HR Without Jet Lag: Supporting Productions Across Borders
Written by @Tacita Small
Photo by Marjan Blan on Unsplash
Entertainment has never been more international. Productions span cities, countries and time zones – and that’s exciting. But managing people across those borders? That’s where things get complicated. From compliance headaches to cultural nuance, global productions need people support that understands how things work everywhere - not just in the UK.
For the last six years we bring international experience, empathy and expertise to productions working across borders. Whether you're filming in Cape Town, editing in Toronto, or coordinating across five countries, we support your people strategy with grounded expertise and a human-first approach.
People Are People – But Systems Aren’t
What’s legally required in London might not fly in LA. What’s considered respectful in Toronto might come across as abrupt in Berlin. Our job is to help your team navigate those differences, from training to conflict resolution, so your production culture is cohesive, inclusive, and respectful no matter where people are based.
We’ve supported global tours, co-productions and international shoots with everything from respect in the workplace training and coaching to investigations and conflict mediation. The key is recognising where ‘best practice’ meets local nuance – and translating it for your team.
What We Support With
Here’s a few of the areas where we get stuck in to support production companies navigating global complexity:
• Localised onboarding processes and cultural briefings
• Time zone-friendly wellbeing check-ins
• Conflict resolution across distributed teams
• Remote training for managers leading international teams
Common Challenges on Global Productions
Working internationally introduces some very real people-related challenges. For example, burnout risk rises sharply when teams are spread across three or more time zones. People may feel isolated, misaligned, or unsure where to go for support. On top of that, culture clashes and unclear expectations can create unnecessary friction. We help by spotting issues before they escalate - or better yet, before they start.
One Strategy, Many Contexts
You don’t need five different HR plans for five different countries. But you *do* need a strategy that flexes to different laws, norms and working styles. That’s what we help you build – one cohesive people plan that works across the board.
That might look like implementing a shared code of conduct, aligning production schedules with realistic rest periods, or training your HoDs on how to manage across borders without losing connection or clarity.
We believe people-first HR isn’t just a UK thing – it’s a global necessity for modern production. And the entertainment industry is only going to become more international. If you want your team to feel supported no matter where they’re logging in from (or where they’re filming), you need a people strategy that scales.
At The Small HR Company, we’ve built our team to reflect the global nature of the industry. We have a network of European-based L&D facilitators who speak multiple languages including Italian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Czech, Polish, Swedish and Danish; actively delivering training across productions on the continent. Whether your crew is filming in Paris, Prague, or anywhere in between – we’re already working in those spaces, with teams who understand the local context.
We’ve also ensured that our microlearning resources are fully translated for international crews. Unlike off-the-shelf AI solutions, our translations are crafted by real people – language experts who ensure that the content is culturally sensitive, accurate, and resonates with diverse teams. This makes it easier to deliver onboarding, inclusion training, or wellbeing briefings to multilingual teams of all sizes – no confusion, no guesswork, just clarity.
This investment in human-first localisation reflects our overall philosophy: when people feel seen, understood, and supported, they do their best work - no matter where in the world that is.
Planning an international production? We’d love to help. Let’s talk about building a strategy that works across borders - and keeps your crew feeling supported, connected and ready to deliver. Feel free to give us a call on +44 (0)20 542 9777.