What Are The HR Requirements To Support Business Transformation In A Rapidly Changing M&E Environment?

July 16, 2018

In recent years, the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry has been experiencing global changes with trends emerging that will provide both opportunities and challenges for companies within these markets.

The industry is highly competitive with creativity and people at its core meaning companies need to understand the hurdles they now face and anticipate in the future as they seek to attract, develop and retain talent.

A Changing Industry

But the critical change in the new era is that demand is now completely consumer driven. The new age consumer not only demands what they like but also in the format they like.

On the business side, the use of Operational technology such as robotic process automation (RPA) and blockchain has given organisations within this sector the potential to reduce costs and improve productivity, which is a crucial lifeline with the current pressure on monetisation models.

Together, these changes are forcing the M&E sector to re-evaluate their offer bundling, pricing strategies and, more broadly, undertake ongoing business transformation. And to remain competitive in a marketplace where talent is the key to success, many companies will need to redefine not only their business strategy but their people strategy too.

The role of HR in Business Transformation

Business transformation can be complex, costly and usually encounters unforeseen complications. For M&E companies, these transformations are compounded by the creative culture that drives their business – they need to be placing additional focus on the human components of transformation by aligning the company’s people strategy with business objectives.

Traditionally, when it comes to business transformation within most companies, HR organisations only play a support role at the final stages by developing tactical action plans. However, within the M&E industry, it is extremely beneficial to use their HR in a more strategic function.

The key to making this work is developing a close working relationship between the human resources function and business functions. Studies have found that when the HR department plays a strategic partner role within the company, positive results are expected for the company’s bottom line and business transformation initiatives.

Their role should include taking part in forward planning sessions, using data to predict talent gaps in advance and providing the business with insights into how talent relates to business goals.

The importance of Talent Management

Until recently, talent management had always been defined as all processes that relate to the employee life cycle from talent acquisition to performance management and reward ending in separation.

There is now an emerging shift in traditional talent management – the focus is now on improving the overall employee experience. Employee culture and employee engagement are critical and are linked to employee productivity and turnover.

To embrace this change, organisations must consider their employees as internal customers and take the time to better understand their needs – and to ensure success, this employee advocacy should be owned and driven by HR.

The role of HR Technology

Better employee digital experiences and HR technologies cannot only facilitate more efficient work execution but also help the company create and retain a more engaged workforce.

While M&E companies have moved forward significantly in digital experiences for their external consumers, it is now time to shift focus inward to improve the same experiences for their internal customers.

HR technology has advanced greatly over the last few years with new products and technology beginning to change the environment and the way organisations think about how HR can support broader business initiatives.

This, combined with the M&E industry’s unique needs in terms of talent sourcing, recruiting, development and pay, means that organisations within this sector must identify their specific HR technology requirements to keep up with today’s internal customer needs.

HR Support within the M&E Industry

As the focus on the internal customer continues to increase, companies will need professional and experienced HR support to develop and align the people strategy that best fits the business’ overall objectives.

If your business is looking for guidance on drafting an effective People Strategy to align with business objectives or need practical HR support, call Sophie Forrest on 01892 548156 or email sophie@forresthr.com