Cirque du solei case study

GLION ISTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Raissa Coelho da Fonseca – Managing Performance and Participation – 2011/2

CIRQUE DU SOLEI CASE

01 – In terms of recruiting, managing and motivating artists, what issues does Cirque face, and how does it address these issues?

In terms of recruiting, Circus has the constant challenge to find the right artists for the production. Because of its growth, each year is needed a hundred new artists. To satisfy this need, the management team travel around the world making auditions in order to compose the best crew. Nevertheless, managers have to be conscious about the cultural diversity of the staff; understand where these artists come from; and what nonartistic needs they have. For example, when casting in African villages, Cirque ensures that they will bring the good artist only if they find a few people who are equally talented and can support each other on tour.

If we relate this Cirque’s decision with Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, it would be fit in the social part of the pyramid. In which the artists’ need is satisfied internally by the action of building affection with others (sense of belonging).

During auditions, Cirque managers always measure if the artist can continue to develop, what he can contribute to the show and what he can share with others artists. Cirque believes that they have to help artists to grow and vice-versa. This is a way of keep people motivated using the theory of Herzberg. We can analyze both extrinsic factors (job security and status) and intrinsic factors (advancement, promotion and growth).

There are some issues in term of managing and motivating people that Circus address very well. The big challenge is that artists can be on tour for months, far away from home and family. In this moment, when artists live inside the business, the line between office and home can be easily blurred. Artists give their souls and hearts to each other; they build strong and close relationship and because