#12 - Tarak Ford: "The Growing Teams Playbook" - Growing International Teams, Onboarding Candidates, Remote Management & more

Today's guest is Tarak Ford, Head of Development at Kwalee, a leading mobile game publisher and developer that also creates games for PC and consoles.

With over 12 years in the industry, Tarak started in external QA and quickly moved into leadership roles at studios like Lionhead and Crytek. At Kwalee, he’s been key in growing the team from just 20 people to over 400, opening offices around the world, and helping the company publish games on almost every platform, reaching over a billion downloads.

In this podcast, he shares his experiences managing global teams, the challenges of growing an international remote studio, and the lessons he’s learned along the way. He offers practical advice on improving onboarding processes, dealing with cultural differences, building cohesive teams through diversity, and more.

This podcast is perfect for game development professionals, from aspiring leaders and team managers to studio founders and HR specialists, who want to learn how to successfully build and manage teams in the gaming industry.

Connect with Tarak:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarakford/

Connect with Harry:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/
Youtube: ⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@hphokou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hphokou

Sign up to Gaming Rally Newsletter (Harry Phokou & Ali Farha's weekly newsletter): gamingrally.net

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:04 Tarak’s Day-to-Day Life as a Head of Development at Kwalee
02:21 Growing Teams and Starting Remotely
03:57 Why Build an International Remote Team
05:54 Lessons from Building an International Remote Studio
08:40 How to Deal With Cultural Differences
10:53 Improving Onboarding Experience for a Candidate
14:15 Practical Tips and Advice for Candidates
23:59 Innovation Through Diversity of Thought
27:12 How to Build a Cohesive Team
31:16 Useful Tools for Managing Teams Globally
33:55 How to Optimize Tool Costs
39:31 Onboarding to a Company's Values and Culture
46:26 Tips for Growing a Team for the First Time