Hiring and training photography staff
Last month we talked about these four steps to hiring and training staff:
1. Know Your Demographic 2. Have a Relevant Interview Process 3. Create a Job Description 4. What Kind of Staff Member?
If you haven’t had a chance to read Part 1, definitely make your way over there as we’ll build upon those concepts in Part 2.
The final four steps include the methodology behind how to train staff for specific tasks, anticipating turnover so it doesn’t throw a wrench in your production engine and what to pay. Let’s get started!
Train Them Right
Training staff doesn’t have to be difficult or an overwhelming task. It does take time, but it doesn’t have to be wasted time. First, remember your staff member is not you. It would be nice if we could clone ourselves, but we can’t, and we can’t expect our staff to morph into our clone either, or read our thoughts for that matter. Training will take communication and time.
The key to training staff is to train them strategically so their skills build upon each other. The first thing I teach my office assistant or intern is how to work my collage and album-building program, LumaPix. I do this because I’m teaching them a skill that they’ll use to do multiple projects in the office. Next I teach them our shipping system. Again, a skill that I can have them use often.
Understandably, we’re photographers with photography training, not teachers with educational training, so teaching someone the ropes doesn’t come naturally for us. Having a Bachelor of Education degree, I learned a simple, four-step method to teach effectively. I have used the same process to teach my staff and many photographers around the world.
