We are delighted to announce the launch of our Remote Working Toolkit, commissioned by UK Theatre and Society of London Theatres (SOLT). This toolkit provides resources, comprehensive strategies and practical tools to help performing arts managers implement remote, flexible and mixed models of working.

The last eighteen months have been incredibly challenging for the theatre workforce. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic many people have lost their jobs, many have been prevented from working, and many have been working from home. As the theatre industry reopens, organisations are looking at developing constructive approaches to returning to the workplace for those workers who are able to do so. This is an important juncture for organisations to consider the benefits of remote working – and the practical steps needed to take to integrate new approaches – before simply returning to pre-pandemic working patterns.

In May 2021 we conducted research with theatre sector workers that identified significant appetite and opportunity within managers and workforce for embedding a more robust and flexible infrastructure into daily working practice.

As we look to reopening there are many factors to consider and no singular approach to working in a post-Covid landscape. There is tension between wanting things to ‘get back to normal’ and ‘doing things differently.’ To assist leaders and managers as they explore new approaches to working for their workforce, based on market-tested strategies as part of the PiPA Charter Programme, we have designed a practical toolkit to support managers to assess the potential opportunities and challenges for organisations identified through the research. This new Remote Working Toolkit combines specific learning from throughout the pandemic with the accumulated knowledge, case studies and research-driven strategies from PiPA’s work in this area over the last five years.

Remote Working Webinar

In September 2021, PiPA, UK Theatre and Society of London Theatre held a free webinar offering employers the opportunity for a deeper dive into the resources included in the Remote Working Toolkit, and advice on their practical implementation from experts and case studies including Royal Shakespeare Company, Mercury Theatre Colchester and Costume in Theatre, Entertainment and Arts.

For those of you that were unable to attend the webinar in person, this recording, alongside the accompanying Remote Working Toolkit, will give you the tools you need to:

  • Gain insight into the needs of your workforce
  • Enable you to assess and re-design a role for remote working potential
  • Create an equitable and transparent process for flexible working requests that work for both the organisation and the individual
  • Empower teams and departments to understand how remote working can be successfully implemented.
  • Attract and retain a more diverse workforce through inclusive recruitment
  • Embed remote working into long-term strategic decision making

If you would like further information about our resources or to find out more about joining the PiPA Charter Programme please email matt@pipacampaign.com.