Who's working with the talent?

Kevin Barrett (PD KTRB San Francisco) and I were talking the other day about the free and glee talent on stations across the country and especially CMR. There is a large portion of 20-30 something talent that come to work everyday and just keep the door on the hinges. They don't over perform or under perform, just average. We called those "journeyman jocks" in my day.

How do these personalities grow and develop into the future stars of radio? Talent tell me that PD's don't have the time to work with the talent or they don't know how. Every employment ad searching for a programmer lists talent development and coaching as one of the job duties. Working with the staff and out of market voice trackers to get the sound you need should be a daily function of the program director. 

Develop a one-sheet with key points you want the talent to work on and give them props when they accomplish them. Listen to their shows and make some notes on a few key areas:

Delivery

Energy

Relating

Social Media/Web

Contests

Phones

Community

Music

Consistency

Audio Levels