HR Tools to Support Talent Acquisition, Retention, and DEI in Canada’s Creative Community
Future of Work was developed by Music Publishers Canada and Include.Me(e) with the generous support of Ontario Creates. ADVANCE and Work in Culture also acted as advisors on this project.
Future of Work is a practical suite of HR tools for Canadian arts and culture organizations and companies of all sizes.
With a focus on talent acquisition, retention, and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), Future of Work offers practical human resources tools and templates to help organizations adapt and thrive in a dynamic marketplace.
Future of Work is based on research conducted by Include.Me(e) for Music Publishers Canada that explored the state of employment in the Canadian music publishing industry through a human resources lens.
During two periods in 2021 and 2022, Include.Me(e) gathered qualitative data from music publishing companies and other music related companies on the topics of talent acquisition, retention, and DEI. The research focused specifically on human resources and the skills needed to foster positive growth for the sector.
The result is a report that not only explores what the music publishing industry looks like currently, but which also offers practical HR tools and templates that can be used by any company or organization in the wider arts and culture sector to impact change in their own creative workplace.
Future of Work outlines how to adopt “right practices” in hiring, retaining, and fostering workers, and provides the HR resources and tools needed to implement them.
Future of Work tools and resources will be useful to organizations across the creative industries and the arts and culture sector in Canada.
“As the music publishing industry changes and grows so, too, does the demand for new kinds of skills, knowledge, and experience. Additionally, our sector recognizes the invaluable need to include voices of historically excluded groups in companies of all sizes. Many of our member companies, and organizations in the creative industries at large, don’t have the HR resources to make the changes that they want and need to make. This report aims to help with that by providing valuable and practical HR tools.”
Margaret McGuffin, CEO, Music Publishers Canada
Future of Work was developed by Music Publishers Canada and Include.Me(e) with the generous support of Ontario Creates. Music Publishers Canada is a non-profit membership-based organization that ensures the views of music publishers working in Canada are heard. Include.Me(e) is a consultancy established to foster and enable an inclusive and equitable journey in the workplace. ADVANCE and Work in Culture also acted as advisors on this project.
Work in Culture thanks Music Publishers Canada for making this suite of tools available to the wider arts, culture, and creative community.
Future of Work Resources
Report
Include.Me(e) worked with Music Publishers Canada to research the state of employment in the music publishing industry in Canada from a human resources lens.
There is an ongoing demand for change in the workplace across all industries, and music publishing is no exception. The Future of Work report provides an overview of this shift and offers recommendations and practical human resources tools to help many different types of companies operating in the arts and culture sector, not just those focused on music publishing.
This report includes:
- Research process and findings
- HR recommendations and toolkits
- HR resources for:
- Succession planning
- Talent review and mapping
- Performance management, including evaluations and performance reviews
- The DEI journey, including strategy, roadmaps, and inclusive interview processes
It is free to access and download.
Find the report here: Future of Work [PDF]
Templates
Sample HR templates mentioned in the Future of Work report are also available for you to download and can be customized for use in your own company or organization.
Download the template documents here:
- Succession Planning Template [XLS] (Future of Work appendix 3)
- Performance Review – Manager Evaluation Template [XLS] (Future of Work appendix 5B)
- Performance Review – Self Evaluation Template [XLS] (Future of Work appendix 5C)
- Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) Template [DOC] (Future of Work appendix 5E)
- DEI Strategy and Roadmap Templates [XLS] (Future of Work appendix 6B)
Videos
Learn how to impact change and support the future of work at your creative workplace with this series of on-demand training sessions led by Yvonne Odonkor, Principal at Include.Me(e).
Each video explores a series of HR recommendations and resources from the Future of Work report to help guide you through the basics of building and implementing “right practices” in Talent Mapping, Performance Management, and DEI at your own company or organization.
This training series was produced by Music Publishers Canada, Include.Me(e), and Work in Culture in support of Future of Work.
Talent Mapping
This 28-minute training session explores talent mapping and its importance to talent acquisition in the creative and cultural industries. Yvonne Odonkor shares how to conduct a Talent Review and outlines Succession Planning for your organization.
You’ll learn:
- What talent mapping is
- Why talent mapping is important
- How to do talent mapping:
- Talent review
- Succession planning
- When to do talent mapping
Resources mentioned in this video:
- Talent Review and Mapping – Future of Work appendix 4: Download the report [PDF] and refer to pages 29 to 37.
- Succession Planning Template – Future of Work appendix 3: Download the template [XLS].
Download the video slides here: Future of Work: Talent Mapping [PDF]
Performance Review Framework
This 26-minute training session explores performance management and its importance to worker retention. Yvonne Odonkor outlines the Performance Review Framework and shares how you can create one for your organization.
You’ll learn:
- What a performance review is
- Why performance management is important
- How to create your own company competencies and performance ratings
- Further resources to help you on your way:
- 9 performance review biases
- Manager evaluation
- Self evaluation
Resources mentioned in this video:
- Performance Review Template – Future of Work appendix 5A: Download the report [PDF] and refer to pages 39 to 47.
- 9 Performance Review Biases – Future of Work appendix 5D: Download the report [PDF] and refer to pages 50 to 59.
- Manager Evaluation Template – Future of Work appendix 5B: Download the template [XLS].
- Self-Evaluation Template – Future of Work appendix 5C: Download the template [XLS].
- Performance Improvement Plan – Future of Work appendix 5E: Download the template [DOC].
Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Journey
This 31-minute training session explores the DEI journey from a hiring perspective and from a retention perspective. Yvonne Odonkor discusses how to build a workplace that ensures people can grow and thrive by removing systemic barriers for historically marginalized and underrepresented groups.
You’ll learn:
- Why the DEI journey is important
- Where to start, or what are we going to do about it?
- How to put the DEI journey into practice in your:
- Workforce
- Workplace
- Marketplace
- What’s next
Resources mentioned in this video:
- Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Journey – Future of Work appendix 6A: Download the report [PDF] and refer to pages 63 to 68.
- Textio: textio.com
- Unconscious Bias: youtu.be/dVp9Z5k0dEE?si=G6mDiru6Ikp6jd0L
Download the video slides here: Future of Work: Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Journey [PDF]