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The Worst Person I Ever Hired …
September 7, 2021
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We try everything humanly possible to hire the right person for a job. Despite all our best efforts and background checks, sometimes we still miss.
Never Let Your Guard Down …
I can remember having to replace the lead host for my morning show. Because of coordinating a big upcoming station event, I was distracted. My morning show anchor had taken a job elsewhere three weeks before the beginning of the Spring ratings period. This was the one and only time in my programming career that I did not go through my usual steps to find a replacement. Instead, I relied on our consultant to help me find someone. This consultant and I had a great relationship. He stayed out of the picture unless I needed him for something. The only time he came to town was for his routine quarterly visit.There’s Always More To It …
He had an ear for talent and theoretically was correct in his views on hiring personalities. However, he did not have to deal with the daily stuff around a station. As a former air personality, I understand the idiosyncrasies and quirks of the talented many. But I refused to knowingly deal with any air talent with a reputation for causing chaos. That type of person can ruin a workplace and a stations reputation.I Overlooked Something He Said …
I took my eye off the ball and allowed myself to be influenced by everyone saying, “He Sounds Great.” But I should have known better. I can remember a phone conversation with the talent, and he said something jokingly that caused me to raise an eyebrow. In fact it popped into my head again on the way home that night. My intuition was trying to tell me something, but I ignored it in my haste to find someone to take over the morning show slot.Somebody Should Have Warned Me …
Yes, his demo was awesome, and the consultant loved his sound too. The three program directors I talked to as references never mentioned or hinted this gentleman was bad news. Again, I should have known better and slowed down from the event planning to go through my own unorthodox ways of finding an air personality.He Was A Jerk …
He sounded great, but almost cost me an established co-host and dated the sister of one of the air talents -and treated her horribly. Most of the air and office staff wanted to beat him to a pulp. Timing is everything, so I kept everyone, including other management team members, calm until after our event. Then the first thing Monday morning, I let him go.It Was A Reminder …
I can almost hear the collective sighs out there among you. You’re either in or have been in a similar situation. My takeaway was to always follow my gut and never get so busy as to ignore anything that makes me do a mental double-take. -
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