Employee information management for OTT production companies: one tidy file per person, per season
Dozens of freelancers join a season within weeks. A tidy, single record of who they are, what was agreed and when they worked saves the production office long searches.
Not sure what you need? Tell us about your business in six short steps and we will come to the first meeting prepared.
Share your requirementsWhy employee information management matters in OTT production companies
Information on crew lives in chat groups, emails and notebooks. A rate is in a message, a credit request is in a call, an emergency contact is on a scrap of paper. When a platform asks for a crew list or an insurer asks who was on location, the production office spends a day collecting it.
A simple file per person per season solves most of this. Core details, role, dates, rate, terms agreed, emergency contact, credit line, items issued and a note at wrap. It is kept in one folder structure, shared with people who need it and secured from those who do not. Ask a qualified professional about handling personal information.
Some shows shoot in several cities and shared studios. Crew are hired by line producers and unit managers, each with their own method. Without one common file, the same person is recorded three times with three phone numbers, and payment questions at wrap take days to settle.
How to set it up
1. Decide the fields
List what you need: name, contact, role, dates, rate, terms, credit name, emergency contact, access needs, items issued.
2. Build a single sheet or folder
Use whichever your team will keep up to date. One person owns it, and others add through that person.
3. Fill it before the first day
Collect details at engagement, not at wrap. Check emergency contacts and credit names with the person.
4. Update during the season
Note changes in role, dates or items. Record issued items, such as laptops, drives and passes.
5. Standardise across units and locations
Give every line producer and unit manager the same crew sheet, so records from different cities can be joined at wrap.
6. Close at wrap
Mark items returned, final dates and rehire note. Link to the competency record for the next season.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. Use your own records for a defined period and note gaps in the evidence. The review may take longer if records are incomplete or spread across teams.
- Time how long it takes to produce a full crew list for your last season.
- Check whether emergency contacts exist for every person on location.
- See whether credit names were confirmed before the titles were locked.
- Count items issued to freelancers that were not recorded.
- Check whether the same crew member appears with different details in different units' records.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach employee information management in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
For a small house, yes. What matters is that one person owns it and that it is complete before the first day.
Ask a qualified professional what applies to your company. In practice, keep each season's files together, store them securely and decide who may open them.
Only those who need it for work, such as producers and the production office. Limit access to sensitive details such as bank or health information.
Record contact, guardian details, call times and any conditions agreed. Check the rules for child performers with your own adviser.
Hold rates in a restricted file seen only by production management and accounts. Share crew lists without rates with others.
We set up the interview and hiring process for OTT production companies
Every business interviews, but few have a written process that works the same way for every role and every interviewer. GullyHR designs yours, from the role brief to the offer, trains your managers to run it, and can run it for you on the roles you hand us.