A Creative PEC State of the Nations report examining the strength of management practices in the creative industries, how they link to business performance, and how policy can help raise management capability.
Management quality is widely seen as one of the causes of the UK's long-running productivity challenge, and raising management capability is a priority in the UK Industrial Strategy and the Creative Industries Sector Plan. As the Creative PEC's research partner for Education, Skills and Talent, Work Advance produced this State of the Nations report to set a baseline for the creative industries.
We analysed the latest data from three government-backed national business surveys, including the Management and Expectations Survey and the Longitudinal Small Business Survey. This allowed us to compare creative firms with the wider economy on continuous improvement, targets and KPIs, people management, training and technology adoption.
Creative firms generally have stronger management practices than the economy as a whole, but make less use of formal targets and accredited management standards. Creative SMEs with stronger practices, such as training, process innovation and technology adoption, also tend to perform better. Yet the training rate for managers in the creative industries is just 33%, against 44% across the economy, and the firms with the weakest practices are the least likely to act.
The report recommends greater engagement of creative businesses with mainstream business support across the four nations, more tailored support for the sector, and programmes that spread good practice from leading firms. It is the first of a suite of outputs on management in the creative industries.
Management Practices in the Creative Industries
Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, 2026
Heather Carey and Lesley Giles, Work Advance
Revisiting job quality in creative work, three years on from the Good Work Review