12-12-2014
As we close another year in broadcasting it's a good time to reflect on your successes and failures in 2014, set goals for 2015, and move forward. Where do you want to be next year at this time? Are your programming, promotions, marketing, and sales, all contributing to the bottom line Are they reaching their preset goals?
Now is a perfect time to sit down with your sales manager, program director, and promotions and marketing directors, one-on-one, and review their departments. Make it a positive appraisal and give them a copy of your review. Also, don't forget to put a copy in their personnel file for future review.
I don't need to tell you that radio "ain?t what it used to be." Revenue is down, the demand for terrestrial radio is on the decline with satellite, Pandora, iHeart, etc. Manpower is less than we've seen in many years due to a glut of potential employees but no budget to hire them.
Bottom line, it's your employees that make you successful or a failure. Protect your resources like baseball and football teams do. Invest in the people that will make you money. Make them all your "franchise players."
Find the best people in each department who are available?anywhere. If you have weak links, now is the time to bite the bullet and grow the strength of your team and make changes. Budgets probably won't increase for another two to five years (if we're lucky). Terminating people is never a pleasant or easy task. But if you are charged with the bottom line for your station, hard decisions must be made to stay in business.
Do a local and nationwide search and get the very best for your money. Network with other GMs and owners and seek out highly skilled, extremely talented people for every department. They will get you to your revenue goals for 2015. They may cost you more in the short term, however, in the big picture, you'll find they are worth their weight in gold. Happy Holidays!
Tom Watson is the president of ACC Consulting & Marketing International. He can be reached at 310-498-5590 or laxconsultant@gmail.com
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