10 performance challenges for Y2K editors

The Y2K bug gets all the press, but the real issue for editors in the new millennium is staff performance.

By Howard S. Rauch
President, Editorial Solutions Inc.

Exotic technology challenges likely to preoccupy editorial management in the future should not cloud our need to confront staff performance issues. In fact, whether or not we to admit it, some performance dilemmas have assumed Y2K-like proportions.

Why is it that when publishers have to seek a new chief editor, they can’t find a candidate within their ranks? How did some of us get to the sorry state where a solid line of staff succession is nonexistent? Can we ever get back on the beam when it comes to fielding a training program that turns new recruits into superstars?

Some editors have admitted to me that their jobs are now so diversified that they often can’t give publication content the attention it deserves. And in some cases, it shows! So, for those of you determined to bring performance to a higher level, here are 10 possible paths to pursue:

1. Recognize, recruit and retain college grad superstars. Be prepared to articulate a three-year career plan. Create several opportunities for step-ups in position as well as financially. What about the atmosphere in which interviews are conducted with newcomers? Do you shut off all outside interference? Can you intelligently answer questions about growth possibilities and company benefits? Or are you under such constant siege that your goal is to rush through your screening and hire the first person who appears to be a promising drone?

2. Training must come from the top. Chief editors must be available at the outset to share their industry know-how with promising neophytes. Juniors teaching juniors may be expedient in terms of your time, but it’s not the best way to go.

3. Create a systematic training program that takes priority over the usual interruptions. Even when the staff is as small as two people, you can follow the "hour-a-day" training approach. This means that during each of the first 10 days your junior editor is on board, you spend at least one hour in a teaching mode. Some editors use standard slide shows to facilitate instruction.

4. Beware of job descriptions that foster industry ignorance. Even some senior editors are now bogged down by job descriptions that chain them to their desks. Field trips are a non-event. In that environment, how can you learn anything?

Today’s alert editors insist that all staff members personally call on readers at least once a month. Subsequently, the staffer must file a written report identifying possible story ideas for future issues.

5. Make reader interviews a mandatory ingredient of your editorial mix. In too many cases, due to time pressure or some other reason, fewer and fewer direct quotes from top sources appear in print. This seems especially true in news sections, which should thrive on attribution. During competitive analysis projects conducted by Editorial Solutions, Inc., a typically discouraging find is that if quotes are used at all, they come straight from press releases or from advertisers/potential advertisers.

6. Institute a system of quantitative yardsticks. Most editors have yet to understand that such yardsticks are an important tie-breaker when it comes to performance disputes. Furthermore, top management puts great store in "benchmarks." So it’s better for you to beat the brass to the punch when it comes to playing the numbers game. And for those of you who still are not believers, reasonable, achievable quantitative goals facilitate rather than infringe upon editorial creativity.

One area where yardsticks might be applied more readily is in defining responsibility of staff writers to gather authoritative direct quotes from knowledgeable industry sources. To this end, some editorial directors do regular source counts — by staff member, by title of person, by geographic location of sources.

7. Get a better handle on your web site in terms of time management. Some staffs spend a mind-boggling amount of time updating their web pages, yet have no concrete notion of the degree to which this activity eats into other important responsibilities. Meanwhile, there has been no staff adjustment to accommodate extra work. This is an urgent example of your need to document performance quantitatively when making a case to your publisher for relief.

8. Prepare everybody for "show business" responsibilities. Run an occasional public speaking workshop for staff members. In advance, have all participants prepare a five-minute talk on some aspect of your industry for delivery during the workshop. Teach everybody how to use audiovisuals as their texts, which comes off much better than reading a speech (and sounding like it).

9. Get everybody tuned into the marketing process. In many situations, editorial superiority remains undersold. More powerful presentations are achievable when editors are involved. [Editor's note: For more on getting editors involved in marketing, see "The editorial entrepreneur" from our January 1999 issue.]

10. Keep your "role model" image at a high visibility level. Some editors, once promoted to a top position, can hardly wait to stop writing major features. This is a mistake. When superb features are crafted by the publication’s top editor, this fortifies your leadership position in the industry. And it also sets an example for staff members to follow!

About the author. Howard Rauch is a former VP/editorial director of a major business magazine company. He has spoken at several past ASBPE and Folio: conferences, and also has served as an ASBPE board member. His company, Editorial Solutions, Inc., focuses on the needs of business magazines. The company has worked with 37 clients since its inception 10 years ago.

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