Talking with a round of programmers yesterday like RJ Jordan, Kevin Barrett and Nigel the Producer formally of CC Fresno - We all want to know who the internal applicants for programming and talent positions are? Nigel was telling me he applied for a position and they told him relocation wasn't part of the package and he said fine, he still never heard back from them. Back in the day (what two years ago) you never heard of internal candidates for programming jobs, unless they were being courted and trained for programming positions. Applicants are being hired for programming positions with no experience. If they had the experience, they would be programming elsewhere.
They are usually Stage 5 Clingers who have worked for a few years at the station and a market manager's pet or sacred cow.
Ed Walker and Bobby Knight were part of the Chuck Geiger School of Programming at WCTO Allentown., They were being trained as internal candidates to program elsewhere in Citadel. Ed went to WHWK Binghampton and Bobby to WLEV in the building. Bobby and I actually numbered and labeled sequences of events that came up and how you would deal with them. From sales to staffing issues to missing spots to the afternoon guy whining to the business manager about the programming team. I don't think the internal applicants these days are part of any training or fostering program. They are just there and the bean counters figure: We don't have to pay relocation, we don't have to pay the salary of the last PD, plus they don't have their own agenda. They are trainable like a pet seal in a show.
At The Fresno Bee - We have a "purple sheet" you fill out for a position that is open (for internal applicants). They have a great system for monitoring the process. I could be all wrong and wet behind the ear, but I never heard of internal applicants for jobs in radio programming, unless they are assistant programmers, and yet they are everywhere. This information below is pretty helpful when it comes to nailing this down.
Internal selections: devise a policy for handling internal applicants that is consistent, fair and respectful
Promote from within. It's a selling point for many organizations that want to recruit and retain talented employees. When a company announces a promotion or a job transfer, it tells other employees that there's opportunity for growth there.
Internal recruitment "provides a higher level of employee satisfaction, so certainly it can be a retention driver," says Maureen Henson, SPHR, vice president of human resources at Henry Ford Bi-County Hospital in Warren, Mich.
But even in an organization with an impressive "promote from within" culture, the system can backfire if a company has no policy for dealing with internal applicants or applies that policy inconsistently.
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To avoid this potential morale killer, HR needs to craft a policy that is fair and equitable to internal applicants, sets expectations for employees applying for a position, and is implemented consistently and communicated openly throughout the process.
A Touchy Subject
Internal applicants represent a "known commodity," relieving some of the risk of making a bad hiring decision. The applicant has built a performance record in the organization that can be reviewed and referenced. But it also makes things more personal and potentially awkward, especially if the internal applicant isn't qualified for the open position.
The problem is that "some people think a lot more highly of their skills and talent than the reality is," says Manny Avramidis, senior vice president of human resources at the American Management Association (AMA) in New York. "It's tough. People don't like rejection. Some people turn toxic or leave the organization after" being turned down for a promotion or a transfer.
I haven't hired an outside candidates for any of my programming ventures since the early 60's.
ReplyDeleteScrew em
Don Layton
Layton LLC