Media companies that adapt to changes in the competitive environment will succeed, whilst those that don't, will fail. That is the conclusion many of the contributors to this handbook will make during the course of their arguments. Our discussion on Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) issues facing media companies now and in the medium-term future is no different. “Adapt or die” is the mantra that we have chosen to adopt in our view of the issues facing many media firms HRM departments. An organization's deliberate strategy to adapt to their changing environment means that SHRM practice and policies need to support the organizations goals; therefore, the authors propose examining the key trends in HR functional components of recruitment, performance and retention. These three elements support organizational objectives pertaining to human capital and are the foundation of HRM policies and procedures.This chapter first reviews recent advances made in human resource management research which builds upon Redmond's (2006) discussion of human relations management in media management studies. Whilst “human relations” tends to focus on the soft skills of interpersonal relations our discussion focuses on “human resource management” which we believe enables better human relations management in the long run. This chapter then, addresses the need for organizations to remain adaptive to changes in the competitive environment by focusing on the key areas that are most likely to affect strategic human resource management initiatives for the media workforce. Finally, we consider how initiatives such as recruitment, retention and performance may play out in the future. By examining these aspects of SHRM, we can begin to identify the gaps in our understanding of how media organizations human resource practices should adapt and evolve over time
