy and keep evolving as a business.”

Leading esports organisation Team Vitality is proud to announce that eight of its teams will be participating in this summer’s Esports World Cup. Driven by the ambition to be number one in the world, Team Vitality aims to win as many victories as possible thanks to its powerful rosters. The aim is to secure the best position per game and also in the club rankings. This major international competition represents a crucial step in Team Vitality’s strategic international development plan.

AN ELITE TEAM VITALITY DELEGATION TAKES ON THE EWC

After several months of qualification phases across the globe, Team Vitality has secured the coveted ticket to the Esports World Cup 2024 for eight of its teams.

Team Vitality delegation for the Esports World Cup

Counter-Strike 2

Holders of the title of the best team in the world in the HLTV 2023 rankings, Team Vitality’s CS2 roster has been invited to take part in the Esports World Cup Counter-Strike tournament. With their reputation firmly established, Team Vitality’s players stand ready to defend the title they won at Gamers8 2023.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

After taking first place at the WSL Season 8, Team Vitality’s MLBB team qualified for the EWC’s MLBB Women’s Invitational. Made up of talented young Indonesian players, the team has proved its worth by winning all their recent competitions. They are ready to demonstrate their mastery of the game and maintain their leadership status.

StarCraft 2

Made up of Maru, Solar and Ryung, Team Vitality’s Starcraft II players earned their ticket to the Esports Worlds Cup thanks to their outstanding performances. Maru’s second place finish at IEM Katowice 2024 made him the first Team Vitality player qualified to the Esports World Cup overall. Continued success throughout the year allowed Solar to secure his participation in Riyadh through his Global Ranking. Ryung will participate in the Korean qualifiers to earn his spot, potentially bringing the entire lineup to the Esports World Cup. The athletes are determined to continue their interstellar domination this summer.

Tekken 8

Talented showman Jeondding earned his place in the Esports World Cup at the ATL Super Tournament Summer 2024 this June. Known for his technical mastery and quick reflexes, the showman is ready to take on the world’s best players and once again establish himself at the top of the podium.

RENNSPORT

With a second place ranking in the 2024 Spring Season of ESL R1, Team Vitality’s RENNSPORT team has demonstrated its unfailing excellence, earning their spot in the Esports World Cup. Fresh from joining the ranks of the French team, the drivers are more than ready to make their engines roar as they conquer the international scene.

Teamfight Tactics

The brand-new Team Vitality team successfully secured qualification for the EWC Americas Qualifiers tournament. Made up of outstanding strategists, Team Vitality’s TFT roster is made up of renowned American streamers Kevin “setsuko” Jiang, Michael “k3soju” Zhang, Jeffrey “Milk” Pan as well as Libo “torontotokyo” Chang, who complete the lineup for the Esports World Cup while Kevin “Prestivent” Zou adds additional strength behind the scenes. Combining quick thinking and precise execution, they are ready to compete against the best teams in this competition.

Call of Duty: Warzone

Securing their spot by invitation, following their performance at the Grand Finals of the World Series of Warzone 2023, Team Vitality’s Warzone roster is ready to demonstrate its mastery at the Esports World Cup!

Honor of Kings

After an outstanding performance at the Honor of Kings Invitational 2024 Season 2 in Kuala Lumpur, the roster has secured its place among the world’s top teams. They now stand ready to represent the colours of Team Vitality on the international stage!

TEAM VITALITY AIMS FOR THE TOP

Team Vitality’s main objective is to reach the top of the Esports World Cup standings. Thanks to the recent integration of several talented teams, the Paris-based esports club aims to make its mark on the international scene. Participation in the Esports World Cup is a springboard for the club’s internationalisation strategy.

By engaging elite international teams in high-level competitions, Team Vitality aims to win prestigious titles, reinforce its reputation for excellence, and celebrate outstanding performance around the world. Its ambition is to raise the profile of the French organisation and inspire the next generation of players and fans.

Fabien “Neo” Devide, co-founder and President of Team Vitality, comments: “We’re taking part in the Esports World Cup with a single ambition: to win as many individual tournaments per game as possible. Our teams have worked tirelessly to qualify and prepare for this moment. We are confident in their talent and determination to carry Team Vitality’s colours high. All our players are ready to give their all to achieve our goals.”

PandaScore, the provider of esports betting odds, data and products, has welcomed former Flutter Entertainment executive Joseph Noone as Senior Sales Manager.

Noone is an experienced sales and account management leader with a demonstrated track record of building successful sales teams and driving revenue growth.

Over a 15-year career, he has led positions at pioneering companies both in and out of industry, including navigating the fast-paced world of video games media and agencies with stints at CBS Interactive and Curse.

He made his first move into the online gambling industry when he joined Flutter Entertainment as Relationship Management Team Leader for its Betfair brand before moving back into the video games space with director roles at Project N and Attention Seekers.

Whether in the trenches of start-ups or amidst the giants of the industry, Noone has always been able to spot opportunities in challenges and drive success in every arena.

As Senior Sales Manager at PandaScore, he is on a mission to drive the adoption of the company’s data-driven, AI-powered esports odds offering and innovation products including its revolutionary BetBuilder and PlayerProps.

Over the next few months he will be rallying PandaScore’s amazing team, forging new partnerships and ensuring that existing clients are maximising the potential of its odds, data and betting products.

Oliver Niner, Head of Sales at PandaScore, said: “We have incredible momentum behind the business right now having signed several big-name operators in recent months. Joseph will be able to use his skills and experience to keep this momentum going.

“Joseph’s enthusiasm and love of video games mean he will fit in perfectly with the wider PandaScore team and I look forward to working with him closely as we support more and more operators in their efforts to offer compelling esports betting experiences to their players.”

Joseph Noone, Senior Sales Manager at PandaScore, added: “I am excited to be the fresh blood in the PandaScore team and to make even more operators aware of our market-leading odds, data and betting products.

“As a fan of video games and esports, I understand the thrill of betting on such games and I’m thrilled to be able to bring this to more players in more markets, one sportsbook at a time.”