Want to be an inclusive leader? Start with how you communicate

At Gritty Talent we work with production heads on a daily basis who are keen to improve their inclusive leadership skills. “What’s the magic thing I need to know or learn?” They often ask.

Truth is that the skills and tools you need aren’t secret or special. We work to help leaders refine and develop the processes and competencies that they often already have in place.  

But there’s a common theme that always emerges - successful inclusion can only be achieved when there is clear, consistent and considerate communication in your workplace.

A solid line of communication throughout a company is not only instrumental to sustained innovation, collaboration and cohesion in an organisation, but the hallmark of a business that truly cares for its current and prospective talent, collaborators and clients.

Great in theory, but in practice - as companies grow and projects get complex - how do you manage comms in a consistent and clear way that makes sure everyone is included - be they the new intern or the freelance edit producer based 200 miles away?

The first place to start is to have a ‘one point of truth’. It could be a shared folder, it could be your website, but there should be one place where everyone can find useful information like company policies, key contacts for each department, and where they can get help if they need it.

Next layer of comms is how you update your current and prospective team about everyday things. With inboxes overflowing, and multiple ways to message people online, again this is great in theory, but a quagmire in practice.

Every company needs to develop a strategy and workflow that fits their style - but a rule of thumb is to have a way of tracking who you need to reply to, so that things don’t get lost.  

One of the communication challenges exacerbated by the current commissioning/jobs crisis in TV is the much higher volume of applicants per role, and number of CVs sent on spec.

It has led to overwhelm on the part of many companies operating with reduced staff, and caused frustration and anxiety for candidates and freelancers who are experiencing sustained ‘ghosting’ (the act of not responding following a previous conversation).

While there are many things that we may feel powerless about right now - this is one situation that we believe is within our collective power to change. 

The TV Mindset recently launched the #GiveUpTheGhost campaign to do exactly this - reminding hiring managers to reply in a timely way to candidates at a time where a response could be make or break (mentally, emotionally and financially). 

There is no doubt that hiring managers are inundated with applications and inquiries - we’ve felt it ourselves at Gritty Talent. But ghosting in our industry is not new and points to the much wider and longer standing issue of piecemeal and inconsiderate communication. 

It’s not uncommon to hear stories from freelancers about being dropped days before a shoot, budget cuts pushing down rates/days at short notice, or shoots run long past what was contractually agreed. 

No one is having an easy time at the moment, but we believe that if you want to be a truly inclusive company, creating a consistent process to respond - even if it is briefly - is a brilliant act of inclusion and respect.

Even if you don’t have a role to offer, being able to provide candidates with a kind and quick ‘no’ or even better, some brief feedback, is an important way that you can still support the wellbeing of freelancers. Automated responses acknowledging the email has been received (and perhaps some expectation management) are far better than being left in the dark.

As previously mentioned, Gritty Talent is no exception to the uptake in applications and inquiries; we receive a very high volume of CV’s for every job we advertise. However we have committed to a no-ghost culture and try to deliver as thorough a line of communication as possible with all talent.

Here’s our commitments at Gritty, and if you run a production company, or any business engaging lots of freelancers, we’d welcome you to adopt these steps too, and amend to suit your workflow.

• When you submit your CV through our website, you will receive a response to confirm your details have been received.
  
  

• If you haven't had any additional communication from us within two weeks of the application deadline, unfortunately you've not been successful

• If we contact you about your availability or regarding an interview, we will let you know within two weeks if you've been successful

• If you are invited to interview for a role, we will do our best to collect and share feedback from the hiring company about what they liked about your application, and areas where you could improve and grow your skills*.

*Receiving feedback from hiring companies is not always possible, but when working with clients we strongly advocate. 

External communication is one thing, but an inclusive leader champions communication and feedback throughout their company too - from top to bottom and (importantly) vice versa.

Clear and open communication allows people to feel comfortable voicing ideas, addressing concerns and expressing their most authentic selves, all of which will impact your company’s innovation, productivity and staff retention.

Communication is as much for your employees as it is for you, and feedback is a two-way street. Regular appraisals offer both you and your employees a chance to privately review progress, discuss any changes or support that might be needed, as well give credit where due.

Informal catch-ups and entry interviews are great ways to find out if people have any training needs, or blockers stopping them doing good work. Ultimately, communication is about removing as many barriers as possible for employees and your business, and by practising a high-level of communication internally, external efforts become less of a task and more of an ingrained process - but don’t forget, you’re still human! 

Screen business or not, there’s something to be said for being on your A-game when it comes to communication and our commitments above can be easily adapted to your own business. For those who are operating in the TV industry: we’re all in this together and the only way we’ll bounce back stronger than ever is in the same fashion. There are much bigger, systemic issues that must be dealt with to ensure that’s possible, but committing to prioritising communication is a target within all of our own range. 

Want to know more about how you can better support every member of your team? Gritty Talent works with business leaders to create inclusive work cultures and provide data-driven solutions to the unique challenges they face when implementing effective and meaningful EDI strategies. Get in touch with us today at team@grittytalent.tv.