HR in the Entertainment Industry: Bridging the Gap Between Creativity and Administration

In this episode, HR Director Kristen Foley provides a deep dive into her experiences within the entertainment industry. She emphasizes the vital role of bridging the gap between creativity and administration, stressing the significance of prioritizing employee experience. Kristen delves into effective strategies for nurturing creativity and well-being in the workplace, including mentorship and holistic wellness initiatives, and she highlights the importance of leading by example.

Kristen Foley is a seasoned Human Resources professional with a rich background in fostering healthy workplace cultures. With roles spanning from Human Resources Director at GrandSon Creative and Kate Somerville Skincare to her current positions as a Human Resources Consultant for the Wellness Industry, Kristen's 20 years of experience, combined with her passion for wellness, empower her to guide startups in building strong organizational foundations. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of People Analytics:

• Working with creatives who love what they do brings a unique dynamic to HR in the entertainment industry.
• Creatives think more abstractly, which requires a different approach when it comes to HR processes and communication.
• Balancing structure and creativity is key to supporting creative professionals without stifling their imagination.
• Find ways to add value and satisfaction to your current role without necessarily seeking a promotion.
• Listen and let individuals find their own solutions.
• Minimize tensions in difficult conversations by removing the fear factor.
• Show compassion and kindness when delivering difficult information.

Resources:

• GrandSon Creative
• StaffGeek

Connect with Kristen Foley:

• LinkedIn

Connect with our host, Lindsay Patton:

• LinkedIn
• Email

Quotables:

• 13:25 - “Just looking back over the years, I mean, I think there's so many ways that you can add value and satisfaction to someone's role if you don't necessarily have a promotion, you know, or a role to promote them into, there's mentorship and there's, you know, we have, we had graduate business analyst training programs and we have internships, and we have, you know, different programs with universities throughout the years in my, in the companies that I've worked with. And I think that when someone gets the opportunity to share what they do, it reignites that passion in a way.”
• 22:19 - “Every day, if there's something that you can do to one degree of progress, that time is going to go by so fast anyway. You might as well do something small, then do nothing at all, because it's too overwhelming to say, I'm gonna completely overhaul my life tomorrow on Monday. These are all the things I wasn't doing before. It's so much more impactful and sustainable to just do something small each day and then build on that and have that compound effect.”
• 05:27 - “The way I think about it is, you know, structure versus non-structure. I used to work with, and I still do work with quite a bit of artists, but in a journalistic capacity, you know, I had to enforce deadlines quite a bit. And I think I realized it was because, you know, artists, you know, and I consider myself a creative as well, we kind of live in a world without structure or limits or boxes. So it's, you know, I think there has to be that extra step, like you said, the handholding of reinforcing deadlines and, you know, reminders and things like that.”
• 12:48 - “It reminded me of what you said about how artists, they're more open to, you know, the experiences that are, you know, a little bit more horizontal as opposed to, I believe the financial sector was more about climbing the ladder as, you know, a people person.
• 22:52 - Lindsay: “I know one thing that's important to you is leading by example. So I'm certain that, you know, leading by example is showing that these tweaks are smaller, you know, as you're progressing, like, hey, I'm at this point, but I'm still making progress. So how do you, you know, what other ways do you lead by example within the organization?”
  Kristen: “I would say, well, I certainly bring my wellness habits. So from a literal standpoint, like I show up with my healthy foods, I take my walks at lunch, I'll take calls, you know, while walking if possible, if it's a meeting that I don't need to be like, you know, face-to-face on Zoom or something like that. Something I just need to listen in on. So I do encourage people to do that when they can. I'll go to the gym across the street with some of my coworkers at lunch. Hey, I'm going to go walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Do you want to come? And they do, so literally leading by example in that way, like, follow me to the gym.”