4 Opportunities in Talent Management
April 2022
The ABA research team is in the midst of conducting a large, quantitative study of staff members at arts organizations across the globe to understand what they most value in an employment offer.
To inform our survey, we spoke with a number of heads of HR at a wide range of arts institutions about the challenges and opportunities they see across the field. Here are four things we heard that talent managers are doing to promote employee engagement.
1. Recognizing the value in being a talent incubator
We heard from several arts leaders that they are leaning into their role as a talent incubator for certain levels of arts professionals. Instead of working to retain these individuals when the next level of role progression may not be available to them, these institutions are working to provide a strong training ground that will set their employees up for success as they move into roles at other companies. Cultivating a strong reputation for skill development can be an equally valuable employment proposition for prospective talent as internal opportunities to grow.
2. Investing in manager training
HR leaders across our membership agreed that one of the biggest factors for employee happiness and retention is the strength of their managers. Yet during a time when teams are stretched in their capacity, internal training and development can be a challenge to execute.
Fortunately, there are small steps that even the leanest arts institutions have taken to improve their managers’ leadership skills. One organization has instituted checkpoint meetings between HR and each manager to ensure that they feel supported with the tools they need to succeed. Other ABA member institutions have taken part in our Management Fundamentals Series, which offers managers an opportunity to refresh their skills in coaching, communication, delegating, and navigating challenging conversations.
For ABA members, the next sessions of Management Fundamentals will be held in June and July — register today!
3. Finding creative ways to maximize benefits
With the presence of salary constraints across the arts industry, many leaders must think creatively about how to use benefits to supplement monetary compensation.
Health benefits, both mental and physical, have provided the highest return on investment among the HR leaders we interviewed. Some have focused on providing diverse options, such as connecting employees with a network of mental health professionals or finding an insurance option that allows individuals to pick their own provider. Others have investigated ways to lower healthcare costs for their staff — one organization shared that their decision to cover employees’ deductibles was both a manageable expense and a highly valued benefit. When it comes to mental health benefits, the best organizations experiment with ways to get usage: availability without stigma reduction to encourage usage is not as valuable.
4. Creating a transparent hiring process
More and more arts organizations are recognizing the need for transparency in the recruitment process for new roles. For many, this has meant explicitly posting salary ranges in all postings for open roles, a practice that is gaining widespread acceptance as an expectation for companies hiring new employees.
Beyond the recruitment process, onboarding is a key opportunity for arts organizations to set the tone and company culture for new hires. Many HR managers reported having the desire, but not the resources, to build a standardized onboarding process. Those who have, however, dedicated the time and resources to establishing an onboarding process that provides new hires a comprehensive view of the organization reported high levels of satisfaction in the effectiveness of this HR initiative.