Competency and talent management for OTT production companies: remembering who to bring back
When a season wraps, knowledge of who was brilliant, reliable or difficult sits in the heads of a few producers. A simple record keeps it with the company.
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Share your requirementsWhy competency and talent management matters in OTT production companies
Talent in a project company is mobile. A cinematographer you loved works elsewhere next year. A coordinator who held a shoot together is available for six weeks only. The company that remembers who is good, and what they are good at, hires faster and better than one that starts a search every season.
Competency management here is modest. Define the skills each role needs, rate each person after each season in a short review with the department head, and note who is ready for more responsibility. Keep the record light and honest. It becomes the first place you look when a new season is approved.
How to set it up
1. Define skills by role
List three to six skills for each key role, such as handling platform notes, leading a unit or managing a tight edit.
2. Review each person at wrap
The department head completes a short form: strengths, gaps, reliability, working style and whether to rehire.
3. Hold a short talk with the person
Share the review, hear their view and agree what they would like next. This builds goodwill and honesty.
4. Spot the next leads
Note assistants ready for a bigger role and put them in a stretch position on the next season.
5. Store the record where producers can reach it
Keep it with the employee information held for each season, with access limited to those who hire.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask a department head to name three people they would rehire and see whether the company has their details.
- Check whether last season's review forms were filled and stored.
- List assistants who got a bigger role than before in the last year.
- See whether any person left on bad terms without a note saying why.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach competency and talent management in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Most are fine if the review is fair, shared and used to offer better work. Secret ratings cause distrust, so talk through them.
Keep it short. A handful of skills per role that heads can judge from their own experience is enough, because long lists are rarely filled in and rarely read.
Producers and department heads who hire. Keep the records secure, share only what is needed for hiring decisions and ask a qualified professional about handling personal information.