New England Conservatorium of Music
Pinnacle People Solutions gave us a lot of confidence we were doing industry best practice. They were able to fast forward to solutions, helping us to set up contracts, bring about change and assist with conflict resolution
Director
The Situation
The New England Conservatorium of Music (NECOM) operates in an unregulated industry – there is no national award or any guidelines for music and music teaching. ‘Regional conservatoriums are doing something very unique,’ says Susanne James, Director of NECOM. ‘They have diverse music teaching and activities such as music therapies, individual instrumental teaching, ensembles, symphonies, 120-voice choirs, and work with instruments, composers and arrangers. Most of our employees are freelance musicians operating their own businesses or working at university, tertiary and/or primary schools as classroom specialists.’
For conservatoriums, this means that human resources operations are widely varied and complex, with numerous different situations and types of positions. ‘We were fulfilling our requirements four years ago,’ says Susanne, ‘but with the changing conditions and requirements we were no longer confident we were meeting everyone’s needs.’ NECOM asked around and Pinnacle People Solutions, which had broad experience working with education and academia came highly recommended.
The PPS Approach
Pinnacle People Solutions took a tailored, personal approach to NECOM’s situation, working with and assisting staff in a supportive role. According to Susanne James, ‘PPS really understood the way our organisation worked. We didn’t have to explain what regional conservatoriums do.’ With PPS’s extensive experience with different industries they were very responsive to NECOM’s unique situation, benchmarking NECOM’s practices with other industries and providing good advice from an informed position.
The Outcome
After looking at the situation, Pinnacle People Solutions was able to look ahead at NECOM’s needs and undertake forward planning and problem-solving. ‘Pinnacle People Solutions gave us a lot of confidence we were doing industry best practice,’ said Susanne. ‘They were able to fast forward to solutions, helping us to set up contracts, bring about change and assist with conflict resolution.’ NECOM felt that the whole process was very positive and productive. ‘Pinnacle People Solutions’ assistance has been a great asset to the Conservatorium. I would recommend Pinnacle People Solutions to others without a doubt.’
