I had quite the interesting casual chat with the man who owns the radio station where I'm employed. He's like talking to your grandpa who has a wealth of knowledge about everything in general, but not much on specifics. Basically, it's like trying to keep your eye on the ball of an aggressive game of handball.
The change of topics came as frequently as I took in each breath but one stuck in my craw. He asked if everything was okay with the company's insurance coverage. See, his wife (who actually holds the purse strings to the radio station) let it be known at a recent sales meeting that she intended to drop health coverage because of low sales & the tepid income the station was getting. Plus, she threatened to flip all of the 3 stations to a satellite music format & cut everyone's salary by 10%...and possibly include some lay-offs. Well, word of this certainly started spreading like wildfire to every staff member.
The next day, everyone got a form to sign with 3 options on the future of health care coverage. We could choose to have "no coverage" (and find our own health care plan), have a "conversion" (where we would keep our current plan, but we would deal with the insurance company directly instead of through our group plan...simlar to a COBRA), or "continue" with the group plan but have our premium deducted from our paycheck (to the tune of $166 per pay for me).
All but 2 chose "no coverage". The other 2 chose to continue the group plan with paycheck deductions for the cost of the premium. But there was one problem: The group plan would not be availible unless everyone continued. So, this presented a problem for the 2 staff members as well as for the station's owners.
This was what prompted my boss to ask for my feedback on the company's insurance situation. What he said next was the "kicker". When I told him we could not afford to have the premiums deducted from my paycheck, he told me I shouldn't "worry about the health care. We were just trying to get sales back up".
Huh?
So, you're playing little 5th Grade schoolyard games with my benefits, using it as a "bully stick" to wave at the sales staff? Where do some of these "bozos" get their management training? From a Cracker Jack box?
Needless to say, this did not convince me to change my mind on dropping the company's group plan. And it almost guaranteed that some staff members would be soon choosing another company to work for. And some have already been offered positions at a new job.
It would seem so simple to know how to properly manage, empower, & motivate a company's staff. A Dale Carnagie course, an Earl Nightingale book, a Dan O'Day seminar.... But instead, some choose the more childish route & think that this will inspire their employees to do better. What they end up with, however, is one very large hole in thier foot.
2 comments:
First, Phil, thanks for the plug.
Second -- and more importantly....
That stinks.
For all the obvious reasons, plus one more:
Problem: Ad sales are down.
Solution: Take away employees' health insurance.
And now...Sales will go up?
Alternative Suggestions:
1. If you have listeners but not enough sales, replace the sales manager. (Let me guess: The sales manager is one of the owners?)
2. If sales are down because you haven't attracted enough of an audience to sell, replace the PD. (Or, if there's one lurking somewhere behind the scenes, the consultant.)
Dan, thank you for taking valuable time from your busy schedule to reply! The sales manager is not one of the owners, but a good friend of the owners. A nice guy...but he's long overdue for retirement. Fact is, listenership is up quite obviously in the 18 months I have done my morning show. I would go a step farther & say find some new salespeople to go with a new sales manager. LOL!
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