How Savvy Games achieved +80% employee adoption
Find out how Savvy Games engaged 300 employees globally, saved 6 hours weekly and unified all documents without breaking a sweat
88.7%
adoption rate achieved within months of launch
5-6
hours saved weekly per communications manager
Seamless
global town halls with professional livestreaming
Savvy Games Group, Saudi Arabia's pioneering games and esports powerhouse backed by the state’s Public Investment Fund, faced a challenge familiar to rapidly scaling organizations: how to maintain culture and connection while growing at breakneck speed.
In just four years, the company expanded to nearly 300 employees and achieved global recognition as the world's eight games publisher company and number one in esports.
But their communication infrastructure hadn't kept pace. Different business units operated on different platforms – some on Google Suite, others on Microsoft. Document sharing was a nightmare. Policies lived scattered across multiple cloud accounts, creating cybersecurity vulnerabilities and access headaches. Town halls were run using traditional video calls and laptop setups, which made it difficult to include everyone and deliver a consistent experience..
We spoke with Zolchimeg Ganbold, Internal Communications Senior Manager, and Mohammed Al-Khars, Social Media & Communications Manager, who were both responsible for ensuring information flowed clearly across a rapidly expanding organization.
For Zolchimeg, every announcement meant reformatting emails, managing access permissions, and manually distributing updates across disconnected systems.
We were growing quickly, but we needed to make sure information (like successes and milestones) was shared consistently. And it shouldn’t just come from leadership; we wanted two-way communication. That’s why we explored creating an intranet. Unlike many large companies, we didn’t already have one, which actually helped because we could start fresh. Working with procurement, we reviewed global providers to find the best option.
People
300
Industry
Games & eSports
Location
Saudi Arabia
Category
SMB
I'm saving 5-6 hours per week. Departments like facilities now post their own content directly instead of routing everything through me for email formatting.
Zolchimeg Ganbold
Internal Communications Senior Manager
Phased Rollout Drives Adoption
When Savvy Games Group's leadership recognized the need for change, they approached the search strategically. Working with procurement, they evaluated intranet providers globally, examining success stories and capabilities.
Workvivo stood out for three decisive reasons:
- Intuitive, social media-style interface – The platform's familiar feed-based design resonated immediately with Savvy's young gaming workforce, requiring minimal training or adoption friction.
- Mobile-first functionality – Employees could stay connected on the go, whether on leave or working remotely, through a seamless mobile app experience.
- Uncompromising security – Workvivo was the only platform that passed Savvy's strict cybersecurity requirements, including local data hosting in Saudi Arabia and Zoom's enterprise backing.
Rather than a "big bang" launch, Savvy took a measured approach. The rollout began in March-April during Ramadan with holding company employees first, then gradually expanded to other business units. This phased strategy proved essential, as some units had established workflows on Slack and other tools.
To drive adoption, Mohammed and his team leaned into what Savvy does best: games. They launched campaigns tied to the Esports World Cup, offering ticket giveaways for employees who engaged with the platform. These games-aligned challenges drew immediate traction, proving that the excitement the industry excels in could also be applied to their internal communications.
This approach worked well, so we kept doing it. Employees now see the platform as more than just a place for corporate updates; they can also enjoy industry-related stats, fun posts, and engaging content. The campaign feature also played a big role in boosting participation.
The Wins & Cultural Shift
- 88.7% adoption rate, far exceeding benchmarks for similar organizations.
- 5-6 hours saved weekly for the internal communications manager.
- Professional livestreaming accommodating global audiences with zero technical glitches.
- Employee-generated content as facilities, HR, and other departments post directly without comms bottlenecks.
The numbers tell a compelling story, but the transformation runs deeper than metrics. Departments like facilities now post power outage notices and building updates themselves, directly through Workvivo.
No more routing everything through Zolchimeg for email formatting and distribution. When she's on leave, colleagues can post on her behalf, something impossible in the old email-centric model.
The platform's analytics capabilities provide clear before-and-after campaign data, helping the team to understand what resonates and optimize future communications. Reach, content views, and engagement metrics deliver the same level of insight used in external social media – an approach familiar to Mohammed.
But perhaps the most significant shift has been cultural. The platform transformed how Savvy's young workforce experiences corporate communication – replacing "boring Outlook emails" with colorful, brief, targeted messages that feel natural to a generation raised on Instagram and TikTok.
The shoutouts feature, initially met with hesitation, has blossomed into genuine peer recognition. Employees who were cautious about visibility on a "work platform" now actively celebrate colleagues' achievements.
We're seeing them being more and more open and expressive, asking questions, posting it… Whereas 10 or 15 years ago, people would be worried to do so. We are now seeing more and more transparency, which is great. This is the way employees should be in this new work culture.
Inside Savvy’s Culture Engine
Workvivo has become embedded in Savvy's operational DNA. What began as a communication solution has evolved into the digital foundation for company culture.
Looking ahead, the team is introducing executive update features where employees can engage directly with the CEO and COO through casual, post-style updates rather than formal corporate announcements.
They're exploring Workvivo's survey functions and employee insights tools to consolidate platforms further and give managers clearer visibility into team satisfaction.
For a company representing Saudi Arabia's ambitious games and esports vision – with partnerships spanning local universities, major acquisitions like Scopely, and landmark events like the Esports World Cup – having a communication platform that matches their innovation is non-negotiable.
For Mohammed, the transformation is simple yet powerful: "Workvivo makes corporate communication fun, and that's very hard to do."