(By Laurie Kahn) Congratulations to those of you who foresaw the future and took advantage of those professionals who were job hunting a few months ago and nabbed them to work for you!
Prior to COVID, much of the radio industry struggled to hire quality staff, especially in sales. It was one of the top challenges we heard from station management in all market sizes across the country.
As we all experienced businesses closing, layoffs and business plummeting a year ago, trust me hiring is back with a vengeance. And it is once again a challenge.
In speaking with radio managers across the country, a top category for business is ‘recruitment’. One asked me “how will my messages stand out with so many other companies competing to hire in our market?”
At Media Staffing Network we have spent the last several years touting the importance of reviewing company cultures, updating job profiles and last, but definitely not least, to re-configure compensation plans to offer more security for new hires. It’s important to change how you promote your open jobs to focus not on what you need to hire but to what you can do for a new hire to help grow their career.
Now after what we have gone through the last 15 months, there is another consideration to help you stand out as an employer of choice. Flexibility. Companies have learned that remote work can be done effectively. Parents finally have a routine that works for them. Many say, and statistics agree, a worker can be as productive, if not more productive, working from home. According to USA Today, nearly 30% of working professionals would quit if they had to return to the office full time after the pandemic.
Bill Gates says that the top perk or benefit you can offer an employee is the ability to work on a flexible basis. Studies show that companies that offer flexibility save millions on office space and sick pay, while turnover has decreased.
If you find yourself in need of hiring additional sellers, here is a quick list of tips to help you become more successful:
- Offer an updated website that includes a strong career page; include a diversity statement
- Use testimonials from your happy employees to help job seekers learn about your company
- Review your culture and ask for suggestions on how you can improve it
- Share within job profiles how you help your employees achieve success with training, support and coaching
- Lose the 90-day security period for new hires while offering up to a year if they are doing what needs to be done to move forward
- Pay a going rate in your market so that someone can live off their compensation
- Share how you help the community – both growing local businesses and assisting charities
- Offer the ability to work in a more flexible work environment to increase your pool of prospects
- Talk up all the benefits of why someone should want to work for you
We all learned a lot in the last year. Let’s use some of that knowledge to change how we do business and help guide us as we continue to evolve. This is a fun, great business and we need to spread that word big time!
Laurie Kahn is the creator and founder of Media Staffing Network. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]
