“A little party never killed nobody.” – Fergie
What do you do when your industry has fallen a bit out of favor with young job-seekers, especially during an era of virtually full employment?
Simple. You throw a party.
Actually, they’re being called “hiring parties,” and these get-togethers are the latest tactic from the retail community, designed to generate viable and numerous job applicants.
As Tom Ryan reports in Retail Wire, brands like Taco Bell have adopted the “party strategy” in an effort to reach their aggressive hiring goal:
100,000 new employees in the next 2 years.
The fast food restaurant that brought us the slogan “Live Mas” is now staging social gatherings to drum up interest in working at their drive-thru eateries. As more and more focus has moved to online businesses, retailers like Taco Bell are going down the party trail in an effort to maintain and grow their brands.
QSR magazine’s Danny Klein says Taco Bell’s “hiring parties” include free food, on-site interviews, and if there’s an actual hire, gift-card signing bonuses. And they appear to be working. Between online and on-site job applications, four recent events in Indiana attracted interest from nearly 400 would-be job candidates.
And Taco Bell is not alone. A drive-thru coffee chain, Dutch Bros., is going down the same route, as is cosmetics retailer Lush. The “party strategy” could become a trend among retailers, so why not try a similar approach in other businesses?
“Ain’t no party like a Detroit party.” – Kid Rock
An industry that always seems to be struggling to hire good salespeople – or any salespeople – is radio. I once worked for a company that demanded each station hire a minimum of 10 salespeople per brand. In a cluster of a half dozen stations, that’s a lot of sellers. I was making a market visit one day and couldn’t help but notice the DOS was exhausted. When I asked if he was doing OK, he explained that he and his GSMs had been reduced to becoming job recruiters – hunting for prospects, interviewing them, qualifying them, reference checking, and of course, training. And despite his efforts, it was a losing process, as bad hires always outnumbered the good ones.
Maybe the party route wouldn’t be a bad way for radio to go, a novel way to remind job candidates that radio stations are still fun places to work. And given that radios are disappearing in households, let’s not take for granted that job hunters are even radio listeners. A station party gives applicants a chance to not just meet the management team in a casual atmosphere, but to also visit the studios and the other nooks and crannies that make radio stations fascinating places in which to work.
Just as innovation is necessary for the programming and digital departments inside radio stations, new thinking, strategies, tactics, and yes, even smart gimmickry is now mandatory to help improve radio companies’ sales and marketing efforts. Not every radio station is struggling to make their ratings goals. But nearly all of them are angsting out over their sales performance.
Parties may not be the place where serious decisions are typically made. But they are often the conduit for networking, socializing, and learning a lot about people you’ve never met. For broadcast radio, they sure couldn’t hurt.
And most stations can probably figure out a way to trade out the food.
“You gotta fight for your right to party.” – Beastie Boys
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Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Been hearing from GMs who must focus on ever-present recruitment and new systems rather than keeping up with positive presence, great brands, dynamic spirit and time efficiency. Sales makes us run, people make the product, the contact and the close. See/hear spot run. Maybe the ship’s social director is a timely idea. Thank you, Fred. Party On, Garth.
Party on, Clark!
Fred,
As usual, your challenge to the industry is well-crafted and on the money. I worked in commercial radio for 20 years, with an army of interns, then became a career advisor working with another army of interns, many of whom wanted to get into radio. Some were immediately turned off by the “no phone calls!!!!” attitude taken by broadcasters, blissfully unaware of how their messages were received. Or the “free labor” people, who wanted envelope-stuffers and van drivers, on the house.
But others rose to the occasion, like WAAF. These guys hounded me for interns, and I directed a steady stream their way. Some internships turned into paid work – the perfect end result. WAAF wanted to visit the school and throw a “party” to attract attention to the fun of radio. Those who visited brimmed with enthusiasm about going to shows free, meeting people in music, and having a ball being in radio. You would call them “ambassadors” I guess.
Meanwhile, clueless stations would tell me that in the college Mecca of America, Boston, they could not get enough interns. Because what you give is what you get, folks. You’re dreaming that there is a horde of young, “dying to get into radio” types is an outdated notion. It ain’t 1985.
You are absolutely right – somebody in this industry better start thinking about the “farm team” that was ignored for a solid decade or more. What you give is what you get. Other fields of work have stolen your talent pool, and the party is over there now. But it is never too late to learn.
The days of people lineup around the building to have that shot to work in radio are long gone. Today, proactivity is a key, and beat-up industries like retailers are feeling the pain – and figuring it out. Thanks for the note, Tai, and the comment.