Yes, we have known about 2010 for years. Yes, we know that we need people to cope with the enormity of the media demands on the World Cup. Yes, we have also sat around, not quite knowing what to do, and hoping someone else would do it.
And, yes, now that it’s in the media (from Germany) we can see that with our current capacity, we haven’t a hope in hell of coping.
Yes, the deputy president has reminded us monthly since the beginning of the year that there is a skills crisis, and no, we are not xenophobic by only reacting now that there is the threat of importing foreigners.
So now we are going to train journalists, sportscasters, electronic engineers, TV producers, radio announcers, outside broadcast technicians, and all the people needed to send pictures, sound and data to whatever handheld devices may be on the market in 2010. Yippee!
And, what is lekker, is that we can get it taken off our skills levy so it really doesn’t cost much. We have a frenzy of training about to commence and all the racketeers (as there are in every profession) will be the only ones to score.
But you can make it work.
First of all, forget making it cheap because of the Skills Levy. You have to first make sure that it is in your Workplace Skills Plan, so you have better get your Skills Facilitator jacked up (or better still, get a Skills Facilitator).
Then don’t do ANY training unless it is worth it. Training in the media is never worth it unless it is going to produce a Return on Investment (ROI) that can be neared in rand and cents.
ROI means that the money you spend on training (including development, materials and lost on-the-job time) has to earn a return in excess of what that money had earned if invested in capital expenditure, development or even the call account.
Measuring sales reps is the easiest. You just take their increase in sales after costs of sales, and measure that as a percentage of their sales earnings a year ago. Other media training is more difficult, but it is ALWAYS possible.
A camera operator can be measured in terms of reduced downtime because of setting up and mistakes. Time is always measurable in money. A TV director can be measured in terms of the costs of production, and audiences gained. A radio commentator can be measured in terms of reduced errors and gained audience.
Writers can be measured in terms of time, reduced errors and increased popularity. You can measure popularity any way you like.
Every performance can be measured. When trainers talk about training being “unquantifiable” (sounding like a dicey PR), tell them to take a hike and get in a trainer who can evaluate training in terms of ROI.
Don’t ever listen to a trainer who says he can measure training on the basis of questionnaires. Don’t even talk to him.
There’s no use debating whether the 2010 World Cup is going to make money for everyone or not.
The fact is, it’s coming whether we like it or not. The indisputable consequence is, if we in the media do not show what we are cracked up to be in front of billions of media consumers all over the world, the embarrassment could cost us our businesses and careers.
Howard Thomas has been working in entertainment and media for 36 years. His experience with TV started from the beginning in South Africa, and he is now a media business consultant, trainer and specialist in audience psychology.