In this opinion piece, Oksana Izmailova, CHRO at RedCore, argues that every HR decision shapes not only a company’s culture but also the long-term reputation of the entire iGaming industry.
There’s a dangerous illusion that a company’s key decisions stay behind closed office doors. In reality, they don’t.
We shouldn’t fool ourselves: In our field, there are virtually no secrets. Every management decision eventually becomes part of the market’s shared story. That’s why every action we take affects not only our own business, but the industry as a whole.
How we hire people. How we make difficult decisions. How we let employees go. What standards we consider acceptable. All of this shapes how our industry is perceived.
That’s why the future is our shared responsibility.
The butterfly effect we underestimate
Imagine one company lays off employees en masse without any explanation, informs them with a single email, or delays salary payments for months. Spoiler: these examples are real. The consequences don’t end on the day employees are let go. Those people go on to join other companies carrying a completely different experience.
They trust employers less. They’re afraid of promises. They ask for additional guarantees. They’re more hesitant to accept offers. And it becomes the responsibility of other employers to prove once again that treating employees with respect still exists.
That’s the butterfly effect: a single decision made in the interest of one company gradually impacts the entire market.
When your competitor is struggling, it’s easy to think it’s your opportunity
At first glance, it may seem that when a competing company downsizes, the market simply gains more available talent. That means you can hire people faster. From a business perspective, it looks like an opportunity. But that’s an extremely short-sighted way of thinking.
Imagine you own a beautiful house in one of the city’s most prestigious neighborhoods. You invest in maintaining it, take care of the property, and keep everything in excellent condition. Then, suddenly, an abandoned construction site appears next door.
Your house hasn’t become any worse.
But people’s perception of the entire neighborhood changes. They begin to see the location differently. Its attractiveness declines, its reputation shifts, and with it, property values fall. The job market works the same way.
It’s in all of our interests to live in a beautiful, well-maintained neighborhood. That’s what keeps the value of every property high. We all have a shared interest in creating a positive perception of our industry among professionals. When we do, people from other industries are more willing to join us and more likely to consider our offers. Candidates should know that our industry is a great place to build a career. And when that happens, it’s not just one company that benefits. The entire market does.
We can’t live by short-term decisions
Underpaying employees, filling vacancies at any cost, saving money on processes, all of those may deliver quick results. But they never work in the long run.
A mature business always thinks several steps ahead. That means having transparent processes, clear offers, and a fair hiring and offboarding process. It applies to everything: compensation, corporate culture, onboarding, performance management, and even terminations. At RedCore, we invest tremendous resources into all of these processes. And we know exactly why.
There’s a rule: when you hire someone, you should already understand how you’ll part ways with them if that day ever comes.
Not because termination is inevitable, but because respect for people should never depend on circumstances.
Offboarding is a separate process, carefully designed down to the smallest detail. For example, at RedCore, from the moment a person joins the business group, they receive a list of goals for their probation period. They know exactly what they need to achieve to complete it successfully. Throughout the probation period, they receive several rounds of feedback on their performance. At the same time, we agree from the very beginning that if they do not pass their probation, we will provide honest pay for the period of work.
An industry people want to work in
Today, we’re competing not only with one another. We’re competing with other industries for talented people. Every time a professional chooses between IT, FinTech, iGaming, or any other sector, they evaluate more than just the salary. They evaluate the industry’s reputation. How safe it is to build a career here. Whether people are treated with respect. Whether they can plan their future with confidence.
And it’s we who shape the answer to those questions every single day.
That’s why I hope we ask ourselves one question more often: How will today’s decision affect not only my company, but the reputation of our entire industry? As an HR community, it’s important that we work together to build the right corporate culture across the entire sector
Because a strong industry starts with respect for people, accountability for decisions, and long-term thinking.
And if we truly want our industry to keep growing, attract the best talent, and become even stronger, then we should all remember one simple idea.
Our shared future is our shared responsibility.