Studios are busy and often chaotic environments that need to be run like the tightest of ships if they want to achieve their goals and produce quality work at scale and at speed. That’s why studio managers play such an integral role.
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, demand for Studio Managers is expected to grow 6 percent through 2024, amounting to more than 42,000 annual openings, including the creation of new positions and existing positions becoming available through job turnover. So, it’s certainly a role with a solid future.
But what should you be looking for when hiring one for your own agency? Let’s start with the basics.
Who or what is a studio manager?
Studio Managers can work in multiple industries and settings such as music, graphic design or television studios. They often have prior experience in fields such as communication, music production, engineering and broadcasting.
Due to the varied settings in which they may work, studio manager jobs may vary as far as specific duties and expectations are concerned. However, the general requirements of the job are to be able to supervise a staff and oversee the daily operations of the studio. No matter in what sector a Studio Manager works, however, he or she must be prepared to become part of a fast-paced organization that carries a significant amount of stress.
How to find and hire the right studio manager
To be able to manage staff and oversee the daily tasks of the studio, the top Studio Managers must be able to manage people and time. That much is a given, but there are other qualities you should be looking out for too.
1. Always look for a born multi-tasker
The best studio managers are natural and organised multi-taskers that have a habit of accomplishing a multitude of tasks all while wearing a thousand hats at once. Ok, that might be a bit of an overstatement but, studio managers, as with creative directors, are the kind of individuals that are expected to be masters of all trades. So, you don’t want to be looking for somebody that declares themselves a specialist in one field.
2. Look beyond the obvious
Not all studio mangers know they’re studio managers yet. Indeed, most studio managers might have worked in graphic design, photography, as a visualiser or any number of other roles. Explore your options and if you think somebody has great entrepreneurial skills and the ability to plan and organise while maintaining a creative spark, they could be right for the role. And if they haven’t worked as a studio manager before you might be able to get them for a steal too!
3. Make sure they are tech savvy
A studio manager doesn’t need to have a formal engineering qualification, but the more they understand the technology in the studio, the better they will be able to advise clients. This is particularly important as new technology becomes available as it’s always important to stay ahead of the competition. At the very least they should be skilled with Adobe applications including inDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat and Microsoft Office applications. They should also be skilled in general art working, press preparation and possibly website content updates using CMS programmes such as Wordpress.
4. Know what you’re looking for
The role will vary greatly depending on the size of the facility. If it’s a small independent operation with one or two small studios, the manager may do a whole range of tasks – set the rate card (the daily or hourly cost to hire the studio), secure new clients, ensure each production runs smoothly, recruit staff and oversee health and safety. However, studios are often part of a larger group of companies, in which case the marketing, sales and HR roles may be shared with other people. Know what kind of studio you are and what kind of manager you require before even considering dipping your toes in the pool.
5. Are they likeable?
This is a very risky question to ask as what makes a person inherently likeable to one company might make them inherently unlikeable to another. A studio manager, ultimately, must manage. As well as understanding all elements of the design process from end-to-end they must also act as relationship managers between the creative and account teams. And to do that properly, it needs to be somebody that is liked by both sides.
Using Creativepool
Looking to hire a studio manager? Creativepool has thousands of super-talented members waiting to make your projects work better for their users.
There are 3 ways for you to find a studio manager on Creativepool.
1. Search and Contact
Want greater control of who you work with and the process behind it? Searching for talent directly and then handpicking who you would like to work is a great way to be proactive in your talent hunting.
Simply search for studio managers and browse through the results. You will be able to look through projects, CVs/Resumes of the talent listed to make an informed decision on your next hire.
On Creativepool we use a series of indicators to rank our members based on job title. Looking through the top 25 ranked studio managers is also a powerful and quick way to view the best in talent on the platform.
Once you have found someone whose style and experience works for you, contact them directly by clicking on the message tab. Searching is ideal if you have a very specific idea on who it is that you would like to be working with.
2. Post a studiogig
Looking for a freelance studio manager? The quickest way to find available talent is to advertise your brief. With us, briefs for individuals are called studiogigs.
Posting your role is formulated to be quick and easy and once you have posted your role, we get busy behind the scenes selecting the best talent to send out your brief to and then post the role on the jobs board. Once you have advertised your brief then just relax and wait for applicants to come to you directly!
3. Post a job
If you are looking for a permanent studio manager, then advertising a studio manager job is the way for you to attract talent. The process is identical to posting a studiogig.
Once you have posted your role we will check the details of the adverts, send out job alerts to our community that best match your criteria and post on the jobs board. Like studiogigs applicants will apply to you direct.
Whether posting a job or a studiogig or searching for talent you are in control on who you hire. You are under no obligation to choose any of the applicants, and you negotiate with them directly on rates.
If you need any help on your talent hunt. You can chat with us or send us a message. We'd be happy to help.
