TO LORD

1
Team Concept in Employee Relations
Vital for Sound Theatre Management
By
ALLEN M. WIDEM
Psychology, psychiatry and the
social sciences have pointed to the need for
objectivity in hiring and firing personnel,
and while that may seem light years away
from modern-day cinema management
modus operandi, the alert management
executive aware of the need for a best-footforward
stance at all times will take heed
of such a concept.
Cashier, doorman, usher, refreshment
stand attendant—they all are in the forefront,
in the public's view, so to speak, and
the manner in which they conduct themselves
is a continuing reflection of management's
outlook. An attentive cashier is a
positive influence, certainly, whereas a
bored, gum-chewing slouch is a business
deterrent.
Personnel turnover is as inevitable as a
reflex motion: a woman leaves to have a
baby, someone else returns to college, a
doorman retires. Replacing personnel is not
to be accomplished in a fleeting moment.
A search-and-seek evaluation must be accompanied
by a manager's consideration
for immediate needs, long-range projection
of how important a staff post is and how
important that staff post can prove to be in
providing management-calibre training.
Through the years, many cinema managers
have found that the soundest rationale
to be applied in finding a replacement is
personal recommendation—a retiree knows
of someone who is looking for a job; a
cashier recalls someone working in a similar
capacity in the retail field. The potential
is
endless.
Another avenue used with varying degrees
of effectiveness is the classified advertising
section of the local newspaper.
Ten to 15 words should be more than ample
to alert a classified ad page reader to a
job availability. From that point, it is up
to the manager or alternate to determine if
the applicant is (1) sincere in seeking a
theatre job; (2) a malcontent with a track
record of drifting from one niche to another;
(3) desirous of finding a job to fit the
hours he or she thinks are best in which to
work, and, resultantly, informing the interviewer
that he or she can be available for
just so much time in the course of a working
week.
Job interviews should be conducted,
most emphatically, in the privacy of a manager's
office. A minimal 15 to 20 minutes
should be designated—even for a lowerechelon
job that doesn't call for immense
intellect. Making an individual feel important
can be later reflected in an obvious
willingness to do just a little more than is
expected or requested during a working
week.
Care should be exercised to inform the
applicant that motion picture exhibition
demands night-and-weekend schedules.
ones that are flexible, certainly, but mandatory—and
this applies to the manager as
well as anybody else!
While a job application should contain
the basics of the individual's lifestyle, conversation
can illuminate doubts—traffic violations?
misdemeanor/ felony charges? alimony
overdue? and anything else that will
Continued on page 22
I
IMPROVE YOUR THEATRE
AND YOU
IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS
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20
The MODERN THEATRE SECTION