Friday, April 19, 2013

I've been reading the headlines also and we're all hearing about a lot of big-name talent whose deals are either coming up or expired and they are now working without a contract ... Look around many of the major markets with big talent and you'll find at least one.

Do you have "important" talent at your station? Have you considered what would happen if they left?

Some things to think about:

* Have a target list of possible replacements

* Work now on grooming potential talent from within that could slide into a bigger role on your station

*Are you protected from a non-compete standpoint?

* Does your state require those be "funded"

* Is yours a "right to work" state and come with those limitations on non competes

* What have you done to show your big talent "the love?" And, often, it's not just the paycheck.

* Egos need to be massaged and again, there are many ways to do that with your checkbook still closed.

Most importantly don't get caught by surprise. When I was running a five-station cluster in a Top-10 market, I had a spreadsheet with all our contracted talent and included the date of expiration, the date the notification of intent to renew kicks in, and any important notes. Those dates were transferred to my Outlook well in advance of important date so I would not be caught by surprise.