A Loyal Reader Writes:
“I have been in radio, mainly in the news department, production and board op, for ten years. I have been a morning radio co-host for 5 years. I am out in the community representing the station often (festivals, remotes, etc). I still fill in for the news department as needed. I also write, voice and produce copy daily. I write all this to ask: What can I do to increase my worth at our station during these tough economic times?”
If you’re asking in a radio career sense, then what you really need to do is increase the station’s awareness of your worth.
Make sure they know what you do.
When someone — a listener, a sponsor, an organization — compliments you, ask them to put it in an email to your station manager or program director.
Unfortunately, at most stations it simply isn’t enough to be valuable.
You’ve got to make sure they know you’re valuable — and the most effective way to communicate that is via third parties praising you to your manager.
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There was a time when I used to encourage listeners and sponsors to contact my Station Manager as suggested….but was then accused of “just getting my friends to write in”!
If only that actually worked…those seem to be nusience emails in their inbox
Pose this very question to your employer. Take the initiative and schedule some “personal time” with your supervisor. First, they will likely be impressed with your proactive approach. After all, it’s usually the boss who calls the employee in for that “personal chat”. As I would advise a salesperson, have your thoughts in order and be concise. Be ready to deliver your list of those things you’re already doing. Follow that with your sincere desire to “make a difference” at the station. Then ask, “What do YOU feel I can do to increase my value to this organization”? If that doesn’t get your employer’s attention, you may be working for the wrong company. At the very least, you’ll complete that conversation having left a clear message that you’re serious about doing all you can to deliver value during tough times. I can’t imagine a more compelling message!
Truth is, you can do all that and it still won’t matter when the corporate blade comes swinging outta the dark.
Yup. You’re just a salary on a ledger sheet.
I was a morning DJ who also ran the station, dug through snow to get to tower sites, and gave hundreds of hours of my personal time to the station, and still lost my job.
Unless you are a suit of the upper echelon variety or a dude like Bobby Bones that they have invested all their time and money in, that trap door under you is thinner than ever, no matter the amount of golden tickets you think you may be holding.
No offense meant to Loyal Reader, but all you’ve done is listed your various duties and told us that you do them. Your boss probably expects you to do those things. What have you done that wasn’t expected? What have you done of your own initiative, particularly, what have you done to make your boss more money? Have you pointed out a new store opening to an account rep, who was then able to get the account? Have you championed a local cause and made it your own? Have you found a solution for a problem at the station? Have you done something your boss was going to ask you to do BEFORE he asked and told him “I knew you would want this done, so I took care of it?” I’ve tried to do some of the things Dan talked about and in my last employee review, my boss said to me “I know there are a hundred things you do around here that I don’t even know about.” Does this mean I could never be fired? No. Does it mean if there are ever cuts, my name is near the bottom of the list? I’m guessing yes.
If you’re in sales, you can do all kinds of extra things like write your own copy and voice many of your clients’ commercials. But remember: that’s not what you get paid for.