Professionalism in creative industries

 Does the concept of professionalism apply to the creative industries? 

What is professionalism? Professionalism is a term encompassing a range of behaviours which display accountability, respect and reliability. You are in control of the perception others have of you and in an industry, you would like to seek or maintain employment within this is very important. By taking accountability, you display professionalism by acknowledging your effect and that you control people's perception of you so you should give high value to feedback and constructive criticism and own up to any mistakes and rectify this as it shows you can be trusted. Respect is relevant to how you communicate with others such as responding positively to feedback this will help you build your network which is your greatest tool when entering creative industries as you can collaborate and learn from each other. To show reliability you should honour commitments and ensure you meet expectations set this will build good relationships and has the potential to aid your exposure to more potential employers as you are seen as a better option as you can be trusted to fulfil the expectations of the role to the best of your ability.  

Looking more in depth into professionalism and what it means to be professional we will look at the concept of the ‘pillars of professionalism’ what are they? The pillars of professionalism are a set of guidelines and principles to guide your behaviour in professional settings. The principles are integrity, accountability, respect, strong work ethic, follow-through and effective communication. So, what does this all mean?  

• Integrity, this is upholding the moral and ethical principles set out and expected and reflecting this through your actions 

• Accountability, this is your obligation to own up to your actions and be transparent 

• Respect, this is actively engaging with collegues and clients valuing all insight and opinions and treating everyone with kindness 

• Strong work ethic, this is your diligence, reliability and discipline regarding your attitude to work 

• Follow-through, this is ensuring you are committed and fulfil expectations set  

• Effective communication, this is clear and concise communication ensuring that missunderstanding is avoided so expectations are clearly laid out 

 

Professionalism matters in the creative industries as it has a huge effect on your employability which is also heavily linked to your network. Additionally, maintaining professionalism upholds the integrity of your industry discipline area as it builds a healthy community and relationship internally within a company as well and between the company and clients. This will build trust through accountability and reliability giving clients a positive experience so they are more likely to return and recommend the service which will expand clientele. Building these strong partnerships brings the opportunity of greater and better maintained long term success as clientele will expand and employees will work better and form more of a sense of community in a safe collaborative environment which will improve workflow and output. 

In terms of clear standardised professional codes of conduct within creative industries one I am aware of is CIISA standards this is an initiative to set a standard of behaviour to foster a safe working environment. It focuses on safe and inclusive work environments, open reporting and responsive culture. More information on the details of this can be found at Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority – Upholding and improving standards of behaviour across the creative industries. In my opinion, this is a great thing to standardise as it upholds the pillars of professionalism and ensures better working culture and attitudes towards businesses in the creative industries.  

Simillarly, ethical codes are also important to protect intellectual property for fair compensation and representation protecting employees and other professionals who promote their work. This creates respect towards your employer, peers and clients and this is important as the creative industries are very collaborative and exchange orientated. As a result, either you yourself or the company depending on the scenario would build a good reputation and good image is important when maintaining clientele or when building your reputation to use as backing to your own professional portfolio as it makes you appear more reliable and trustworthy so more employable. If you work within a creative industry to you believe you uphold these values? If not, how can you improve? Does your employer?  

In conclusion, does the concept of professionalism apply to the creative industries? Yes! Professionalism is very important to build a healthy safe work environment and is highly influential in the creative industries as they are built on collaboration. Collaboration requires respect, understanding, clear expectations and the willingness to learn and grow. Without professionalism there would be no trust between colleagues, employees and the company or the company and clientele and this is just as important with freelancing as only you are to blame for your behaviour and good image and reputation will help you build your clientele and portfolio ensuring your success.