The challenges of hiring good people

By KEN ESTEN COOKE, TPA president 2023-24

Hiring, firing and personnel issues are my least favorite parts of being a publisher. Most of us have had to deal with a bad hire – a surly receptionist, perhaps, or a reporter who shoots his mouth off on social media.

We’ve got to work constantly on good hires to build strong teams.

E&P Publisher Mike Blinder had a recent conversation with advertising consultant Ryan Dohrn on the challenge of recruiting. Dohrn said a 1970s study showed people’s top three priorities were getting married, owning a home and finding a job with a steady paycheck. Today, the top three are nabbing a “gig-based job” (not long-term employment), having flexibility with lots of time off, and prioritizing the repayment of debt (hello, student loans).

In a low-wage, high-cost-of-living market, we’ve had to adjust expectations for what we’re willing to pay over these last few years. Inflation, talent and the learning curve of our industry software can mean some talented potential hires look elsewhere. The days of employees staying for their entire career seem to be a thing of the past in any industry.

With sales jobs, Dohrn says it’s difficult to find people because so many don’t like sales. But they do like being considered a marketing advisor. We all need to train our sales teams to act as “marketers” and serve as advisors, as opposed to showing up and plopping down our next special section rate sheet.

With newsroom hiring, we need to stress that community papers are great training grounds for young reporters. I encourage everyone to reach out to their area universities and J-schools and make connections. Let them know our papers can provide students and graduates a variety of experience.

In the business office, I’m so appreciative of solid bookkeepers. After the retirement of a long-time bookkeeper, in my haste I hired a young man who was under-qualified. Our accounts receivable became a big challenge and his sloppiness caused other messes. But it was still my fault for jumping too quickly to get the role filled.

I’ve learned through mistakes to hire slowly and fire quickly. Even when employees are hard to find, we must do our due diligence. And with poor or toxic employees, quickly ask them privately what’s going on, make a list of areas to improve, then let them go if they don’t change.

The best recruiting tools change rapidly, but good ol’ networking and keeping your media company’s brand in the public eye remain super important.

I’ve gotten some nibbles from LinkedIn. I’m enjoying that platform more as it’s more elevated and more industry specific than others.

ZipRecruiter, Indeed and similar online products offer limited appeal for our small markets, plus they’re pricey. It’s often more advantageous to train an inexperienced local who’s already vested in the community than take a chance on an applicant from out of state who may only be with you for a few months.

The Texas Press Association Job Bank is a terrific hiring asset. We’ve used it many times and found a ton of candidates and many employees.

The job postings are shared to the TPA website and to our social media. TPA Executive Director Mike Hodges also forwards postings to college and university journalism programs around the state. As stated before, we need to work those higher education relationships so talented young journalists don’t think public relations or social media gigs are the only thing to pursue upon graduation.JournalismJobs.com is also a decent place to look, though we seem to get a lot of people who are in the midst of a life change and throwing things against the wall to see what sticks.

Other things to consider when hiring:

• Stay in touch with talented ex-employees. Life may bring them back your way.

• Don’t ghost people during the hiring process, even if they aren’t the one.

• Include benefits and perks when talking about your compensation plan. It’s far more than an hourly wage.

• Keep your company’s brand polished. We’re often one of the first businesses in our towns, and often the only ones who invest in a solid news product. Remind everyone of that reputation and your position in the community.

One final thing to ask when filling positions: Does my staff reflect the community we serve? It’s important to consider, even though most in our industry fall short. But this will help our products appeal to a larger swath of the community.

May the hiring winds be at your back in 2024!

Please connect on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (@kenestencooke), or email me at ken@fredericksburgstandard.com.