Managing Human Resources

It used to be called ‘personnel’, or ‘personnel management’, and now has the title ‘human resources management’, usually shortened to HRM. Within large organisations it can be the least visible until people problems arise. It has to undertake the dull but vitally necessary tasks of ensuring that an organisation’s ‘people management’ complies with the law and that the company gets the best out of the people it employs. So, what’s this got to do with the comparatively small, lively, friendly, funky, chaotic world of festivals? No matter how small and cuddly your festival is, the management of people, whether full time or very occasional, will be crucial to your success. This chapter sets out the principles which will increasingly apply as your festival develops and grows.