My Dearest and Beloved Showies,
We have made updates to our General Policy P018, the foundational policy that outlines our expectations for our superlative crew. Please see the latest version here:
If you have any feedback, as always, you may use the Feedback Form in the header of our website or simply click the link above.
In addition to the updates to the GP, we have also recently inserted three new disclaimers into the Pre-Start Acceptance for each shift in order to clarify the mutual expectations between our exemplary SHS Crew Members and Ops.
The Three Conditions Added to the Pre-Start Acceptance
As We Enter Our 21st Busy Season
As we enter our 21st busy season, a few things have come to my attention of late that need to be addressed. It has been reported that some dissatisfaction may have been expressed with the fact that sometimes, when gigs do not take as long as the client’s estimate, Crew Members are paid for the time the gig actually took to complete or the minimum call if the work was finished very quickly. There also appears to have been some discussion around the need for us to occasionally cancel shifts at short notice. And the other main point that needs to be addressed is that Ops may need to contact crew prior to a shift commencing to communicate important information about the shift and to verify that the crew will be onsite. While crew have the right to disconnect, we also have the right to ensure our crew are correctly briefed. If Ops genuinely needs confirmation to cover a shift and cannot reach a Crew Member after reasonable attempts, we may need to make alternative arrangements, taking the circumstances into account.
Estimated Finish Times and Flexibility
As to estimated finish times, there has been no change to the way we have paid this since Show Support began operations on February 1st, 2005. The vast majority of the crew we hire each year have no problem with the system we have in place, and we find that in the beginning of a Crew Member’s employment with us, when they are fresh to the industry and the nature of the work, there is nothing but enthusiasm for SHS and the way we conduct our business. However, sometimes, some (mercifully few) Crew Members may become negative about things they were formerly absolutely fine with. I would seek to cheer up such folks and have them reflect on the positives that Show Support has endowed them with: the experience, the pay, the networks we have connected them with and the camaraderie they have enjoyed as a result of their time working for us.
Furthermore, they should consider that the very complaint they are making, regarding flexibility, is in fact a virtue that they ought to cherish because flexibility goes both ways. The constantly changing nature of the industry is the reason why finish times can only ever be estimates. We work in one of the most unpredictable work environments, with ever-changing conditions due to client and venue requirements changing in real time, and all of us involved having to somehow keep up with those changes. But let’s face it, we are here precisely because we are adaptable people with skills and talents outside the ordinary realm of existence. We relish the dynamic environment we work in, or at least we should. There is not a single top Showie who would not make a great full-time worker but for the fact that such monotony is a living hell for types such as ours.
And the flexibility we offer clients is also offered to Crew Members.
Where else can you get a job where you can be paid great rates, work in scenic locations and with various networks of awesome people, accept whichever shifts you want, decline any shifts you do not want, be offered consistent year-round work (for our top, loyal crew) and take off any time you want, no questions asked, simply by updating your unavailability in the app?
The correct response for someone who is upset that a gig finished more quickly than originally estimated is to call the office and let us know. Our Ops have your best interests at heart and will make great efforts to make it up to you with more gig offers, preferred locations or clients, back-to-back shifts or longer shifts. Ops will do their best wherever possible. That would be preferable to posting something you know is inaccurate online or in a chat group, which would not be cool and may breach our General Policy.
When Shifts Are Cancelled
As for the need for us to cancel shifts at short notice, please do not forget about all the times that Show Support has been able to secure payment from our clients for shifts cancelled within 24 hours and has paid the minimum call without your need to even attend. At this time of year, do not worry; there will be so much work coming your way (depending on your location) that one cancellation will most likely only lead to an alternate gig. One door may close, but a potentially better one might open.
A System That Rewards Great Crew
Because of the systems we’ve put in place, we have Crew Members earning over $100k a year. Multiple long-serving Crew Members have qualified for long service leave, and we have paid long service leave entitlements to eligible crew. And because of the processes that we’ve implemented over the years, and of course because of the exemplary work ethic, attitude, skills and experience of our superlative Crew Members (such as your good self), our top workers can rely on year-round work, paid every week without fail, with no need to invoice or chase up money, the best rates in crewing, and the ability to have any time off they want by simply updating their unavailability, no questions asked. So you have 100% freedom as a top Showie to work when you want and not when you don’t.
It’s the flexibility of the job that’s created this unique system. We grant that it’s not for everybody. A lot of people prefer the security of full-time work. They prefer the regularity, the reliability. But for others, and I suspect that may apply to you reading this, as you are currently a Showie, that type of mundane routine is anathema. You thrive on spontaneity, you love helping out with your skills where they’re best needed. You love not seeing the road ahead, but being thrilled and surprised by the incredible adventure that comes.
You’re not one of the vast majority of people who, as so aptly described by Henry David Thoreau, lead lives of quiet desperation. You’re one of the few people in this world who thrive on proper hard work, team relations and mateship, good experiences, and showing your talents and being rewarded for them.
Focus on the Bigger Picture
It’s this flexibility within the system that is its major virtue. So rather than dwell on instances where, unfortunately, the job finished quicker—no doubt because of your brilliance and the great workmanship of yourself and your teammates—why not focus on all the times where the job went longer and you got paid more? Or the times where you had a three-hour call or a four-hour call and you smashed it in under thirty minutes?
What about the numerous times where, although you’ve been cancelled, we’ve managed to get clients to pay the full minimum call for cancellations within 24 hours, and we’ve paid cancellation fees to crew who haven’t even had to show up and do a shift? We do that regularly, and I’m proud that Show Support goes into bat for our workers to secure those payments.
So don’t dwell on the cancellations. Dwell on the excellent work, the year-round nature of it, and how well we look after our senior crew, as evidenced by them sticking around for ten years or more. Dwell on the fact that you can work in any metropolitan city of Australia and move around, experience those cities and have a working holiday.
Dwell on the fact that you’re doing exciting work and meeting lots of people, and you’re moving around to different locations where the excitement is. Wherever people are paying to be entertained, that’s where you are making coin. Dwell on the fact that you’re getting access to sites and scenery and venues and historical buildings that no ordinary person does, and that you’re seeing things from another aspect that normal people don’t get to see.
Dwell on the great things that Show Support has done for you, and try not to focus on some of the admittedly annoying aspects, such as last-minute time changes or cancellations, or shifts finishing earlier than expected. Because it’s that very flexibility that we offer our clients which then works for you as workers, and which has helped so many people go on to great careers throughout our industry (industria nostra) in Australia and around the world.
Please uphold Show Support’s core value of staying positive, and at the end of the day, I hope we can all appreciate the value of honest, paid work.
The fact that we are so busy, as well as the 139 glowing client testimonials we have received, is evidence of the great service we jointly provide.
Thank you for reading this.
Best Regards and keep up the awesome efforts.
SHS Operations Director,
David Neil