Paizo Update from Jeff Alvarez

Jeff, thank you for listening, and thank you for prioritizing this message to come before the long awaited playtests. That's an act of good faith that I appreciate. I also appreciate you taking the time to address specific allegations in a way that gives a clear path forward and clear actions. This is the statement I think many of us were hoping for last week, and I'm happy we're getting it now.

This is a lot of words to basically say mostly nothing again. Disappointing.

Glad to hear that you've reversed course on mandating people return to the office. Sad that it was only after the loss of people so important to the work you've been doing.

Glad to hear that the cleaning was an issue but that it eventually got addressed.

Edit: Specifically regarding this -

The welfare and safety of our employees is paramount. No employee will ever be fired for whistleblowing or advocating for employee safety and wellbeing, and we have never fired an employee for doing so.

Of course not. You're an at-will State. Nobody would be fired for doing so, you just fire them because you can.

I appreciate this coming out before the playtest and containing concrete actions Paizo is taking.

I look forward to the follow-through and continuing efforts. The time and effort to post this blog is also noted.

I am glad that specific incidents are being addressed in this post, and am hopeful that you will, in fact, do better.

Jeff, thank you for listening, and thank you for prioritizing this message to come before the long awaited playtests. That's an act of good faith that I appreciate. I also appreciate you taking the time to address specific allegations in a way that gives a clear path forward and clear actions. This is the statement I think many of us were hoping for last week, and I'm happy we're getting it now.

Agree entirely with Cori Marie on this. Pleased this statement has been prioritised on the Monday morning after a hectic Gen Con weekend and above the Playtest announcement. Also agree that this is the statement I (and many others) had hoped to see last week. Definitely a positive step here setting out some concrete actions.

Okay, I can accept this as a healthy start. Thank you for taking so many concerns seriously, and I hope you continue to demonstrate that moving forward.

This is a lot of words to basically say mostly nothing again. Disappointing.

Glad to hear that you've reversed course on mandating people return to the office. Sad that it was only after the loss of people so important to the work you've been doing.

Glad to hear that the cleaning was an issue but that it eventually got addressed.

Edit: Specifically regarding this -

Quote:

The welfare and safety of our employees is paramount. No employee will ever be fired for whistleblowing or advocating for employee safety and wellbeing, and we have never fired an employee for doing so.

Of course not. You're an at-will State. Nobody would be fired for doing so, you just fire them because you can.

Grind that axe. Damn

It is entirely possible that at this point I am just a jaded f**k. I was really hoping to see some ownership and accountability as we had seen from other people who had spoken up last week.

Is this better than the original statement? Yes.

Do I feel this addressed the issues? Not especially? It was crafted in such a way as to basically comment on the concerns without actually taking any ownership or even verifying they were true or not.

When trust is damaged, we're supposed to trust that lessons will be learned when the actions themselves aren't even owned up to?

Also, and this 100% is something I'm jaded on, corporate surveys are designed to either cherry-pick positives or to find low-cost/low-energy negatives to "fix" and then the Exec team takes a bow.

Great answer Jeff. I hope this will be enough in the long run, but for the moment I feel it is.

It is entirely possible that at this point I am just a jaded f**k. I was really hoping to see some ownership and accountability as we had seen from other people who had spoken up last week.

Is this better than the original statement? Yes.

Do I feel this addressed the issues? Not especially? It was crafted in such a way as to basically comment on the concerns without actually taking any ownership or even verifying they were true or not.

When trust is damaged, we're supposed to trust that lessons will be learned when the actions themselves aren't even owned up to?

Also, and this 100% is something I'm jaded on, corporate surveys are designed to either cherry-pick positives or to find low-cost/low-energy negatives to "fix" and then the Exec team takes a bow.

Fair, but do you work there? Not really seeing how you fit into all this. If so then my apologies shout from the rooftops, but from my perspective, I have seen far worse get rewarded in the real world.....I almost wish I worked there (No desire to move to Seattle though, or actual talent in that industry) because there is some accountability. Frankly it is kind of refreshing from my scarred over eyes.

NightTrace wrote:

It is entirely possible that at this point I am just a jaded f**k. I was really hoping to see some ownership and accountability as we had seen from other people who had spoken up last week.

Is this better than the original statement? Yes.

Do I feel this addressed the issues? Not especially? It was crafted in such a way as to basically comment on the concerns without actually taking any ownership or even verifying they were true or not.

When trust is damaged, we're supposed to trust that lessons will be learned when the actions themselves aren't even owned up to?

Also, and this 100% is something I'm jaded on, corporate surveys are designed to either cherry-pick positives or to find low-cost/low-energy negatives to "fix" and then the Exec team takes a bow.

Fair, but do you work there? Not really seeing how you fit into all this. If so then my apologies shout from the rooftops, but from my perspective, I have seen far worse get rewarded in the real world.....I almost wish I worked there (No desire to move to Seattle though, or actual talent in that industry) because there is some accountability. Frankly it is kind of refreshing from my scarred over eyes.

I think we might be able to agree that this is far better than most companies would do; I hope you can also see that this axe grinding is coming from frustration at a broken system. It's not Paizo's responsibility to fix a broken system, and it's not wrong to demand better for others.

This is a start but when the calls are for accountability about things that are happening today, currently in your company, reference to changes made 3 and 4 years ago that clearly didn't work aren't helping. A lot of this seems to focus on middle management when the bulk of the accusations were leveled against upper management. What are you going to do tomorrow? What about all the allegations of homophobia, transphobia and racism?

I am happy to see you wont be requiring people back in the office til next year as well.

But the most important thing is this statement still doesn't apologize for anything and that's deeply disappointing. Until you can recognize fault and offer apology I don't see how you can move forward.

Fair, but do you work there? Not really seeing how you fit into all this.

Nope, just a long-time fan and subscriber (until last week) who has been dealing with my understanding of the corporate values not being what I thought they were.

Paulyhedron wrote:

Fair, but do you work there? Not really seeing how you fit into all this.

Nope, just a long-time fan and subscriber (until last week) who has been dealing with my understanding of the corporate values not being what I thought they were.

Fact that you're standing on principles is admirable, though we might see this issue as two entirely different takes. You've my respect.

This statement is a start to committing to improvements, and importantly to me includes specifics. Speaking for myself, I'll continue to patronize Paizo and support it's staff, and am hopeful that we will see the staff confirm that actions have been taken to improve things.

Pity I can't set a !remind me, because it'd be pretty useful for people to follow this up in a few months, and a year. My support for the company is and will always be dependent on the conditions for it's workers. At this stage whether or not that will happen is impossible to know, so I'll choose to be hopeful until proven naive.

Reminder: It is fair game to tear this statement apart, but not each other, personally. Carry on.

Paulyhedron wrote:

NightTrace wrote:

It is entirely possible that at this point I am just a jaded f**k. I was really hoping to see some ownership and accountability as we had seen from other people who had spoken up last week.

Is this better than the original statement? Yes.

Do I feel this addressed the issues? Not especially? It was crafted in such a way as to basically comment on the concerns without actually taking any ownership or even verifying they were true or not.

When trust is damaged, we're supposed to trust that lessons will be learned when the actions themselves aren't even owned up to?

Also, and this 100% is something I'm jaded on, corporate surveys are designed to either cherry-pick positives or to find low-cost/low-energy negatives to "fix" and then the Exec team takes a bow.

Fair, but do you work there? Not really seeing how you fit into all this. If so then my apologies shout from the rooftops, but from my perspective, I have seen far worse get rewarded in the real world.....I almost wish I worked there (No desire to move to Seattle though, or actual talent in that industry) because there is some accountability. Frankly it is kind of refreshing from my scarred over eyes.

I think we might be able to agree that this is far better than most companies would do; I hope you can also see that this axe grinding is coming from frustration at a broken system. It's not Paizo's responsibility to fix a broken system, and it's not wrong to demand better for others.

I'd mentioned working in the transportation industry prior here or elsewhere, this doesn't happen there. It's 'We no longer have work for you', it's absolutely brutal even bringing up small stuff like, oh vehicle safety and being able to pass an inspection. Raise even a little stink and you're out. Paizo's reply not might be quite as good as some of the posters want but from my perspective I would gladly jump on a grenade (metaphorical) for a company to show that much loyalty. It isn't like that anywhere else. Frankly the comradery is refreshing as well, I can't name 10 people I work with in a company of 2,000+.

All supposition, but the number of changes made in 2018 kind of implies to me that Crystal and/or Jessica made their concerns known to Paizo on their way out, and that Paizo made changes in light of what they had to say.

The structure changes and all mentioned here do back up Mark's piece about how much improved the culture has been at Paizo lately compared to seven years ago.

Thanks for the statement, Jeff. And I appreciate the specifics as well. Much more valuable than a placeholder element like the last post.

I'd mentioned working in the transportation industry prior here or elsewhere, this doesn't happen there. It's 'We no longer have work for you', it's absolutely brutal even bringing up small stuff like, oh vehicle safety and being able to pass an inspection. Raise even a little stink and you're out. Paizo's reply not might be quite as good as some of the posters want but from my perspective I would gladly jump on a grenade (metaphorical) for a company to show that much loyalty. It isn't like that anywhere else. Frankly the comradery is refreshing as well, I can't name 10 people I work with in a company of 2,000+.

I agree with you here. I am angry at things which happened, AND I believe that Paizo may be one of the best out there right now, or at least they are making a commitment to try to be.

If Jeff and the other upper management can explicitly and publicly walk the walk they're talking then I will come back as a very happy customer.

This is a start but when the calls are for accountability about things that are happening today, currently in your company, reference to changes made 3 and 4 years ago that clearly didn't work aren't helping. A lot of this seems to focus on middle management when the bulk of the accusations were leveled against upper management. What are you going to do tomorrow? What about all the allegations of homophobia, transphobia and racism?

I am happy to see you wont be requiring people back in the office til next year as well.

But the most important thing is this statement still doesn't apologize for anything and that's deeply disappointing. Until you can recognize fault and offer apology I don't see how you can move forward.

Not to be dense, but every allegation from both Jessica and Crystal is about something from three or more years ago. What allegations of sexism, transphobia, or racism are current enough to not have been part of what the listed changes were done to address?

This is a start but when the calls are for accountability about things that are happening today, currently in your company, reference to changes made 3 and 4 years ago that clearly didn't work aren't helping. A lot of this seems to focus on middle management when the bulk of the accusations were leveled against upper management. What are you going to do tomorrow? What about all the allegations of homophobia, transphobia and racism?

I will point out that Jessica left the company in 2017, and Crystal in 2018.

I'm agree with Cori. I'm glad you're taking this completely seriously despite the truthfulness of some of the claims coming under question. I look forward to seeing a follow-through of this plan.

eddv wrote:

This is a start but when the calls are for accountability about things that are happening today, currently in your company, reference to changes made 3 and 4 years ago that clearly didn't work aren't helping. A lot of this seems to focus on middle management when the bulk of the accusations were leveled against upper management. What are you going to do tomorrow? What about all the allegations of homophobia, transphobia and racism?

I will point out that Jessica left the company in 2017, and Crystal in 2018.

So time excuses all?

Thank you for the statement and hopefully you can follow through and make it a better work place.

Do better. Words don't butter any parsnips.

This is a start but when the calls are for accountability about things that are happening today, currently in your company, reference to changes made 3 and 4 years ago that clearly didn't work aren't helping. A lot of this seems to focus on middle management when the bulk of the accusations were leveled against upper management. What are you going to do tomorrow? What about all the allegations of homophobia, transphobia and racism?

I am happy to see you wont be requiring people back in the office til next year as well.

But the most important thing is this statement still doesn't apologize for anything and that's deeply disappointing. Until you can recognize fault and offer apology I don't see how you can move forward.

A long, long time ago, before my group started playing RotRL as an intro to Pathfinder (well, okay, 2017 or so) the covering up of allegations of abuse in the Organised Play program was one of the sticking points. We *eventually* resolved that and decided to give Pathfinder a shot.

This scenario weirdly intermeshes with the head of Organised Play *back then when there were credible allegations of mismanagement* being put in a managerial position with respect to CS and and thus... where we are now.

It seems apparent by now that this is a systemic issue that the Directorate are ill-equipped to solve.

Addresses two of three of my main concerns to some degree, concerning harassment and cleanliness. However the wages vs cost of living is yet to be addressed. And of course for the moment these are just words. We will be watching to see that actions follow.

The parts that I think are really important:
- An actual HR person again. This is a dumb vacancy. If they empower this person to protect upper management from themselves, it can help a lot (eventually). Although it's also not a magic bullet or anything. Dedicated HR staff aren't going to magically change the company culture, and most of their day-to-day job shouldn't have anything to do with escalating complaints to leadership and dealing with toxic managers.
- No longer mandatory to share hotel rooms (directly addresses one of the complaints)
- Work from home through at least the rest of the year (the least they can do, but still)
- The continued effort to put more management in Creative (and elsewhere). Bear in mind that, over the last couple of years, some really kind, dedicated people have been promoted to manager roles. This is the kind of change that makes a real impact to the organization. Tragically, one of them leaving was actually part of the catalyst for this whole mess. Still, they're not universally selecting for ruthless toadies or anything. And at least one of those managers has implemented pipeline development to reduce the instances of conflicting critical-path deadlines and the resulting crunch.

Whether that does anything to address the specific situation that led to the CS team departures is beyond my capacity to evaluate.

Much better. Keeping an eye on the situation, but breathing better.

Trust but verify, as they say.

this is better than Jeff's initial statement, which was basically nothing, so the bar was low, but this still doesn't address stuff like Sara Marie's firing, the underpaying of employees and allegations of transphobia. I hope this is only the first step paizo, you have work to do. I hope this will be the first of many positive changes, not the end

A start, but we expect more to come. I'm worried about the individual meetings. Good for the execs because they can isolate people, bad for the workers because they can’t present a united front, as a friend put it.

A start, but we expect more to come. I'm worried about the individual meetings. Good for the execs because they can isolate people, bad for the workers because they can’t present a united front, as a friend put it.

this is a very good point

I read that as the executives meeting individually with the managers, not individually with all workers.

Great post. There are many of us without pitchforks looking for you to appease us by having people fired or stepped down. Those of us who have worked at any great organization understands that work environments are never perfect and politics happen no matter what you do. With that said it's great to hear that there are actionable and measurable steps being taken.

An actual HR person again. This is a dumb vacancy. If they empower this person to protect upper management from themselves, it can help a lot (eventually). Although it's also not a magic bullet or anything. Dedicated HR staff aren't going to magically change the company culture, and most of their day-to-day job shouldn't have anything to do with escalating complaints to leadership and dealing with toxic managers.

HR Doesn't protect the people. HR protects the company. If there was an HR person I bet that as part of the fired person's packet is that any negative publicity would leave them liable for a lawsuit. I know at my company that has a very positive image offers a hard to pass up packet to prevent their image from being smeared.

- No longer mandatory to share hotel rooms (directly addresses one of the complaints)

I agree that this is great since it's archaic to force those to share. I just hope this doesn't come at the cost of fewer cons / travel or employees who choose to share rooms are the ones who go to cons. I've had that happen at a previous company that was a fortune 500.

A start, but we expect more to come. I'm worried about the individual meetings. Good for the execs because they can isolate people, bad for the workers because they can’t present a united front, as a friend put it.

Your statement alludes to something they did not say. They are meeting with managers; full stop. Independently managed, anonymous surveys are being utilized to gather input from everyone at Paizo. My workplace does this and it is indeed anonymous. I cannot speak to who Paizo hires to do the managing of the surveys, but without details that we are not entitled to know, I can only hope it is run the same as or better than the ones conducted at my place of work.

"Following our return from Gen Con, the Executive Team will schedule individual meetings with our managers to give them a chance to share concerns directly. In the coming weeks, Paizo will issue an independently managed employee engagement survey to provide all employees with an anonymous means to provide candid feedback."

Addresses two of three of my main concerns to some degree, concerning harassment and cleanliness. However the wages vs cost of living is yet to be addressed. And of course for the moment these are just words. We will be watching to see that actions follow.

I believe Mark explained this on his twitter that even those high on the totem pole are underpaid. Oregan also has a high cost of living.

RicoTheBold wrote:

- No longer mandatory to share hotel rooms (directly addresses one of the complaints)

I agree that this is great since it's archaic to force those to share. I just hope this doesn't come at the cost of fewer cons/travel or employees who choose to share rooms are the ones who go to cons.

The discriminatory policy wasn't addressed, but one of the items behind it has been changed. It was described as a "business decision" originally.

100% ending shared rooms means we'll see less company-sponsored travel to conventions and it will also likely means we'll see a less varied presence too as it consolidates around a handful of people.

I'm absolutely all for Paizo folks earning more, but given what I've read so far it just makes me want to ask... From what secret hoard? Nobody at the company earns much, and I'm pretty sure Mark said even Lisa has lost money more than earned it on the company. Unless you're Wizards, you eke by best you can for as long as you can.

Hiring in more project managers and third party arbitration cuts deeper into what appear to be real thin margins.

Sounds to me that a lot of hopes/demands from the posters in here rely an awful lot on Paizo suddenly and significantly spiking in profit.

Not to be dense, but every allegation from both Jessica and Crystal is about something from three or more years ago. What allegations of sexism, transphobia, or racism are current enough to not have been part of what the listed changes were done to address?

The issue is, we (the customer base) often don't hear about bad stuff until three or four years down the road, when ex-employees have enough distance from the situation to talk freely about it.

Hell, Jessica started her thread saying she'd been holding off airing some of this dirty laundry because she was worried folks at Paizo might retaliate against her friends still with the company.

The point of dredging up these issues from years ago is to provide context for the problems that are happening now, behind the scenes, that we don't have any details on.

Sara Marie got fired, and Diego quit in solidarity, alleging a lack of integrity from some of the management. What happened there? No clue! But four years ago Jeff told Jessica that cleaning the floors was too expensive, and it took an organized email campaign to HR to get them to vacuum the place.

So the question I have to ask is, what issue(s) is Jeff ignoring right now?

Because good folks are getting fired/quitting. Some figurative floor there is still dirty.

My heart goes out to your team and all of Paizo staff.

Many of us know exactly how absurd the worse of the accusations were right out of the gate, keep your head up.

Many of us do. Many of us also have high expectations of our favorite company.

Always want to believe the companies you support are "the good ones" but none of the people that comprise them are going to be perfect, and those imperfections can take root and pile up in ugly ways until they're properly called out. All you can do is hope the problems are taken seriously once that happens.

Just a reminder (a genuinely friendly one) for anybody having a knee-jerk "oh no Paizo is monsters too" reaction.

Literally nobody wants to cancel Paizo, good grief. We want their workers to be treated fairly. Is every complaint from henceforth a witch hunt or mob justice? Or are we supposed to sit there and be fine with companies doing less than savoury moves? Grow up, you're not 12, we can expect better from companies. Nobody has pitchforks, and nobody wants to destroy Paizo or anything.

It's a straw person argument designed to drag us away from the issue of wanting Paizo to realise the ideals it tells us it has.

We are trying to keep Paizo accountable to their own values, and protesting like this is part of that.

How about a third-party independent review for wrongdoing ???? No? Figures.