I run a small video production company with a partner in a major metro area in the Northeast. We specialize in multi-cam concert videos, music videos, and business, non-profit, and artist profile videos. We're reaching a point where we have more post production work than we can handle, and are preparing to hire another editor in the spring of 2012. Before we put up a job posting though, I was hoping I could get some feedback from the community here on how to go about it since we're trying to figure out whether to hire someone full-time, part-time, or work with freelancers, and also how to best put together a compensation package.
Prior to starting this company I was fortunate to have a part-time job (0-20 hours a week) that paid enough to cover my living expenses and fund my own creative projects, while still allowing me lots of time to work to work on them. In contrast, I've seen a lot of my creative peers take on full time jobs (even ones related to their discipline), and then never have the time or energy to continue working on their own projects.
We're going to be seeking out editors who have their own creative projects and we want to make it possible for them to continue (or start) working on them once they start with us. Our initial thought is that the best way to do this is by hiring an editor part-time. That said, we don't want them to have to take a second part-time job or freelance work in order to cover their living expenses. Nevertheless, we can't pay a full-time salary for part-time work.
Which leads me to a three-part question for the community.
1. How much would you value the following job benefits. What would be most valuable to you, least valuable? Most importantly, how valuable is the flexible scheduling?
- Flexible scheduling. Here are a couple example options:
2. What other factors about a position or company do you weigh heavily when considering taking a medium to long term position?
3. And finally, how much would you need to earn annually (keeping in mind the above benefits) to make such a job worthwhile? And in order for that number to mean something, how much would you need to earn from a standard 40-hour a week editing job (minus the flexibility, access to gear), as well as how much would you need to earn working as a freelancer. If you'd rather not put dollar values, you could put percentages. For example, perhaps if you made X dollars working full-time, you'd need to make 130% of X if you were working as a freelancer, or 60% of X if you were doing the part-time job as outlined above (with flexibility, full health, etc).
Giving this kind of flexibility will definitely inconvenience us from a human resources and project management perspective. Ultimately, we'd probably need to hire more editors, which would be more expensive for us since with two part-time editors we'd be paying both full benefits, whereas we could instead have just one full-time editor on full benefits.
Nevertheless, I'm working under the premise that the added cost to us will be worth it since by ensuring that our employees have time to work on their own projects they will be happier and less likely to get burnt out, the improvements to their skills from their work on their side projects will carry over into their work for us, and finally, having employees who are doing cool, inspiring projects on their own, will actually be a selling point to clients considering working with us.
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and any feedback, thoughts, comments would be greatly appreciated!
Prior to starting this company I was fortunate to have a part-time job (0-20 hours a week) that paid enough to cover my living expenses and fund my own creative projects, while still allowing me lots of time to work to work on them. In contrast, I've seen a lot of my creative peers take on full time jobs (even ones related to their discipline), and then never have the time or energy to continue working on their own projects.
We're going to be seeking out editors who have their own creative projects and we want to make it possible for them to continue (or start) working on them once they start with us. Our initial thought is that the best way to do this is by hiring an editor part-time. That said, we don't want them to have to take a second part-time job or freelance work in order to cover their living expenses. Nevertheless, we can't pay a full-time salary for part-time work.
Which leads me to a three-part question for the community.
1. How much would you value the following job benefits. What would be most valuable to you, least valuable? Most importantly, how valuable is the flexible scheduling?
- Flexible scheduling. Here are a couple example options:
Option 1) 20 hours a week, 50 weeks a year
Option 2) 25 hours a week, 40 weeks a year [e.g. for someone who wants to take 2 months and go film a feature in Brazil…]
Option 3) Some combination of the above… The key is we want to give flexibility provided we have sufficient notice.
Option 2) 25 hours a week, 40 weeks a year [e.g. for someone who wants to take 2 months and go film a feature in Brazil…]
Option 3) Some combination of the above… The key is we want to give flexibility provided we have sufficient notice.
- Security of a consistent weekly income, year round (as opposed to the uncertainty of working freelance)
- Full health benefits
- 401(k)
- Access to company production studio space and editing stations and use of company gear for personal projects at no charge or at a significant discount relative to rental houses.
- Editing work that is generally on the more interesting side of the editing spectrum.
- Opportunities to be involved in some production work if desired.
- Full health benefits
- 401(k)
- Access to company production studio space and editing stations and use of company gear for personal projects at no charge or at a significant discount relative to rental houses.
- Editing work that is generally on the more interesting side of the editing spectrum.
- Opportunities to be involved in some production work if desired.
2. What other factors about a position or company do you weigh heavily when considering taking a medium to long term position?
3. And finally, how much would you need to earn annually (keeping in mind the above benefits) to make such a job worthwhile? And in order for that number to mean something, how much would you need to earn from a standard 40-hour a week editing job (minus the flexibility, access to gear), as well as how much would you need to earn working as a freelancer. If you'd rather not put dollar values, you could put percentages. For example, perhaps if you made X dollars working full-time, you'd need to make 130% of X if you were working as a freelancer, or 60% of X if you were doing the part-time job as outlined above (with flexibility, full health, etc).
Giving this kind of flexibility will definitely inconvenience us from a human resources and project management perspective. Ultimately, we'd probably need to hire more editors, which would be more expensive for us since with two part-time editors we'd be paying both full benefits, whereas we could instead have just one full-time editor on full benefits.
Nevertheless, I'm working under the premise that the added cost to us will be worth it since by ensuring that our employees have time to work on their own projects they will be happier and less likely to get burnt out, the improvements to their skills from their work on their side projects will carry over into their work for us, and finally, having employees who are doing cool, inspiring projects on their own, will actually be a selling point to clients considering working with us.
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and any feedback, thoughts, comments would be greatly appreciated!
