Can I see a show of hands?

How many of you are tired, I mean just plain tired of applying for radio jobs in air talent and programming areas and not hearing a thing from the station and or company? This was not the way we did business in my day. I sound like my father when he retired from the Navy in 1966. He use to say, this isn't my Navy any longer. Maybe he was a Nostradamus of sort. My inner circle and I are have been talking about this lately. Everyone is applying for positions way under their pay grade and skill level because of the condition of commercial broadcasting. Wait - Stop the presses, now the suits are telling us how much many they made in 2010 and it appears the ship has been righted.

What does this have to due with the hiring process? Plenty: These companies have now learned how to shave expenses and run at a leaner level. If the goal for the station is to make a certain amount of EBIT and cash flow, it might not be even based on ratings. Great ratings are obtained by hiring superb air talent and quality program directors. This isn't the goal in the employment process for radio any longer. They want to know two things. Can you do the job? and Can you work well with others? Oh and do if for 25,000? They feel they have to let the world know they have an opening for some kind of quasi EOE thing. What happens: They advertise for positions they will fill a few ways. 80-90% they will fill the position with an internal applicant or some internally the market manager will promote. They don't care about the skill level. It's about paying the individual 5k more a year and no moving expenses, relocation and assimilation into the station. 

We've heard from a few folks who think this is illegal and they should stop running ads for positions they have no intent on filling nationally or regionally. When radio stations complete the EOE report quarterly, they have to submit where they ran ads for the positions. Here's another law they don't follow: If you do not advertise and simply hire an employee, it's called an emergency hire and you can only do that so often. Flip it around to advertising and then not hiring from the outside. The idea of posting the position is to attract outside applicants. We just ask that you keep it fair. 

Here's some great information from Workplace Dynamics

You are working on budgets, planning for the year’s growth and strategically assessing your HR practices.  You are thinking about how you are going to fill the numerous vacancies anticipated throughout the year and at the same time, worried about the added compliance responsibilities.  Since one of your organization’s most valuable assets is its employees, it is important to find the best in the marketplace.  

Hiring the right employees, motivating them, and providing training and development opportunities are of strategic importance.

Workplace Dynamics will assist you in assessing your process starting with recruiting and identifying candidates, evaluating, interviewing, and selecting applicants.  We will evaluate your workflow and recordkeeping to ensure compliance with federal and state laws.  We take the time to learn about your business before we move on to the evaluation stage.  Our assessment can be confined to a specific obstacle or target area, such as difficulty identifying qualified protected group members or defining an internet applicant.  We can also conduct a broad-scope evaluation of the entire recruiting and hiring process.

The following is an example of a typical work steps involved in the full scale assessment:

• Review all written documentation supporting the hiring function, including, but not limited to:
  • Policies and procedures
  • Employment application forms
  • Recruiting sources – job fairs, college recruiting, online sources, etc.
  • Applicant/Employee EEO/AA self-identification forms
  • Interview/candidate review questions/forms
  • Applicant tracking system tools
  • Reference checking methodology
  • Offer letters

• Take on the role of an applicant and apply through various sites where positions are posted.  Evaluate ease of process for applying, compliance with data/legal requirements, and overall view of the company from an outsider looking in.  Is the EEO statement sufficient for the size of the company and does it portray the message desired by the company?
• Take on the role of the recruiter and go through your process from the job posting to candidate evaluation, recordkeeping, to referral to hiring manager. 
• Interview members of your recruiting team or hiring managers to evaluate the process flow and determine if procedures are followed consistently.
• Conduct an adverse impact and standard deviation analysis of your applicant to hire data,
• Evaluate recruiting methodology to determine success of sourcing a diverse candidate pool.
• Provide recommendations for enhancements or modifications of the existing process.

The following specific focus areas will be evaluated in all steps of the evaluation.

• Compliance with the OFCCP definition of an internet applicant.
• Consistency in application of practices among locations
  • Ad development and placement
  • Relationship with recruiting agencies and contractual language in relation to Section 503 and 41 CFR 60-250.
  • Preparation of job postings/requisitions and remaining true to the job standards throughout the interviewing and selection process.  Process for changing job requisitions to comply with job standard changes during the hiring process.
  • Method of evaluating candidates – job standards evaluation, testing, interviewing questions, interview evaluation, etc.
  • Determining applicant status with regard to immigration rules.
  • Compliance with recordkeeping requirements.