The Makeup of Your Workforce

Whether your workforce is large or small there are some qualities you want. We've talked about them at various times in this blog but it's worth trying to pull them together in one place to describe your ideal group of employees. Not every one of your Creatives will have all of these; the idea is to get the right mix of these factors throughout your workforce. Obviously, if you have a larger firm you've got a better chance of finding all of these, so the smaller your firm, the more you'll have to work at getting it right.

First of all, you're looking for Creatives that are young at heart, though not necessarily young in age. After all, if you go discriminating based on age you're going to be in pretty big legal trouble not to mention just being morally wrong. But really, age is just a number. What you need are people who are enthusiastic, self-motivated, hoping to try new things and planning on making a difference in their field. As a matter of fact, far from hiring only Creatives who are young in age, you'll ideally have a mix of ages to give you different levels of experience. The goal here is to have employees who aren't set in their ways, but who instead are still interested in doing something innovative.

You should also look for people with an education. That education might not be in their particular creative field, but having an education provides a strong foundation for innovation. One of the best graphic designers I know earned his degree in biology, while a great hairstylist double-majored in biology and psychology. Education isn't just about the specific classes someone takes, it's more about learning how to think in different ways. Even if your Creatives don't have a university education, they should at least have some formal training in their field. Study helps your Creatives further develop, and learn how to best use, their natural talents.

Another factor to look for is overseas experience. As we've talked about before, people who have lived overseas tend to be more creative. Whether that's because they lived overseas, or they lived overseas because they're more creatively focused, is unclear. Either way, it's a useful indicator. That could include foreign workers coming here as well.

Finally, you need people who have strong individual abilities they can bring to a team. Finding people who can work equally well on their own or as part of a team can be tricky. You need Creatives who can work well on their own, who have developed strong skills. But in most cases, a single Creative isn't what you need; you need to combine a number of people's skills. At the same time, you don't want employees who are totally dependent upon others.

Again, remember that not every employee is going to have all these qualities; what you need is a good mix. But the smaller your firm, the fewer employees you'll have to spread these requirements across, so each employee will need to have more of these attributes than is the case in a larger company.

And of course, these are just a few things to look for; there surely are more. Any thoughts?