HR policies and governance for Event production houses: conduct, safety and travel rules in plain words
A production house sends crews out with costly equipment and little supervision. A few short policies, understood and signed, set the ground rules before a job goes wrong.
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Share your requirementsWhy HR policies and governance matters in event production houses
Rules in event production often live in speeches. The owner says no drinking on a rig, and everyone agrees, until one tired night someone does. Travel allowances, overtime and damage to hired gear are argued case by case. A day-rate helper has never seen any rule, so he follows the last company he worked for.
Policies need not be long. One page each on conduct and safety, equipment care, travel and lodging, and phones and social media, written in simple language and, where needed, in the language of the crew. They are explained at induction, repeated before big jobs and applied the same way to everyone. A qualified professional should check any wording about law.
How to set it up
1. List the situations that cause trouble
Alcohol on a job, equipment damage, late arrival, phones on a rig, travel disputes and photos shared online.
2. Write one page for each topic
What is expected, what is not allowed and what happens if the rule is broken. Keep sentences short.
3. Review with crew chiefs
Ask if each rule can be followed on a real job. Adjust where it cannot, and explain the reasons for those that stay.
4. Brief everyone and take a signature
Walk through the rules aloud with new joiners and day-rate helpers before the first job. See HR policies and governance.
5. Apply the rules evenly and review yearly
Record breaches and responses, and see if any rule needs changing after a season.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask three crew members what the rule on alcohol is and compare answers.
- Check whether day-rate helpers receive the rules at all.
- Count disputes over travel or damage last season.
- See whether the last breach was handled the same way as the one before.
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Questions owners ask
They apply to anyone working on your job. Give them the conduct and safety pages in simple language before the first job. Ask a qualified professional how to word engagement terms.
Clear and simple, since safety is at stake on a rig. State what is not allowed and what follows. Apply it to everyone, including seniors, or it will not be respected.
The production manager or HR lead, with the owner approving. Keep one current copy, record who has read it and revisit the pages after each season.