Competitive salary, benefits package, access to learning, and comfortable work environment are no longer real advantages. Today, they are simply the bare minimum people expect from any modern company.

To become a market leader, you need a strong team. And top specialists are no longer satisfied with just having their basic needs covered. They want more. That is when businesses begin asking themselves important questions: How do we retain and motivate such specialists? How do we truly engage them in the company’s life? How do we unite team? And most importantly, how do we create an environment where people do not just complete tasks, but genuinely want to build something bigger?

At this point, corporate culture stops being just a conversation about values and engagement. Today, it directly impacts how much revenue your business generates, how productive your specialists are, and how effectively your managers make decisions.

I want to share five questions that can help you understand whether your corporate culture is truly working, or whether it is simply something people mention during meetings. Using the RedCore business group as an example, I will show how strong internal processes influence business results and what companies lose when those systems are not built properly.

Do your specialists understand where the company is going?

The “we’ll figure it out along the way” approach simply does not work anymore. Without a clear direction, businesses risk scattering their own potential. At RedCore, it is extremely important for specialists to be proactive, motivated, engaged, and confident enough to offer bold and unconventional ideas.

But this only becomes possible when teams clearly understand where the business group is heading. And a huge part of that responsibility lies within internal communications.

At the same time, simply “informing employees” is not enough. At RedCore, we built a strong internal media environment based on dialogue rather than monologue.

Over the past year alone, we published around 4,000 pieces of content across more than 25 targeted internal digital channels organized by location, services, and business units. This allows us to communicate with every specialist no matter where they are located.

Business updates are shared through multiple formats including our CEO’s blog with insights into strategy and decisions, regular leadership updates, town halls, Q&A sessions, as well as our video and podcast format – the “CoreCast”.

We also created an interactive business model inside group’s internal platform RedCore Team called “RedCore Town”, where all of our brands are represented visually. It helps unite teams online, demonstrates the scale of the business group, and helps specialists navigate changes more confidently while reducing uncertainty. The gamified format also makes the experience more engaging and enjoyable.

When specialists understand where the company is going, why decisions are being made, and what is happening across teams, it directly impacts engagement, motivation, trust, and ultimately business success.

Do specialists have real influence over processes?

Let’s be honest. Almost every company claims that specialists can influence processes. But in reality, those opportunities are often blocked by bureaucracy, skepticism, or unspoken barriers.

And behind this lies one of the most expensive mistakes businesses make. The moment a person feels that their opinion changes nothing, they stop offering ideas. And at that point, the company loses much more than engagement. It loses improvements, solutions, and growth that could have come directly from within the team.

RedCore became a large business group precisely because we encouraged initiative and actively supported it. For example, our B2B solutions appeared when team members came to us and said: “Here is what the market is missing. Here are the numbers. Here is the scaling potential.” And instead of shutting the idea down, our response was: “What do you need to make this happen?” Today, more than six brands within RedCore are market leaders in their industries and continue strengthening the entire business group.

Transparency became one of our core principles and it works exceptionally well for us. One example is our Core Idea project, where employees can submit initiatives and suggestions. We receive over 50 ideas every month, and many of them are implemented and influence real processes.

Here is our key point. When ideas are not ignored but transformed into action, employees stop seeing themselves as simple executors and begin acting as active participants in the system. And that creates a completely different level of responsibility, engagement, and decision-making quality.

Do you recognize your specialists’ contributions?

Imagine you have already built communication based on dialogue. Specialists understand where the business is going. They influence processes and deliver strong results.

But is their contribution visible? Does your company have a true culture of recognition, or does everything stop at formal performance reviews?

Making people’s contributions visible is not just about creating a “good atmosphere.” It has a direct impact on team motivation.

At RedCore, we integrated recognition into a unified system. We created an environment where recognition is normal rather than exceptional. Thanking colleagues, highlighting contributions, and making achievements visible are all part of our culture.

To make the process feel authentic and engaging, we integrated it into our gamified platform RedCore Team. Specialists can thank each other, receive “awards”, and see their contribution reflected within the overall system. According to our latest data, our team members have already sent more than 95,000 recognition achievements to colleagues and received over 4,500 “awards” from managers.

This clearly shows that the culture of recognition truly works. It not only increases engagement, but also directly influences responsibility and the quality of results.

People naturally strengthen what becomes visible.

Does your culture exist beyond screens?

Communication creates understanding. But it does not automatically create real interaction. And interaction is what determines how effectively the system works.

When teams and specialists lack shared context and meaningful connections, decisions slow down, synchronization becomes harder, and ideas fail to reach implementation. And this goes far beyond work itself.

Today, when team members may live in completely different parts of the world, offline formats become incredibly important. They help build stronger relationships, create trust faster, and develop real synergy between people.

At RedCore, we implement a systematic event strategy that includes monthly activities in every location, more than 20 major events, and over 100 office initiatives every year. We also make sure remote specialists can participate by covering logistics and accommodation expenses when needed. We pay special attention to cultural context as well. Teams celebrate national holidays together, helping both local and relocated specialists feel connected and adapt more comfortably to a new environment. As a result, our attendance rates exceed 80%, while employee satisfaction consistently remains above 90%.

We also actively invest in wellbeing initiatives including mental health webinars, sports activities, participation in international marathons, and programs involving psychologists. All of this helps maintain balance between performance and wellbeing, which ultimately strengthens the effectiveness of the entire system.

Would your corporate culture continue working without your constant involvement?

If the answer is no, then it is not truly a system yet. A strong culture should not require constant manual control. Eventually, it begins operating through people themselves. There is a well-known idea: “If everything falls apart without you, then you are not leading effectively.” The same principle applies to culture.

Of course, at the beginning, culture must be intentionally built. You define shared values, create the environment, and establish the mechanisms. But the real question comes later: does the culture continue growing without direct involvement from leadership?

At RedCore, our specialists actively develop self-driven communities. Today, we already have more than 18 communities based on shared interests including sports, books, gaming, travel, investing, and much more.

And they have long gone beyond simple group chats. For example, our sports community independently launches challenges and initiatives ranging from regular training sessions to marathon participation. As a business, we support these formats and help scale them further.

This is an important moment. When employees stop waiting for initiatives from above and begin creating the environment where they personally want to grow and belong, culture stops being just a process and becomes a living system. And that is exactly when culture begins scaling naturally while directly strengthening the business itself.

Ultimately, corporate culture is not a declaration of values, a communication strategy, or a set of isolated initiatives. It is a complete system that shapes how people make decisions, how they interact with one another, and how the business functions overall. And that directly impacts efficiency, growth speed, and financial results.

So after answering these questions honestly, what conclusion did you reach?

Is your culture truly working for the business? Or are you still manually managing processes instead of building a system?

At RedCore, we are always looking for people who share our vision and want to grow alongside us while discovering new opportunities within a strong and dynamic environment.

Want to become part of the team?
Submit your CV via the link below.

The post 5 Questions to Test If Your Corporate Culture Really Works appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

The 5×4 title triggers a Plinko round on three scatters, with up to 740 balls and a stated 3,963x max win.

Habanero has launched Steampunk Plinko, a new 5×4 slot that blends traditional slot play with a Plinko-style ball-drop feature. The supplier positions the release as a hybrid format, built around a steampunk theme.

The Plinko Feature triggers when players land three scatter symbols. Once active, a spinning wheel with three rings determines the number of balls awarded, with Habanero stating up to 740 balls can be awarded in a single feature round.

During the feature, balls drop through a board with bumpers that increase prize values on contact. Habanero said the large gold bumper awards a 7x multiplier, while balls can land in prize buckets worth between 1x and 10x, with additional multipliers of up to 20x applied on top. The company lists maximum win potential at up to 3,963x.

Steampunk Plinko also includes Habanero engagement tools Jackpot Race and its latest Buy Feature, which the supplier says gives operators additional configuration options. The launch follows recent releases Raiden Shogun and Fortune Dragon Joy.

Toni Karapetrov, Head of Corporate Communications at Habanero, said: “Steampunk Plinko is a truly unique title that takes a casino classic and reimagines it through a detailed steampunk world, combining a familiar format with modern mechanics and a feature round built around multiplying rewards.

“The bumper and bucket system creates a different rhythm to a standard free spins feature, giving players something easy to follow but completely different to anything else on the market. We’re particularly excited to bring this one to our operator network and anticipate a great reaction from players.”

The post Habanero releases Steampunk Plinko slot with ball-drop feature appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Anderson has served as interim CFO since May 4 as Scientific Games begins a search for a permanent finance chief.

Scientific Games said May 12 that Chief Financial Officer Nick Negro will leave the company on May 15, ending a three-year tenure. The company said Negro is departing for an opportunity based in Chicago to be closer to family.

Scientific Games has appointed Ray Anderson as interim Chief Financial Officer, effective May 4, while it searches for a permanent CFO.

“Nick has been a strong member of our leadership team and an advocate for the potential of Scientific Games,” said Pat McHugh, Chief Executive Officer for Scientific Games. “During his time with the company, he significantly strengthened our financial and procurement organizations and helped position Scientific Games for continued growth. We thank Nick for his contributions and wish him all the best.”

Anderson is a CPA with more than 30 years of global experience, including senior roles at KPMG across the U.S., Europe and Asia. Most recently, he served as a Global Lead Partner advising Fortune 500 companies on audit, capital markets and regulatory strategy, and previously led KPMG’s Pacific Southwest audit practice for six years.

“Ray is a highly respected finance leader with extensive global experience advising large, complex organizations,” said McHugh. “We are confident in his ability to support the business and our Finance organization during this transition.”

The post Scientific Games CFO Nick Negro to depart May 15; Ray Anderson named interim appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.