I spent many years as a workaholic arts manager, working late into the evening, and often tried to remind myself that no-one is indispensable, writes Kate Montefiore. I don’t believe that anymore.
Anyone who commits their expertise and energy to working in the arts brings something of themselves to their jobs. Jobs are moulded around the skills and experience of the individual. Recruitment is only one aspect of getting staffing right. Retention of staff has always been a problem in the arts, mainly because of poor pay and stressful environments. My research shows that, often, staff leave one poorly paid stressful job to go to more of the same elsewhere.
Many organisations see the time and expense put into recruitment as a sad necessity. How much does it cost to recruit staff? Why do we spend time analysing a job and redefining the job description for new staff, when that could have been done before the previous person resigned?
A look at the commercial sector reveals a different story; recruitment and retention go hand in hand. Many commercial organisations are in a position to offer bonuses, share options, flexible working arrangements and sponsored study leave. They recognise the need to keep good staff and budget for this as a priority above recruitment. Such organisations practice something called ‘gesture management’. This should not be confused with a ‘hollow promise management’ style, but something whereby a gesture is used to retain valued and loyal staff. It is recognised that a gesture of goodwill, be it financial or otherwise, is a great deal cheaper than replacing staff and benefits the company in many ways.
So, how can we use gesture management in the arts?
- Pay – Make sure you have an open and fair pay structure. Work annual increments into your budget. Recognise the extra tasks some people undertake within their pay.
- Bonus – We can’t offer big bonuses, but recognition at the right time (say, Christmas or when something special has been achieved) can do wonders.
- Listen – When an employee raises a concern, or asks for a pay rise, make sure you hear all the points they are making. They may need a new direction or challenge; their personal circumstances may have changed to make them disgruntled; or they may be interested in a training opportunity.
- Do – Often a relatively small change in an employee’s working environment can be easily achieved. It may not be possible to change the exact thing that is a problem to a member of staff, but try to do something towards it and make sure it isn’t such a small gesture that it looks like a slap in the face. A compromise is better than just saying no.
- Review – on a regular basis carry out development reviews with all staff. Ensure the job description is still valid and appropriate and talk about the aspirations of the member of staff. Continuing Professional Development has been a buzz phrase recently. Organisations (often through such programmes as Investors In People) have improved their appraisal systems, but they are often still carried out with a tick box attitude. Take time to do it properly.
- Empower – Lower management must have the training, expertise, experience and power to carry out changes and/or to be heard higher up. There is little point in a box office manager carrying out staff development sessions with box office staff if the issues brought up are not acted upon. In fact this is almost more damaging than not hearing about the problem in the first place.
- Visibility – When you are at events, don’t just be seen to be hobnobbing, even though that may be your job, but introduce your guests to the box office staff, go back stage and tell people if you have enjoyed their performance. Notice when the crew have had a difficult job that evening or how busy the bar staff are and thank them.
- Incentives – we may not be able to offer share options, but what perks can you offer?
- Flexible – think about how flexible you are able to be in order to retain a valued member of staff. Study leave, extended maternity leave, time off for charity work or a secondment are possible options.
So, let’s agree that not everyone is easily replaced. A good employee makes a job their own and to seek an exact replacement is not only nearly impossible, but often impractical.
Kate Montefiore is a freelance Arts Management and Marketing Consultant.
e: {katemontefiore@ splatz.demon.co.uk}