Finding talent is always the hardest part of owning an event production company. Lately, we have been using Indeed for many of our new staff. We are also using specialized Facebook groups that have the people we need as members. For instance, one of the Facebook groups we use is for stagehands and tech workers. I put a post up in that and got 30+ responses in 24 hours from people that have experience building truss, running lights, being video techs, etc. and so it made my hiring so much easier.
Indeed has brought more raw talent to our team where we have had to train people from scratch but the people that stick with us are usually really reliable and loyal because we gave them a chance.
For training, we have multiple training days at our office throughout the year where we set aside time to go over the basics and new things to keep our staff up to date on things. I would say about 15-25 of those each year.
In addition, we do on-the-job training where we will bring people out to shadow one of our veteran techs so they can see the job in a live setting. This helps them understand what we require from them and how we will expect them to do the job.
The hardest thing though is finding DJs. That is still something we struggle with all the time. I found it easier to reach out to my industry friends, even competitors, and build strong relationships where we can use each other to help us fill in the gaps. For instance, if I need a DJ for a really busy day, I hire them through my friend’s company and they represent my company that day for me.
Relationships are key in this industry, why be competitors when you can complement each other’s business by sharing resources.
Ross Akselrad is the owner of Pulse Productions in Philadelphia.
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