Twitch: Employee Experience Case Study
Client: Twitch TV
Role: Research Consultant & Visual Designer
Timeline: 4 months (Pre Covid19)
Activities: User surveys, user interviews, competitive analysis, design thinking workshops/exercises, presentation design, research synthesis, persona development
Twitch TV, one of the leading online live streaming platforms is experiencing a state of rapid growth. In fact, they are growing so fast that they will outgrow their San Francisco headquarters sooner than expected. In order to keep them in their current location, the Twitch Real Estate Team has come up with a variety of creative solutions that while temporarily helpful have created a whole other set of issues.
Myself and a team of two other researchers were tasked with conducting in-depth research that would lead to recommendations that would allow Twitch to have the flexibility it needs during this exponential growth with a long-term solution based on growth patterns. As well as providing a consistent and inclusive employee experience at Twitch owned offices and satellite coworking locations.
Research Phase:
We used a variety of methods to conduct our research, including employees persona, employee surveys, and employee journey mapping, as well as looking at historical growth patterns of the company and competitors.
Research Key Insights:
Culture: Twitch has created a working culture that is unlike any other, where gaming fandom/pop culture infuses every detail of the work environment. Employees have access to a large variety of highly functional, themed spaces for their work activities allowing them to collaborate between teams. They also enjoy a number of perks such as free lunches, video game arcades, and social events. All of which is only available to those located in Twitch-owned offices. Satellite offices do not receive the same level of perks.
Growth: Twitch is experiencing a period of rapid growth globally (2019 Pre Covid19). Unpredictability in headcount projections has led to reactive office space procurement practices, resulting in a variety of Real Estate models, some of which compromise the employee experience.
Quick Fixes: Growth is accommodated through managed spaces (WeWork and similar) as a temporary fix, using parent company office space (Amazon) where available. These spaces are useful because they require low commitment, but costs over time can be higher.
Alienation: Twitch’s satellite offices suffer from a lack of immersive environments, collaborative workspaces, and connection to company culture, which has negatively impacting employee satisfaction. leading to an eroding sense of belonging to the Twitch community. This is most apparent at Amazon and WeWork locations.
Patterns: Though the data is limited, Twitch satellite offices show signs of being on a path of average growth, fast growth, or maturity within three years of being established. These patterns can be used to apply a comprehensive strategy to future office acquisitions.
Cafe located in the Twitch 350 Bush Headquarter in San Francisco CA.
Arcade located in the Twitch 350 Bush Headquarter in San Francisco CA.
Example of a “Twitch Go Kit” themed to look like a block from the classic Mario Bros NES Game.
Recommendations:
Twitch’s rapid growth has caused a major feeling of alienation for its offsite employees. In order to have these employees feel more connected to the company, we are recommending a few low-cost programs aimed to “level up” the employee experience.
Twitch Got Kit: A Twitch go kit is a box filled with branded materials, such as vinyl clings, removable wallpaper, signage, and posters among other low-impact items. that can be hung or placed on existing walls/windows of a Co-Working location and would cause no damage. These kits are meant to bring a level of Twitch’s fun personality to a Co-working space.
Twitch Loot Box: A Twitch “Loot box” is a box filled with branded items for individual employees. in the box, there would be a variety of items such as T-shirts, office supplies, stickers, and other fun collectables. Many of these items can be leftovers from Twitch’s annual convention, causing them to be a low investment with a high impact. The boxes could be sent out a few times a year. A “Loot Box” is meant to bring a sense of pride to be working for Twitch and to know that you are part of a larger community.
Social Events: Among all the events being held at Twitch owned offices, we encourage Twitch leadership to introduce satellite office social events. this can include monthly allowances for a food delivery program and even offsite events after work. These events are to help these offsite employees feel connected to the larger orgainzation.
Future Growth: For their growth in the future Twitch should consider moving its employees from CoWorking locations into a branded Twitch office soon rather than later. While these CoWorking locations offer them flexibility, in the long run, it doesn’t lend to the employee experience and can often lead to employees finding work elsewhere, in order to feel part of a company’s culture.
Example of items in a Twitch employee “Loot Box”, with branded T-shirts, post-its, stickers, notebook, and lapel pin.
Example of items in “Twitch Go Kit”.