Keys to success
Jul 1, 2010 1:34 PM, By Todd A. Boettcher
Gain the respect of your management team with the following four tips.
As broadcast engineers, we often sense that our training and our engineering skills and abilities do not receive the respect we would hope for — not that we thrive on our egos. More often than not, our greatest satisfaction comes from our unique ability at problem solving, especially under duress. The concern is that, far too often, we are perceived by management as workers plying a trade, seemingly as general handymen. The perceived value of engineering to station management is an ongoing challenge for many technical professionals, and station size or market importance has no bearing on these attitudes. Although the following ideas for improving your standing with your management are not guaranteed, this information will lead you in the right direction.
Maintain your technical abilities
To maintain your career as a broadcast engineer, you will need to keep pace with technology and technological changes. When I was a student years ago, a professor told our class that if we wanted to be effective broadcast engineers, we would need to technologically retrain ourselves four times throughout the span of our careers. Whether it be tube technology, transistors, integrated circuits, digital technology or any future innovations, you will need to be retrained to remain professionally competitive.
This can be accomplished through formal class work, keeping up with manufacturing trends, attending trade shows to hear technical seminars and studying the exhibits, forced self-study, or voracious technical reading. Of course, SBE chapter programs and SBE seminars can enhance your continuing education as well. No one action of those listed here will be adequate by itself.
Some broadcast companies will reimburse part or all of your continuing formal education, usually requiring employee loyalty as part of the agreement. In other cases, you may need to pay your own educational expenses. In any event, continuing to improve your technical knowledge is a good way to increase your professionalism. Be sure to keep your management team posted on your increased skill level.
Also be sure to keep your management team posted when you become SBE certified (each time, if you achieve multiple certifications). This will open the door to further conversation about advancing yourself to provide added value for the good of the company.
Dress for success
If you carry a management title (DOE, CE, or even EIC or supervisor), you undoubtedly have routine meetings with your station’s non-technical management team (GM, PD, news director, sales manager, marketing manager, etc.). If you are not regularly attending their routine meetings (typically held weekly), start attending. Pay attention to everything they discuss, even if they seem to have no topics directly related to engineering. You might hear discussions about visions or goals that will require engineering assistance in the future. Also, you will gain a new appreciation for the mindset of management and thus be better prepared to deal with them on their terms.
Dress in a manner compatible with the rest of the management team. If they wear business suits, then you should also wear a business suit. Make sure your suit says that you are also a management professional — not a used car salesman. If you have not been dressing in this manner, and comments are made about your new style of dress, simply acknowledge the change by saying, “Thank you. I feel much more comfortable discussing station business and sharing ideas with you when dressed this way.”
Without saying another word about your attire, you will intuitively be considered more professional. Of course, always wear your SBE certification pin on your jacket lapel to these meetings. If asked about it, the door will be opened to discuss how your SBE membership and certification improve your professional abilities, thus making you a more valuable asset to the management team.
Along with professional attire, good grooming is also necessary for your overall professional appearance. This includes neat hair, a clean shave or neatly trimmed facial hair, clean hands and shined shoes. With professional attire and good grooming in place, you will not only be ready to take your place in management meetings, but also be ready to represent the station on any public occasion.
Although it may seem “old school,” you may find it appropriate to normally wear a suit to work, and keep a change of clothes in a locker for any maintenance you may need to perform. Alternatively, keep a service “jump suit” in your locker to wear over your trousers and dress shirt for maintenance, or a simple lab jacket to cover your dress shirt for light maintenance. While different from today’s trends of casual engineering attire, following this guideline will always position you as a professional engineering manager first, then as a broadcast engineer.
Document your work
The presumption is that you have some sort of regular schedule that you are expected to maintain. If you do not punch a time clock, keep a personal log book (separate from any official company records) indicating your daily start and end times. In this book, also log your daily activities during your regular work hours. List things like meetings, engineering planning time, talking with vendors, professional correspondence time, technical maintenance time, training time and time for any nontechnical actions taken at the request or direction of the management team.
Include more detailed notes when advising any members of your management team about actions they need to take regarding decisions on budgetary items or other items that may involve legal or licensing issues. If you recommend budgeting for or purchasing critical replacement parts, and you are denied, note that in your log as well. Include names in your personal log.
Remember, the FCC puts responsibility for operating within their rules squarely on station management, not on engineering. If you provide sound engineering-based advice to your management team, and it is documented, and they ignore your advice, then they must deal with the consequences — not you. If, for some reason, your management does not value your accurate documentation and sense of accountability, you will be able to refer to the thoroughness of your procedures to prove your high ethical standards, character and professionalism to your next employer.
Also document any work that involves you — and the time spent — outside your normal work schedule. This might include anything from overnight transmitter maintenance to a call at 3 a.m. about a burned out pilot light to a stopped automation system. Compile a list of this additional work and submit a weekly report to your station management team.
If you are salaried, rather than an hourly employee, some employers believe that your contracted salary covers all your time. However, most states have wage-hour laws that require employers to pay overtime at overtime rates, even to salaried employees, for work in excess of 40 hours per week. Certain salaried employees that have primary authority over other employees may be assigned “exempt” status, precluding them from overtime pay. Overall, most salaried employees do not qualify as exempt employees. Your state’s wage-hour office can clarify any specific inquiries.
Because you are responsible for installing and maintaining the station’s technical equipment, the proper technical operation of that equipment should be an interest of yours as well. In the area of documentation, be a willing trainer of anyone assigned to operate any of the technical equipment. Document any training given, including time spent and the name of the person trained. Include that in your weekly report to the management team. This will also show that you are a team player and are providing value-added engineering service for the good of the station.
In addition, a properly trained nontechnical operator will be less likely to damage the equipment, thus reducing your maintenance requirements. If you notice someone you’ve trained handling the equipment in an inappropriate manner, a gentle reminder about proper procedures (while allowing them to maintain their dignity) will go much farther in reinforcing your professional leadership than berating them for their incompetence.
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