Professional Development among Employees in the Media & Broadcasting Industry

Given the fact that digitalization has fundamental impact on the media and broadcasting industry, organizations are struggling to keep up with the fast-changing environment. This thesis puts the focus on employees who need to be trained for the new skills in order drive organizational change. Requirements imply advanced digital skills such as website design and interface development, video production, content creation, publishing or software development. In order to stay competitive, organizations need to actively engage and motivate their employees to participate in development programs. As media professionals are highly passionate about their work, extrinsic incentives are not constructive to enhance participation in professional development programs. This Thesis is conducted in cooperation with Media Perspectives. Media Perspectives is an organization that offers seminars and workshops. The organization sees the need for more participants, to drive change in the media and broadcasting industry in Hilversum, the Netherlands. Based on a quantitative survey, motivations of media professionals at Hilversum Media Park have been explored regarding their willingness to participate in voluntary development programs. Using underlying employee attributes such as employee motivation, commitment and engagement, the main drivers for participation have been explored. Findings suggest, that media professionals are driven by passion, self-determination, personal values and interest, which refers to intrinsic motivation and dedication. These characteristics have been found to be the main motivators for media professionals to participate in trainings, in order to stay up-to date with technological advances, the shift of work procedures and the changing consumer demands.