Aligning Strategies for Growth and Talent Management in Creative Professional Service Firms

All organisations are reliant on the quality of their human resources, but creative professional service firms (PSFs), including those involved in architecture, media, software development and advertising, are particularly dependant on the talent and motivation of their staff to exercise their expertise. The reputation of the firm is a combination of the professionalism and standing of its individual members and their macro reputation within their profession and wider society. There is no simple rule book or operating manual to address all of the scenarios professionals may encounter and the artistic element within the individual's work extends beyond technical competence, so individual talent and motivation to contribute are critical to firm performance. This reliance on individual talent and motivation renders creative firms highly dependent on their ability to attract and mobilise the right individuals. PSFs need to attract not just creative people, but those who are best motivated to consistently perform and contribute at high levels and to work well with others within that particular firm. To date, the literature has treated PSFs within specific sectors as having homogenous human resource needs. Despite the intuitive importance of attracting and retaining individual professionals whose professional motivation and talents are aligned with a firm's strategy, our review of the literature suggests that theory fails firstly to identify how creative organisations can differ in their strategies for growth, and secondly to identify how alternative strategies for growth can influence the firm's approach to organising and the type of talent it needs. A need to find new approaches to human resource management that are meaningful for business performance is required (Harris, Craig, and Light, 2011) to help business leaders manage talent and address the long term needs of the business.