Talent Management - January 2009 - (Page 33)

1992 “Glengarry Glen Ross” In tough positions like sales or in tough industries like real estate, motivational speakers should be — ta-da — motivational. Dangling assistance, particularly when you’re lying, creates a toxic work environment where back stabbing and conﬂict are as common as watercooler conversations. 1999 “Ofﬁce Space” Procedural items and other “important” company policies are no excuse to treat employees like children. Further, banal cruelty can be worse than a punch in the gut. But employee honesty often is the best policy, so long as it’s not hypnosis-induced. 2006 “The Devil Wears Prada” If only all bosses with insanely high expectations; no respect for employees’ qualiﬁcations or job satisfaction; and a cruel streak honed to scalpel speciﬁcations dressed this good. Like Putch, she said relationships are the barrier against difﬁcult situations that can blow a budget or ruin chemistry on a set. “The producer of a television show is the one promising that deadlines and budgets will be met,” she explained. “Time is money, but you take an attitude that everything can be dealt with.” Newman agreed that actors, like employees, can be temperamental. She said actors run a gamut of emotions during the day because of the range of scenes they have to play. If they’re working on a particularly difﬁcult scene, the crew has to be more ﬂexible with direction. Respect and genuine concern can motivate cast and crew and make talent management that much easier. “We’re spending 16 hours a day together. You get to know people on a deeper level than you would in a typical corporate setting,” Newman said. “Because of the long hours away from home, you’ll see actors who own pets bring the animals to the set. On certain shows, actors bring their kids to the set to have lunch or hang out in a dressing room.” verse personalities, and each has a different approach to her work.” The producer and his or her team mesh those personalities and make them work together whether the camera is on or not. And regardless of the medium, challenges arise. In rare situations when an actor refuses to leave the dressing room, Newman’s ﬁrst step is a polite attempt to open the door, ﬁguratively or literally. “If an actor or actress is locked behind a door, it could be that he doesn’t know his lines or she doesn’t like the way her hair has been done,” Newman said. The director’s role on a ﬁlm set offers the best parallel to what HR executives face when recruiting talent. If it seems like coddling, Newman said these things are done to improve working conditions and to keep people on task. According to Newman, those new to the TV industry may not understand why, for example, meals are catered. But imagine the delays and confusion if everyone was scrambling around to constantly ﬁnd breakfast, lunch or dinner. What looks like pampering to outsiders is really a formula for holding people to insanely tight timelines and budgets. “What we’re doing is creating an environment that allows actors to focus on acting,” said Sean Patrick Crowell, a key grip and Hollywood veteran who has worked on ﬁlms such as “Terminator 3” and TV shows such as “Six Feet Under.” The complexity of managing talent increases when a cast becomes an ensemble, such as “Sex and the City,” Newman said. “You have four women, four very di- To a corporate executive, these concerns may seem unreasonable, superﬁcial or silly. But Hollywood’s work is about image, which, given heightened media scrutiny, increasingly has relevance for corporate entities, as well. An actor’s concern about wardrobe or makeup is a legitimate desire to have the right tools for the job at hand, no different than a corporate executive’s demand for the right software, equipment or team. Ironically, behind the glitzy facade of Hollywood, the desire to forge strong and long-lasting working relationships is what seems to matter most. Empathy, candid critiques and lots of collaboration appear to be hallmarks of the best of Hollywood talent management. Bill Perry is managing partner of March 24 Media LLC, a marketing and communications consultancy serving the training industry. He can be reached at editor@talentmgt.com. January 2009 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com 33 http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - January 2009

Talent Management - January 2009 Editor’s Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Integrate Web 2.0 Into the On-Boarding Experience Show ’Em the Money: Compensation Trends 2009 Transition at the Top How Hollywood Manages Talent and What You Can Learn Get the Most Bang With Limited Training Bucks Life After Layoffs Attract Specific Talent Groups Performance Management: Its Time Is Now Helping the Helpers Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

Talent Management - January 2009

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