Recruitment, Hiring & Training
Recruitment - Where Do You Find Your DJs?Events - This is a prime opportunity to look for new talent. Look for people who are fun, outgoing and good dancers. Introduce yourself, hand them a card and tell them “I think you would be a GREAT DJ!” This flattering introduction often strokes the ego of a potential candidate and breaks the ice to get into a conversation with the potential employee.
Friends of existing employees - using a reward system often gives your employees incentive to look for new talent. The reward should only be given if the new employee completes your training program and works for the company six months.
Flyers - should be placed in locations where the population matches your needs. If you are looking for a more mature Emcee, you may not want to post a flyer in a high school for students to see. In contrast, a teacher’s lounge at the same high school may attract the type of person you are looking for.
Newspaper ads - usually a last resort for DJs, but the first step if looking for an office receptionist. Consider running an ad for a “line dance instructor” if you are looking for DJ assistants. This technique will prompt more women to apply. See attached samples.
**Note - it is important to pre-screen applicants over the phone to qualify them prior to setting up an interview. It is a waste of both yours and the applicant’s time if the applicant doesn’t have a drivers license or isn’t available on Saturdays.
What Do you Look For In An Applicant
Experience vs. no experience - some companies prefer to train someone with no experience, in order to get them to perform “their way”. Other companies recruit only DJs with previous experience. It must be stressed that if a trainee has no experience, it becomes more imperative that you have a comprehensive training program in place.
Personality - outgoing and enthusiastic are usually preferred for a mobile entertainer.
Appearance - often deceiving. Talent is more important than appearance, however, keep in mind that the people you hire must be able to represent your company in a professional manner.
Availability - does the applicant have any commitments that prohibit them from working most weekends.
Drivers License and vehicle - do not assume that everyone has a drivers license and vehicle.
Longevity - does the applicant have any plans to leave the area in the next 12 to 18 months? Can you see this applicant staying with your company for a few years, or do they have a history of being a job-hopper?
Other Skills - ability to sing, acting experience, etc.
The Interview
It is equally important for you to make a good impression on the applicant as it is for the applicant to impress you! This applies to how you present yourself as the owner and manager, as well as the impression the applicant has about the professionalism of your company. If you hope to recruit quality people, they must have confidence that you will be a good person and company to work for.
Begins with the applicant filling out an application for employment.
Make sure your application has the following important information:
1. All contact information - name, address, phone number, etc.
2. Questions about the applicant’s availability on specific days of the week.
3. Questions about the applicant’s experience. If you have a non-competition agreement that is based on you providing a training program to the applicant in exchange for the applicant not competing, you can document that the applicant had no experience prior to being hired by including a question about their prior experience on the application.
4. Question about any pre-existing back or health problems that may prevent them from lifting up to 100 pounds should be included.
5. Several slots for current and previous jobs the applicant has held. This helps in identifying the “job hoppers”.
If the applicant appears to be a viable one, SELL the benefits of working for your company.
Engage the applicant and get to know them.
Outline the main job requirements to avoid future problems. This cannot be stressed enough, and sets the tone with the employee on many of the critical job performance expectations. Here are some of the main things to cover:
Responsibility to be available to work, and the process for requesting time off. Make sure the applicant understands the commitment that is necessary for the job.
The high stakes involved with doing weddings, and the importance of being reliable and professional. Even though you may have back-up assistants, explain that this business does not permit someone from calling in sick because they have a headache.
Training requirements - SELL the applicant that the training program is designed to benefit THEM as well as the company.
Lifting requirements and any pre-existing back problems the applicant may have - this question should also be on your application for documentation purposes.
Compensation for training and performance at events.
Your vision of what the ideal DJ/Emcee is - personality, enthusiasm, dancing ability, ability to learn music, care of your equipment, etc. Use a video that shows an enthusiastic performer and a lackluster performer to contrast the differences and illustrate what you do and do not want in an employee.
Transportation requirements are important, and must be discussed.
Non-Compete Contract Requirements (if any).
Training Program
Should be an organized program that is broken down into individual components for each training session.
Should consist of both a comprehensive training manual, classroom hands-on practice and On-The-Job training.
Should cover all aspects of performance, and be sequenced in a logical order that teaches the trainee what they need to know to perform their job.
Assign the trainee to work with several of your best DJs to get different ideas on performance techniques. Equally important - do NOT assign the trainee to work with someone who doesn’t set a good example.
The instructor should assume the role of a coach, rather than one of a traditional boss.
Don’t throw too much at the trainee too soon! Get them hands-on training ASAP!
Should “condition” the trainee that they are a part of a progressive organization, and that it is critical that they conform to the professional standards of performance you have set.
Use training videos to enhance your program. Video footage of other DJs performances or professional how-to videos that promote professional standards demonstrates to the trainee that these standards are important, and not something that you have simply made up.
Refresher Training - your training program should provide new and innovative ideas, as well as refresher training on the basics to your veteran DJs.
As a multi-system manager, you have the responsibility to network with other multi-system managers, attend conventions and compile this information for your staff. This is essential to keep them and your company on the cutting edge of the latest performance and technology trends.
Business Management & Company Structure
Non-Competition Contracts - Are the enforceable?
***NOTE*** This section of the seminar is NOT intended to be legal advice, but rather, a general overview of Non-Competition Contracts. Please consult with a qualified employment attorney in your state for legal advice.
The enforceability of a non competition contract depends on many factors, starting with the state in which your business is based. Some states are more willing to enforce them than others.
Completing a case-law research in the state in which your company is based is the best method for determining if precedent has been set for non-competition contracts. If you find that courts in your state have ruled against a few non-competition contracts, it is recommended that you determine what the basis was for the ruling.
Just because one (or event two or three!) non-compete contract was deemed invalid in a court of law, does not make them ALL invalid. Remember, some cases are lost because the contract itself wasn’t properly written.
People often confuse their states “Right to Work” laws with non-compete contracts. Right to Work laws have NOTHING to do with non-competition contracts, but rather, mandatory membership to unions.
For the most part, a simple two-paragraph agreement not to compete “for all eternity” will not hold up in a court of law.
Essential elements of a non-compete contract include:
Limit of geographic area must be reasonable.
Time Limit must be specified, usually from the day the employee separates from your company - six months to two years MAXIMUM, depending on the state you live in and the judge’s mood that day!
You must provide a “buy out” clause that allows the employee to buy their way out of the contract. This is IMPERATIVE to countering the argument that you are denying the person the right to earn a living.
A definition of what a “mobile DJ” is should be clearly defined - both technology as well as actual performance.
Contract should specify that the non-competition agreement covers any performance - whether for hire or otherwise, as well as working in any capacity as a DJ as defined (for another DJ company, bar, club or starting their own business).
Terms of contract should remain valid in the event that you have to terminate the employee for willful disregard of the standards of performance contained in your training manual. This is yet another reason to have a comprehensive training manual.
Should contain a Non-Disclosure provision as well as a Non-Solicitation provision as part of the agreement.
One method of strengthening your ability to enforce a non-compete contract is to base the agreement on a comprehensive training program. In order to do this, you must have a comprehensive training program with a training manual. Essentially, the trainee agrees not to compete with you in exchange for not having to pay for the training school you provide the trainee at no charge. This type of contract becomes a “training deferral” agreement more than a non-competition agreement. As always, check with a qualified employment contract attorney IN YOUR STATE. Attorney’s that specialize in employment contracts are usually a better choice over a “general law” attorney who may not have the experience with employment contracts.
One or two person teams
Some companies exclusively provide two person teams, while other companies provide a single DJ/Emcee.
Consider adding “assistants” if you usually provide a single DJ/Emcee. In a company with 6 systems, keeping two or three assistants on staff provides a level within your company to train new DJs and evaluate their ability to become an Emcee.
It also provides “insurance” should one of your emcees become sick or leave your company unexpectedly.
Assistants can be trained to perform special functions - such as setting up lighting systems, portable PA’s, etc.
Employee or Subcontractor?
Multi-system owners must be aware of the requirements the IRS sets to define a sub contractor. Failure to properly classify your DJs could result in fines and back taxes. Check with your CPA.
Subcontractor: Owns their own equipment and are not given specific instructions on how to accomplish a job. The Subcontractor is usually given a 1099 at the end of the year.
If you use true sub-contractors, it is highly recommended that you have a contract with the sub-contractor for each event they are assigned. This reduces the potential for misunderstandings and communication problems, and reduces liability in the event the sub-contractor fails to cover the event.
Employee: Uses your equipment. Company withholds taxes, social security and workers compensation, paying a portion of the employee’s social security and workers compensation.
Rental Method - One company claims to have survived two audits on the status of their sub contractors by creating a paper trail of renting their equipment to their sub contractors for each event. Check with your CPA.
Equipment & Storage
Multi system companies appear to be equally split on storage of equipment. Many companies assign a sound system and music library to a DJ and allow the DJ to keep it at home, while others require the DJ to pick up and return equipment for each event.
An inventory of an assigned sound system is critical to hold the DJ accountable for any missing items.
If at all possible, assign a DJ a complete basic sound system and music library that no one else uses (even if you do not allow the DJ to take the system home). If DJs share equipment and something comes up missing, they will point the finger at others who have used the system.
Many DJ companies provide a checklist of equipment to ensure that the DJ doesn’t forget to load anything. Standardizing each of your sound systems allows you to create cubicles to contain all of the components for each basic system. With the cubicle method, equipment from one system is not as likely to be mixed up in another system, and the DJ would be less likely to leave a critical piece of equipment behind.
If assigning each DJ a system is not possible, standardizing your systems becomes more beneficial.
Transportation
Of the numerous multi system companies that were surveyed, about 35% provided transportation, while the remaining 65% required the employee to provide transportation. The companies that provided the transportation were usually located in mid to high end markets where the revenue to pay for a fleet of vans was available.
Compensation
One of the most commonly asked questions of multi system operators is how much they compensate their DJs.
The amount of compensation a multi system company provides their DJs depends on a variety of factors:
The compensation paid to a DJ is relative to the typical fee charged for an event. DJs in markets that command top dollar received top dollar.
Sub Contractors who owned their own equipment are usually paid more than a DJ employee using the company’s equipment.
Experience - the more experience a DJ has, the more they are usually paid.
Transportation - DJs who use company vehicles typically get paid LESS that those DJs providing their own transportation.
Event Planning Responsibility - DJs who are required to provide all of the event planning services to the client are typically compensated more than DJs who work for a company that provides most event planning to the clients.
Overtime - most companies give most or all of the overtime to the DJ. In many cases, the client is required to write the overtime check directly to the DJ. However, there are many companies that do not give all of the overtime to the DJ, especially if all of the revenue must be claimed by the company.
Gratuities are usually kept by the DJ. Many companies suggest an optional gratuity for the DJ to their clients. This greatly depends on the customary fee charged for an event - a company that commands $1200 is less likely to find it appropriate to suggest a gratuity compared to a company that typically charged $600 for an event.
Pay Scale - most companies have an entry level pay rate for new DJs and a “top out” pay rate for their more experienced DJ/Emcees. It is highly recommended that you NOT start a new DJ out at the highest rate you can afford to pay, but rather, start them low and provide FREQUENT pay raises for above average performance. Pay increases can apply to their base rate AND overtime rates. See evaluations below.
Additional Services - Experience shows that if you ask an employee to carry more equipment than usual, and arriver earlier to set it up, they complain about having to work longer hours for the same salary. Many of the multi-system companies surveyed indicated that they do not provide additional compensation to their DJs for heavier workloads. Providing additional services raises several important issues:
Is it fair to pay an employee the same for six hours of work for an event that only requires a standard sound system vs. an event that requires the employee to arrive one hour sooner, and stay one hour later to set up a trussed lighting system and upgraded sound?
Not only is the employee working longer, they are working HARDER.
If your company requires the employee to provide their own transportation, and they can easily transport a basic sound system in a mid-size car, how can the company give the employee incentive to maintain a pick-up or van to transport lighting up-sells?
Evaluations
There are two types of evaluations for DJs:
1. Client Event Feedback Forms - form sent by the company to the client to get their feedback on how the DJ performed.
2. Employee Evaluations for DJs by Management - this is important to the DJs development, and in many cases is tied to pay increases. Employee evaluations should cover all aspects of performance and essentially be a review of the most critical performance standards.
Your leadership and interpersonal skills greatly influence the frequency with which you will encounter employee problems.
Not everyone is cut out to be a multi-system manager.
Managing part time employees is more difficult than full time employees.
In most cases, your DJs will have a part time status with your company, and hold full time jobs elsewhere. Usually, DJs who work with a multi system company do not rely on their part-time salary to pay their essential bills.
Just because you own the company and have the technical title of being “the boss”, doesn’t mean that you manage your employees like a military drill sergeant.
The most successful multi-system managers rely less on their power as “the boss”, and utilize positive coaching techniques to motivate their employees.
Performance problems generally fall into two categories:
o Job performance problems
o Behavior problems
Job performance problems include manipulative skills that are lacking, or work habits that do not meet the standards that you have set for your employee.
Behavior problems include inappropriate attitude, difficult personality, conflicts with other employees, personal problems or substance abuse problems.
Steps for Dealing With Employee Problems:
1. Do not approach an employee at an event with a problem, unless it is absolutely necessary.
2. Avoid approaching an employee with a problem if you are angry.
3. Focus on the performance, rather than on the employee.
4. Use a problem solving approach, rather than a rigid disciplinary or punishment-oriented approach.
5. Identify the performance problem. Document the specific behavior or performance that did not meet your standards or expectations. Be sure that you are analyzing performance, not personalities or personal style.
6. Review the performance problem with the employee in private.
7. Ask the employee if they realized that there was a problem, and ask if they have any reasons as to why they have not met the standard.
8. If the employee has not given a significant reason to justify their actions, review the standard or company policy - it is helpful to have most of your standards in writing in a company or employee manual. By demonstrating that the employee is in non-compliance to an existing standard or policy, it is obvious that you are not making a personal attack on the employee.
9. Next, praise the employee for the positive aspects of their job performance as a whole, explaining that you value them as an employee. Review the effect that the performance problem has on the company, projecting a positive attitude toward the employee that your only interest is to bring their performance back up to par. This step is especially important for employees who normally have good work habits or when there is a minor infraction.
10. Use coaching techniques to help the employee identify the problem, and explore solutions to the poor performance. Ask the employee to offer their own solutions to the problem, if appropriate. This is especially effective, because they will be more likely to conform to their own solution, than one that you have set for them.
11. Take into consideration any previous Job Performance problems the employee has had to determine your approach.
12. Reach an agreement on the behavior to be changed or the performance improvement required.
13. Establish an improvement plan and a timetable.
14. Discuss the consequences, such as potential disciplinary action (if applicable).
15. Document the conversation, and what the employee agreed to do to solve the problem.
16. Follow up by providing support and monitoring the improvement objectives and timetable.
17. If the employee fails to improve, initiate disciplinary action - if applicable, or more coaching and positive reinforcement to assist the employee improve.
Use common sense - if one of the above steps do not apply to the situation, then eliminate that step from your meeting.
Much like major league baseball, every mobile DJ company at some point must confront the issue of expansion. Whether you are a single operator mulling over the addition of a second system, or a multi-system operator looking to add one more rig to your fleet, you must use the same evaluation process to determine if expansion is the wise path for you.
Firstly, facts and figures, not ego, should be the determining factors when expanding. The addition of a sound system and a complete music library should be approached as an investment. As we all know, when you make an investment you must get a return in order for it to be worthwhile. By all means, resist the temptation to invest in an additional sound system and accompanying music library simply because you have “turned down a few gigs lately.” But how does one know when to expand? Is there a formula? Read on and see.The first step of the decision-making process is extremely vital. I believe that you should track for a period of six months the number of events that you are turning away. A separate log for this purpose, to insure accuracy, is recommended. A study period of this length, to me, is necessary so as to be certain that an additional DJ system will be busy enough to pay for itself.
Next, calculate what the start-up costs are for a sound system and music library. I recommend that you do so for two separate systems: A premium set-up, containing everything that your front-line system has, may run between $6,000 to $10,000. Your second system, a budget sound-system with a basic PA and a scaled down music library, should be in the $4,000 range.
The reason I recommend specifying the costs of two different systems is simple: when you calculate your investment against the number of events you can expect this new system to handle, you may be able to afford only the budget system. In contrast, your facts and figures may allow you to invest in a first class sound system and music library. Read on, and we will go through this process.
Several other factors need to be examined. The average fee for your services must be factored with the number of jobs you expect the new sound system to handle. You can’t just say that if you are turning down 15 jobs in a six-month period, then it is wise or unwise to invest in an additional DJ system. This will vary, depending on how much you can charge for your services.
Single operators looking to add a second DJ system should carefully evaluate what they can charge for a second system. Typically, when you have established yourself as a quality, full-time single-system DJ, you command top dollar in your market. Clients may not want to pay that same amount to someone else who is representing your company. Needless to say, many single operators have been unpleasantly surprised when after adding a new DJ system they discover that clients who wanted them to perform, are unwilling to pay the same fee for an employee.
And when it comes to employees, you’ll need to factor in additional-employee payroll. You’ll have to determine a fair price to pay your employee to represent you, and deduct that from the money that comes in from the jobs they are assigned. The amount of money you pay your employee will directly correspond to the fee that you are charging for your services, in addition to experience. If you are only charging $300 for your services, then it is fair to start a new employee at a salary of $85 to $125 per job, depending on experience. In contrast, if you are charging $500 a job, you should be paying the employee somewhere between $150 to $250 per event.
Your evaluation process would be incomplete without calculating new-system maintenance, a figure that also includes buying new music for this system. If you are purchasing off-the-assembly-line new equipment, then the maintenance of the equipment shouldn’t be a factor for a couple of years. However, if your budget allows for only used equipment, I think you should expect to pay for repairs and upgrades to the system. With the availability of CD subscription services, such as RPM, the upkeep of the music is fairly affordable (around $50.00 per month).
One critical element that has nothing to do with money, but should be carefully evaluated, is the responsibility that goes along with adding a new staff member to your company. Remember, if you train this person and they quit after six months, you must be prepared to hire and train another DJ to fulfill your new system’s bookings. If you are a single operator and have no experience in training and supervising employees, this can be overwhelming. Do you really have the time for this? Are you prepared to deal with clients who call and complain that your DJ “wasn’t as good as you,” or that your new employee was 10 minutes late starting the music? The list goes on and on. The bottom line is that you have to be realistic about the pros and cons of adding another DJ system.
When you do your six-month number-crunching, I think it is important to set a deadline on when you recoup your investment. I think it would be worth the investment if you can turn a profit within 6 to 18 months. In my opinion, any more than 18 months would make the investment of your money and time to be a loss. In this case, you should consider raising your rates, and keep the number of DJ systems you currently have.
Now that we have kept track of the number of jobs that have been turned down over the last six months, let’s compare those numbers with the investment necessary for an additional DJ system. Let’s assume the following scenario:
In six month’s time, you have turned down 25 jobs.
You charge an average of $400 for each job.
The average salary for your new employee to handle those jobs is $150 (remember, you are adding an additional system, and you need to accurately calculate what you will profit from each job).
Music library upkeep @ $50.00 per month for six months, $300.00
In the above scenario, you could expect to profit somewhere around $5,950 in six months, after you pay your employee. In this event, I believe that it would be wise to invest in a premium sound system and music library (somewhere between $6,000 and $10,000).
Let’s look at a different scenario:
In a six month time frame, you have turned down 15 jobs.
You charge an average of $300 for each job.
The average salary for your new employee to handle those jobs is $100
Music library upkeep @ $50.00 per month for 6 months, $300.00
In the above scenario, you could expect to profit some where around $2,700 in a six month time frame, after you pay your employee. Here, I think I would only invest in a budget system where I could turn a profit in approximately one year.
Once you have invested in a new sound system and music library, you must search for and train a new DJ. It is imperative that you organize a good training program, and take the necessary time and effort to coach your new jock on the skills necessary in providing professional DJ services. This topic was covered in the January issue of DJ Times.
I would like to stress how important this is. Sending someone out to represent you with little or no training can result in severe damage to YOUR reputation, and cost you a lot of business. This, of course, defeats the whole purpose of expanding. This happened to me in the early 1980’s, when I attempted to add a second DJ system to handle the volume of gigs that were coming in. I demonstrated to a friend how to hook up the system, and how the record library was organized. I sent him to perform for a regular client who booked me once a month. The morning after his first job, I was awakened by a phone call from the client who said that they didn’t recognize any of the songs the DJ played during the dance. It seems that the DJ played music from his personal collection of records, and played album tracks that were not popular. He wanted to introduce what he perceived to be “future hits,” sort of a trend-setter. I lost my regular client and my reputation was somewhat sullied.
In addition to training a new DJ, you must also be willing to spend more time marketing your services. If you are a single operator, you may very well have kept yourself as busy as you wanted to be, with little or no marketing effort. To maximize the return on your investment in an additional DJ system, you should take the time to go out and drum up some new business. You may want to reconsider your refusal to participate in a bridal show. Why not stop by area banquet facilities to chat with the managers (my favorite way to drum up business!). Or leave brochures with other wedding-related business.
You’ll also need to revise and place a lot of emphasis in your promotional information. As a single system operator in the early 1980’s, all of my business cards had my personal name on them. When I expanded, I was selling the services of more than just me, so I came up with a company name, The DJ Connection. Of course, I had to change all of my promotional information.
Once you invest in an additional system, you are now looking to increase the volume of jobs. This means that you need to impress the potential client into reserving your service.
Your promotional information may make the difference. In this case, I believe it is important that you stress four main factors to the clients:
You have a professional, business-oriented approach.
You have the music that they want.
You have the experience in the type of event that the client is planning.
Your DJ will interact with the guests and have the personality to make the event a fun time for everyone.
As you can see, there are numerous factors that must be evaluated when making the decision to expand your mobile DJ services. The worst thing you can do is to expand without the proper research and preparation. This approach can result in your business name being tarnished, and a loss in revenue for your company. On the other hand, if you carefully evaluate all of the factors listed above, expanding your DJ company can be a richly rewarding experience.
This article originally appeared in the DJ Times magazine, and is posted on this site with their permission
Name:_____________________ Date:______________________
*****NOTE*****
This is NOT for the client to fill out, but rather you, the supervisor to fill out to evaluate your staff!
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Reliability
1. *Calls in for job information as prescribed in the Company Training Manual at the beginning of week, and confirmation call the day prior to event :_____
2. **Can be 100% relied upon to remain available to work on weekends, working within the guidelines set forth in the Company Training Manual regarding “requests for time off :_____
3. Requests for time off are kept to a reasonable minimum :_____
4. **Calls in sick only in extreme emergencies, and in accordance with the procedures in the Company Training Manual :_____
5. *Picks up equipment and allows ample time to arrive at the job site at least 75 minutes prior to the contracted time :_____
6. ** Can be 100% relied upon to have equipment set up, and read to go by the contracted time :_____
Professionalism
1. * Courteous and friendly toward the public at all times :_____
2. ** Wears a tux to all functions, with appropriate shoes, tie and cumberbun, unless the requirement is reduced by management :_____
3. *Leaves coat and tie on through-out the entire event :_____
4. * Hair is neatly groomed, and face is clean shaven(for men) :_____
5. * Checks with the customer twice during the event to ensure customer satisfaction :_____
6. All Equipment/CD’s are set up in a neat and orderly fashion, with reasonable efforts made conceal wires :_____
7. *Does not drink alcohol on the job :_____
Equipment Operation and Care
2. ** Protects the equipment and cd’s from heat and cold exposure :_____
3. *Ensures that full equipment check is made for each job at least 30 minutes prior to event :_____
4. Makes proper adjustments to the mixing board and amplifier :_____
5. Makes proper connections for all equipment :_____
6. Diagnoses equipment problems and makes corrections when possible :_____
7. *Follows guidelines for equipment problems on the job, as set forth in the Company Training Manual :_____
8. Keeps all CD’s in the proper bin, and in the proper sequence :_____
9. Keeps all wires, cables and items in the utility crate neat and orderly :_____
10. Makes reasonable attempts to get party props back from the guests, and protects them from damage :_____
11. **Maintains complete security of the equipment at all times :_____
12. * Returns equipment at the time agreed upon with the management :_____
Job Performance
1. *80 percent of music selection played from music quick references :_____
2. *Music selection not influenced by personal preferences :_____
3. *Reads the crowd by playing a variety of music in the first hour, and makes the proper adjustments to the music rotation to fit the crowd :_____
4. *Plays danceable requests, and makes all reasonable efforts to play the requests made by the customer on the music sheet; checks off the requests played on the sheet for documentation :_____
5. Consistently plays a variety of music that appeals to the majority of the people :_____
6. Good music knowledge of song titles and artists, for the level of experience :_____
7. Consistently makes tight mixes between songs :_____
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Job Performance, Continued
8. Cues songs at the appropriate spot, bypassing un-danceable introductions :_____
9. *Projects voice well over the microphone so everyone in the room can clearly hear and understand all announcements :_____
10. In general, sounds enthusiastic and smooth(not boring) on the microphone :_____
11. Pronounces names correctly when introducing :_____
12. Makes reasonable and enthusiastic efforts to talk to the audience over the microphone at least twelve times during the event, such as: introducing yourself as the DJ, taking danceable requests, giving company promo’s, announcing song titles/artists, and making good faith efforts to motivate the audience over the mic :_____
13. Incorporates audience participation events in every show,(unless requested not to do so by the client) and presents these events in a professional, enthusiastic manner :_____
14. Takes control of weddings by suggesting when each event should take place, and uses good judgment on spacing the events so the reception does not become boring :_____
15. Coordinates all wedding events using the wedding events worksheet, executing the wishes of the client and works well with the caterer/banquet hall manager on the timing :_____
16. Projects each of the events at a wedding in a professional and enthusiastic manner :_____
17. Incorporates the suggested music with each wedding event, so that there is no “dead air” during any event, with the exception of the toast :_____
18. Uses good judgment with the garter and bouquet “routine” when a younger person catches the bouquet or garter, by making the necessary adjustments :_____
Miscellaneous
1. * Consistently abides by all rules, procedures and guidelines in the Company Training Manual :_____
2. * Exercises good judgment in unusual situations :_____
3. * Displays a positive attitude toward learning and improving performance :_____
4. * Can be relied upon to take corrective action when deficiencies are noted by management :_____
5. * Completes job report sheet and leaves all paperwork with the equipment :_____
SCALE:
* One Star - Indicates an item that must be at least a 3 to meet the minimum standards.
** Two Stars - Indicates an item that must be a 4 to meet the minimum standards.
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Paul Beardmore/Owner
The DJ Connection
Front Royal, Virginia
email : info@djcruise.com
1 - Poor, never — Corrective action must be taken
2 - Fair, sometimes — Improvement is necessary
3 - Good, most of the time — A slight adjustment is needed
4 - Excellent, always — Outstanding!!!1. **Handles the equipment with care; does not drop the equipment, packs equipment in vehicle properly to reduce the possibility of damage while in transit :_____
Special Note: This is only a SAMPLE “No Compete” contract. In order to be certain that it is enforceable, you must first contact an attorney, who can check your state’s laws as they pertain to no-compete contracts. If you decide to use this agreement, do so at your own risk!! ProDJ.com and the DJ University will not assume any liability for those that use this contract!—————————————————————————————————
Agreement
This Agreement is entered into as of the date last set forth below by and between
“YOUR NAME”, doing business as YOUR COMPANY NAME(hereinafter referred to as
“YOUR NAME” or the “Company”) and the person executing this agreement at the last page hereof (hereinafter referred to as “Contractor”).
WHEREAS, “YOUR NAME” is possessed of certain skills, abilities and knowledge
(”Skills”) relating to the provision of Mobile Disc-Jockey Service, as hereinafter defined, which Skills he is desirous of imparting to Contractor in return for the Contractor’s agreement to refrain from certain actions and to perform certain services for the Company as set forth below; and
WHEREAS, contractor acknowledges that “YOUR NAME” is possessed of the aforesaid Skills relating to the Mobile Disc-Jockey Service, and desires to acquire such Skills from “YOUR NAME” and in consideration therefor to perform the services for the Company and to refrain from certain actions as set forth below; and
WHEREAS, the Company is engaged in the business of contracting with third persons or entities for the provisions to such third persons or entities for Mobile Disc-Jockey Services (the “Mobile Disc-Jockey Business”).
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual covenants set forth herein, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Definition. The term Mobile Disc-Jockey Service shall be defined as the providing (i.e., playing through electronic play-back devices and/or amplifiers) of any type of pre-recorded music (e.g., through audio tapes, audio records, compact discs, mini-discs, Karaoke or any other equivalent means, whether now existing or hereafter developed), whether for hire or otherwise, to any public or private gathering of persons, where such gathering is effectuated by or pursuant to pre-arrangement, advertising, invitation or in the normal course of business of the owner, proprietor, lessee, or other occupant of the premises where such pre-recorded music services are provided; provided, however, that such term shall not extend to any pre-recorded music services provided at or on any premises occupied solely for the residential purposes by the provider of such services so long as such services are not provided for hire or other consideration.
2. Covenants and obligations of “YOUR NAME” and of Company. Conditioned upon the faithful performance by Contractor of his or her obligations as set forth herein, “YOUR NAME” agrees to train Contractor in all phases of the Mobile Disc-Jockey Service and, for so long as “YOUR NAME” is engaged in the Mobile Disc-Jockey Business, but for no more than two years from the date of Contractor’s execution of this Agreement, after Contractor has to “YOUR NAME”’s satisfaction successfully completed the aforesaid training, “YOUR NAME” agrees to offer to Contractor not less than an average of twelve (12) assignments (”Assignments”) annually to provide Mobile Disc-Jockey Services at a guaranteed minimum compensation for such services of $75.00 per Assignment, with the first 12 of such Assignments to have been offered no later than 13 months from the date of Contractor’s acceptance of this Agreement, and all of such required offerings to have been made no later than 24 months after such acceptance.
_____Contractor Initial Page 1 of 4
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3. Covenants and obligations of Contractor: Conditioned upon the faithful performance by “YOUR NAME” of his obligations as set forth herein, Contractor agrees, for a period of two years from his or her acceptance of this Agreement, to not engage in the provision of any Mobile Disc-Jockey Services, whether for hire or otherwise, with the exception of Contractor’s acceptance and completion of Assignments from “YOUR NAME” pursuant to this Agreement, within any of the following Counties located in the State of _______ or within any political subdivision thereof:________________________________________________.
The Contractor agrees specifically to be available to take job Assignments on Friday evenings and all day on Saturday’s, and to work within the guidelines set forth in the Rules and Procedures section of the Company Training Manual that pertain to requesting time off and vacations. Contractor further agrees that he or she will make all possible good faith best efforts to comply with the written rules, procedures and standards of conduct and performance(”Rules”) as outlined in the Company Training Manual, established by the Company in connection with conduct and performance of each of the Assignments which Contractor performs, including present Rules and revisions to the Rules in the future, and agrees that in the event of willful negligence or deliberate disregard of the Company’s Rules, then “YOUR NAME”’s obligations hereunder will be ended upon written notice thereof being provided to Contractor, without, however, affecting in any way or manner the continuing validity of Contractor’s agreement to not engage in the provision of Mobile Disc-Jockey Services under the geographical and duration limitations set forth herein.
The Contractor acknowledges importance of being reliable and ensuring that each and every event that the Company contracts with third party clients is covered with a qualified disc-jockey. The Contractor agrees specifically to be available to take job Assignments on Friday evenings and all day on Saturday’s, and to work within the guidelines set forth in the Rules and Procedures section of the Company Training Manual that pertain to requesting time off and vacations. The Contractor fully agrees that in the event that they call the Company as being unable to work due to being sick or an injury, to provide a doctors excuse if the management of the Company requires one. The Contractor acknowledges that calling in as being sick, and unable to work can place a severe hardship on the company, and jeopardize the company reputation. The Contractor agrees to call in as being sick and unable to work only for legitimate medical reasons. Contractor further agrees that he or she will make all possible good faith best efforts to comply with the written rules, procedures and standards of conduct and performance(”Rules”) as outlined in the Company Training Manual, established by the Company in connection with conduct and performance of each of the Assignments which Contractor performs, including present Rules and revisions to the Rules in the future, and agrees that in the event of willful negligence or deliberate disregard of the Company’s Rules, then Beardmore’s obligations hereunder will be ended upon written notice thereof being provided to Contractor, without, however, affecting in any way or manner the continuing validity of Contractor’s agreement to not engage in the provision of Mobile Disc-Jockey Services under the geographical and duration limitations set forth herein. ). The Contractor agrees that failing to work on any date in which they have not been approved to be off by the Company, making a false sick call to the Company as being unable to work, or making deliberate, serious violations of the Company’s Rules in order to force the Company to terminate their employment constitutes failing to provide sufficient notice for leaving the employment of the Company, and will subject the Contractor to liability for unspecified damages to the Company.
The Contractor further agrees to give the Company 30 days written notice prior to leaving the employment of the Company. The Company and Contractor may mutually agree to wave the 30 days notice requirement. In this event, the Company will provide the Contractor with a written release(no oral agreements will be valid).
_____Contractor Initial Page 2 of 4
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4. Release of Obligations. “YOUR NAME” and Contractor agree that, should Contractor desire to be released from his or her obligations hereunder prior to the second anniversary of Contractor’s acceptance of this Agreement, then such release shall be deemed as granted upon Contractor’s payment to “YOUR NAME” of a sum of money as established as follows:
a. If Contractor desires a release on or before six (6) months after the date of Contractor’s acceptance of this Agreement, contractor shall pay “YOUR NAME” the sum of $6000.00 for such release.
b. If Contractor desires a release between six (6) months and twelve (12) months after the date of contractor’s acceptance of this Agreement, Contractor shall pay “YOUR NAME” the sum of $4500.00 for such release.
c. If Contractor desires a release between twelve (12) months and eighteen (18) months after the date of contractor’s acceptance of this Agreement, Contractor shall pay “YOUR NAME” the sum of $3000.00 for such release.
d. If Contractor desires a release between eighteen (18) months and twenty four (24) months after the date of contractor’s acceptance of this Agreement, Contractor shall pay “YOUR NAME” the sum of $1500.00 for such release.
Upon payment of the foregoing sum by Contractor and subsequent release of Contractor by “YOUR NAME”, which payment and release is acknowledged by Contractor and “YOUR NAME” as good and sufficient mutual consideration, and all other mutual obligations of the parties under this Agreement will then be terminated.
5. Assignment. This Agreement is freely assignable by “YOUR NAME”, subject to such assignee being bound fully to all obligations accruing to “YOUR NAME” and Company hereunder, and provided that such assignment will in no event increase the burdens or obligations of Contractor hereunder.
6. Term. The term of this Agreement shall be two years from the date of its acceptance below by Contractor, unless earlier terminated by action of Paragraph 3 ( Covenants and obligations of Contractor) or Paragraph 4 (Release of Obligations) hereof, or unless “YOUR NAME” ceases to engage in the Mobile Disc-Jockey Business and has not assigned his rights and obligations hereunder to a successor-in-interest, in which latter event the mutual obligations under this Agreement are terminated.
_____Contractor Initial Page 3 of 4
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7. Severability. If any provision of this instrument is found by a court of law or equity to be invalid or unlawful, the parties agree that such invalid or unlawful provision shall not render the whole of this Agreement invalid or unlawful, but shall be severable from the remainder hereof, and that such remainder shall continue in full force and effect unless such would materially alter the mutual benefits or obligations to the parties hereunder.
8. Enforcement. The parties agree that should any action be initiated by “YOUR NAME” to enforce his or the Company’s rights hereunder, then in the event of an adverse judgment against Contractor, Contractor shall pay any and all expenses incurred by “YOUR NAME” in seeking such enforcement, including, but not limited to, court costs, interest and attorney’s fees.
9. Binding Effect. The parties agree that the provisions of this Agreement are valid, legally binding obligations of each of the parties hereto, fully enforceable in accordance with the terms hereof.
WHEREAS, intending to be fully bound by the provisions hereof, the parties have set their hands to this instrument as of the day and date set forth below, which date shall be deemed the date of acceptance of this Agreement.
Compared to other occupations, mobile DJing is peculiar in many respects. But one element in particular stands out as most unique: for all practical purposes, the DJ employee plies his trade in an environment where there is no immediate supervisor. The multi-system mobile manager typically runs several DJ rigs and staffs jocks to work at sometimes remote job sites. Simply put, a lone supervisor can not be at five job locations at the same time.
This creates a supervision vacuum and underlines the importance of a monitoring system to insure that your clients are receiving quality performances. An employee performance evaluation is an excellent tool for ensuring that the requirements of your company are being carried out by your staff. But how does one go about devising an efficient evaluation system? Read on and see.The formal employee evaluation should not be confused with the evaluation that is sent out to clients after a job is completed. Rather, the formal employee evaluation is a summary of your observations, as a supervisor, of an employee. In addition to the employees’ performance on the job, you are also evaluating the employee on their conformity to company policy, equipment care, professionalism, reliability and numerous other items.
It is important that the formal employee evaluation is a positive tool to enhance employee performance. You should approach an employee evaluation session as an educational training tool to improve performance and recognize the employee for the positive things they do. In contrast, the employee performance evaluation should not turn into a disciplinary session, as it will lose the effectiveness of improving employee performance.
As a multi-mobile manager, you may have some concerns about giving an employee a formal evaluation. After all, most of your staff DJs are probably part-time employees. There is a legitimate concern that making things too formal in your company may result in negative reactions from your employees. I resolve this problem by basing employee pay raises on their formal evaluation.
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For new employees, evaluations should be administered two or three times a year; for experienced employees, once annually should suffice. The content of the evaluation is something that should be closely examined. As a manager, your job is to be clear and concise on what you expect from your staff. This is why it is imperative that you have written job standards, such as a company training manual.
In addition, the job standards that you set should apply equally to all of your DJs. It is extremely important that you are fair and consistent in the way you evaluate your staff if you wish to maintain your credibility as a supervisor.
Specific job standards also assist you, the supervisor, when it is necessary to confront an employee with a performance problem: First, the employee’s behavior is shown to be unsatisfactory in comparison with the standard. Second, the amount of correction required can usually be precisely determined. Third, the employee is shown that the correction is a part of company policy, and not a personal attack.
The first step in establishing a formal employee evaluation is to devise the evaluation form. You should first establish several main categories, such as:
Professionalism
Reliability
Equipment Operation and Care
Troubleshooting Skills
Music Selection
Microphone Presentation
Weddings
Miscellaneous
There are several ways to go about developing an evaluation. The easiest way is to simply write a narrative description of the employee’s performance, which covers all of the categories you have selected. I prefer a form that specifically describes each standard, and a blank space to rate the employee on a numeric scale. The following is an example of an item listed in the “Professionalism” category:
“Wears tuxedo to each event (unless requirement is reduced by management), and keeps coat and tie on for the entire event…………………………._____”
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The blank space is for the supervisor to hand write the employees score in this particular item. I use a scale of one to four. It is necessary to have a key listed on the form that describes what each numerical score means. I have the following scoring system:
1……………Poor or Never: employee must take immediate corrective action.
2……………Fair or Sometimes: Improvement is necessary.
3……………Good or Most of the Time: a slight adjustment necessary.
4……………Excellent or Always: Outstanding!!!
You will notice that each numeric rating can mean two different things, such as “fair or sometimes.” This allows you more flexibility in the way you phrase each of your job standards in the evaluation.
There is also one other important component to your numeric scoring system that is necessary. You should designate the critical items in your evaluation that the employee MUST receive a minimum rating of a 3 or 4, in order to be considered for a pay raise. I use a star system as follows:
* - One star means that the employee must receive a 3 or better on that job standard to be considered for a pay raise.
** - Two stars means that the employee must receive a 4 to be considered for a pay raise.
The following is an example:
“**Employee can be 100-percent relied upon to have the equipment set up and ready to go by the designated contracted time…………………….._____”
“*Employee arrives at the job location at least one full hour prior to the designated contracted time, and completes a full equipment check 30 minutes prior to the designated contracted time.._____”
In the above example, the first job standard is a critical item in which the employee must receive a numeric rating of a 4, in order to be considered for a pay raise. Most of you will probably agree that it is absolutely critical that an employee starts the music by the contracted time for each event. Anything less is simply not acceptable, and this must be communicated with the employee prior to them taking their first job assignment.
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In contrast, there is a little more room for flexibility in the second job standard, which requires that the employee arrive to the job site and complete an equipment check 30 minutes prior to the event. In this category, we required a minimum rating of a 3, which means good or most of the time.
One of the benefits of the system I have described, is that I can give a new employee a blank copy of the employee evaluation at the completion of their training. This gives the new employee clear and concise information on what they need to do to not only receive a pay raise, but to excel as a professional DJ. There are no secrets on what a new DJ with my company has to do to get a pay raise, as everything is spelled out for them.
Once you have developed your evaluation form, it is imperative that you give your existing staff members a blank copy of it for review, with several months notice. If you start using a new evaluation system without communicating your new standards well in advance, you are sure to receive negative reactions from employees.
The system of evaluation more or less hinges on the success of the formal evaluation session. The most important point is interaction between the employee and supervisor.
Schedule the evaluation session for a minimum of 60 minutes. The evaluation session should be completely free of any distractions, such as phone calls, etc.
Start the meeting by explaining that the evaluation is a tool to help the employee improve his skills as a professional DJ. Give the employee a few minutes to review the evaluation form. You should also provide the employee with any customer evaluations that have been returned by clients. However, the majority of your evaluation should be based on your observations as a supervisor.
Once the employee has read the evaluation form, review the employee’s strengths and positive attributes. After covering the good points, the effective supervisor should encourage the employee to talk about how he or she views their position with the company.
Once you have had good dialogue on the positive points, you should review the areas of improvement that you feel the employee needs to make. One good method of accomplishing this, is to ask the employee if they have any areas they feel that need to be improved. In most cases, the employee will recognize their own weakness’, and make it easier for you to discuss them without it becoming a negative conversation. Disciplinary or other performance problems that were addressed since the previous evaluation should be recognized, but there is no real need to rehash them, because the employee is aware that they exist.
As the area’s of improvement are discussed, you should ask the employee to offer his or her solutions to making the necessary improvement. This is especially effective, as the employee is more likely to follow through with the corrective action if they assist with making the solution.
To complete the session, summarize your evaluation of the employee, and make every effort to end the session on a positive note. Tell the employee that they are a valuable asset to the team of disc-jockeys that you employ, and that their job performance makes or breaks the company’s reputation and ability to attract future business.
One alternative method of presenting an employee evaluation, is to give the employee a blank evaluation form, and ask them to grade themselves. In most cases, the employee will be harder on themselves than the supervisor is. This provides for a positive evaluation session, and gives the employee additional motivation to refine and improve their skills as a disc jockey.
The employee evaluation is an important tool in the development of your staff’s skills and abilities to provide professional disc-jockey service. As a multi-system operator, make sure it works for you and your company.
Over the last 17 years, I have learned (in most cases the hard way) the formulas for success in the mobile DJ business. Some of those ingredients include professional attire and conduct, being reliable, interacting with the audience and entertaining, instead of just playing music. These are concepts that are the backbone of any successful mobile DJ operation.
But how can you motivate an entire staff of DJs to buy into these concepts? Since most of your employees are probably part-timers, you must provide an incentive for them to uphold your company’s hard-earned reputation. I have been successful in motivating my staff in three ways:Money.
Positive Reinforcement of Company Standards.
Creating a Positive Company Image and Work Environment.
Money
This is something that has worked very well for my company. Obviously, there must be some incentive for a new employee to adopt your standards of performance and conduct. In the form of pay raises, money can be used to make your new DJ work hard to conform to these standards. I do not accept the concept that you should start a new DJ at a given level of pay, with top pay achievable within six months. In this instance, my experience has shown that an employee will conform to your company standards for six months. Once they reach the top of the pay scale, however, they’ll start to slack off. There is simply no incentive for the employee to improve their performances, and there is less incentive for them to adhere to the rules and regulations that you set forth. This employee has topped out too quickly.
Instead, I prefer a step system, where the employee receives pay raises on a regular basis. This gives the new DJ an incentive to conform to your standards. With this method, the employee typically develops good work and performance habits over a longer period of time.
For example, in my company I start my staff at approximately 25-percent of the gross income for a given job (base pay), and I award pay raises every four to six months. The DJ can expect to achieve top pay (about 55-percent) after two to three years (depending on the quality of performance). The same goes for overtime pay. Beginner DJs net 33-percent of overtime income, which increases to 100-percent after two to three years of employment.
Pay raises are awarded for positive performance. This makes the employee performance evaluation extremely important to your staff. My staff knows that a pay raise is not awarded unless they have performed to the level we expect. By giving new hires a blank copy of our employee performance evaluation upon the completion of their training, we are communicating to them our expectations. There is no mystery about what is expected of them in order to be awarded a pay raise. See last month’s issue of DJ Times for specifics on employee evaluations.
In addition to pay raises, money, in the form of more frequent work, can motivate your staff too. To DJs who conform to company standards we offer more bookings; conversely, we also limit the amount of work given to those employees who tend to bend the rules. All things being equal, seniority decides who works and who doesn’t on a given weekend. However, my staff knows that if they do not make every effort to comply with the performance standards that I set for them, they will not work as often.
It’s also important for the multi-system manager to have at all times extra staff available. This I do for quality control, in the event that a DJ calls in sick or quits with little or no notice. But I also do this because I believe my employees, aware that other capable DJs are on staff to replace them, are more apt to comply with our standards of performance and conduct. Ever notice how employees tend to bend the rules when they know that you absolutely need them?
There is one financial element that has been most successful in motivating my staff to give their all at each performance: we suggest to clients, in our company contract, that they tip the DJ when quality services have been rendered. This “suggested” gratuity has changed the culture of our DJ service. Why? It’s simple. My staff knows there is something in it for them. Why should your DJ bust tail as an entertainer, night in and night out, when they receive the same paycheck for every gig performed?
Instead of going through the motions, our staff now works extremely hard to perform and entertain at every event. This is especially true at smaller events of only 50 to 100 people. In the past, our DJs slacked off at these events. Now, their tip at the end of the night may be riding on whether they get out there and motivate and entertain these guests.
Since we added the “suggested” gratuity in our contract - about 75-percent of our clients comply — a staff DJ can typically earn tips of $50 to $100 per gig. To me, this is a win/win situation for everyone: First, the client receives better service; second, the DJ’s income is boosted without costing the parent company a dime; and last, the company’s reputation as a professional DJ service is enhanced with better performances.
Positive Reinforcement of Company Standards.
Throughout our company training manual we frequently refer to things that elicit tips from clients (dressing professionally, punctuality, etc.). This makes it easier to get the new DJ-in-training to buy into your performance standards. In the past, I would explain to a new employee every one of my standards, emphasizing their importance to providing professional mobile DJ services. These new hires would simply have to take my word for it. Now, I approach them with these same concepts and I strongly suggest that their tip at the end of the night may hinge on whether they follow through with them.
Creating a Positive Company Image and Work Environment.
You can also motivate your staff by working to keep a first-class reputation. A positive company image is important to the customer who hires you, yes, but it’s also important to your staff. Most people like to be associated with an organization that’s developed a good reputation in the community. Or at least I’d like to think so.
Your DJs should understand the business side of DJing - the side that built your good name. If you have worked hard in your market to establish a first-class reputation, your name will most likely be at the top of the list for referrals by banquet hall managers. Very often, the importance of such referrals will be lost on your DJs. I always tell them that other DJ companies in our area would love to be on these lists. Reinforce to your staff that your name on the list is directly linked to your standards of conduct and performance. Also inform them of the consequences if they allow your company’s reputation to descend to the level of your less-than-capable competitors. Not only will your staff work harder to provide good performances, they will take pride in working for an organization that has a distinguished reputation.
Your company work environment also determines the amount of pride your staff will take in representing your company. Strive to be a good, fair leader, and set positive examples for your staff. Enthusiasm for your job is contagious: if you are positive and enthusiastic with your staff, they are likely to carry that attitude to the job site.
It is important that your staff and customers alike perceive your company as a professional business, not a hobby. Your staff will appreciate it if you are well-organized: a comprehensive training program, reliable equipment and a well organized music library are just a few things that reflect efficiency. When you provide your staff with all of the tools necessary to do the job correctly, you’re creating a work environment that is user-friendly, and, ultimately, it gives employees fewer reasons to leave.
The key is finding positive and creative ways to motivate your staff. After all, your long-earned reputation is only as good as the current staff that presents every job. Reputations, as we all know, can be tarnished rather quickly. And the first step to such a blemish will be your complacency.
The challenge of managing and operating a multi-mobile disc jockey service can be very rewarding. Most of us started out as an independent disc jockey, and as business increased, we expanded our services to include multiple DJ systems. We hired people to work for us, and BOOM!!!!!!!!!! The next thing you know, we are now a manager and supervisor to several employees. In most instances, the new multi-mobile disc jockey manager is not properly trained or prepared to supervise other employees. That’s when the problems start to arise.
Very often, the untrained supervisor experiences two extremes in management style. The first one, is the dictator. This is the type of supervisor who feels that he or she has the legitimate power to order people around, because they are the boss. They tend to use their power to get the employee to perform, instead of using constructive ways to motivate the employee. This type of supervisor usually comes from the school of “you will do as I say, because I am the boss” type of mentality. The problem is, that the mobile disc jockey service is not the Marine Corps. For most DJ’s, it is a part time position, and they can easily do without the job. This type of manager soon realizes the consequences of dealing with his or her employees as a dictator. Each time you fire an employee, you have to re-train a new one. This becomes very time consuming, and you lose experienced disc-jockey’s. In addition, the employee turnover becomes a problem. If you are good at what you do, you most likely get referrals from the banquet hall managers in your area. High employee turnover is quickly noticed by banquet hall managers and they tend to be reluctant to refer any business that appears to be unstable.The second type of manager is the complete opposite of the dictator described above. This type of manager often wants to be liked by his or her employees, and is too lenient in the way they supervise. Often, the employees take advantage of a boss who tries too hard to be a friend, instead of an effective supervisor. A variety of problems result from this style of leadership. DJ’s will start taking advantage of a weak supervisor, if they know they can get by with it. Some examples might include the employees being late arriving to the event site, dress code requirements not being followed and other similar problems will arise until the supervisor loses complete control of their staff.
In order to become a successful supervisor, you need to formulate a compromise between the two extremes listed above. Your ability to communicate with, and improve employee performance will be a major factor in your success as a supervisor. How do you improve employee performance? You begin by doing two things:
. Take full responsibility of the performance of your employees.
. Set clear and concise performance standards for your employees, and then monitor the employees to ensure that your standards are met.
Here are a few tips to get you started in improving employee performance:
Provide a positive work environment for your employees and make your them feel that they are part of a professional and well respected team. This all begins in the hiring interview and continues throughout the training program, and ultimately, during the course of their employment. You must convince your staff that they are working for a top of the line, professional organization. Stress the importance of your staff maintaining your reputation and good standing in the community, and the adverse effect of negative image due to poor work performance. In essence, you need to get the employee to “buy into” all of the important concepts that make your company a professional organization, and get them to want to become a part of that positive image.
Be consistent as a supervisor. You need to remind them on a regular basis of what you expect from them. Praise your employees when they are performing well, and give constructive criticism when they need to improve their performance. Don’t confront your employees only when they are performing poorly.
Make them feel as though they are part of a team. Don’t treat them like children or un-equals to you. Be positive in the way you deal with your employees.
Never jump to conclusions when a problem arises. No matter how obvious a problem appears to be. Ask the employee why first. I can’t tell you how many times I have saved myself a lot of embarrassment by asking why first, before jumping down someone’s throat for something. You never know what unusual circumstance may have lead to the problem.
Provide your employees with clear and concise performance standards, from day one. Lack of communication on what you expect from an employee will almost certainly lead to problems that need correction. I prefer to head off problems, before they arise, by communicating what I expect from my employees in a positive manner. Remember last months issue on company training manual’s?? This is an important component in communicating with your employees what you expect from them.
Improving Performance and Disciplinary Action
First, it is important to differentiate the difference between improving employee performance, and disciplinary actions. Improving employee performance is strictly an educational session with the employee to assist them in finding ways to improve the way they provide services. In contrast, disciplinary action is a punitive session where the employee is counseled for an infraction of your rules or performance procedures. Lets first discuss improving employee performance.
Once a deficiency is noted, the efficient supervisor will set up a meeting with the employee to discuss the deficiency. You should avoid discussing performance problems with the employee on the job, while they are performing. This tends to rattle most DJ’s for the rest of the event. How you start the meeting to discuss the problem is extremely important. Begin by complimenting the employee on the positive things that they are doing and tell them that they are a valuable part of your team. Emphasize that the problem you have observed is relatively small and that you want to assist them in refining and polishing their performance. Getting off on the right foot can make or break how well the employee receives your constructive criticism.
Keep your conversation constructive and positive, and always ask for your employees input when discussing the deficiency. The key here, is that you are discussing an issue, and not a person. Listen carefully to what the employee has to say. Tell the employee how you think they can improve the deficiency and agree on specific actions that each of you will undertake.
Lets say that you have a disc jockey who you have noted has a problem mis-pronouncing names when introducing the wedding party. In your meeting, you should start out by praising him or her on the good job they do on a consistent basis. Tell them that you have noted a small deficiency that you think they can improve. Explain the problem, and remind them that mispronouncing a name is a very visible mistake. Ask the employee if they noticed that they had this problem, and ask them if they have any ideas on the best way to correct it. Then, you should suggest your own idea on the best course of action, such as phonetically writing the name as it sounds, and taking a little more time to double check pronunciations when the bridal party is lined up. Once the employee recognizes the problem, and agrees on a specific action to correct it, you should follow up on the employee to see if the employee made the necessary adjustments. The key here, is to stay positive, but firm.
Disciplinary action usually is necessary when you have already confronted the employee about a problem or infraction, and the employee has failed to take corrective action. In some cases, disciplinary action may occur on the first offense, when that infraction is significant in nature. It is important to note that failure to take disciplinary action, when necessary, may damage your credibility as a supervisor with the employee, and other co-workers. The key is to be fair and consistent.
When disciplinary action is necessary, you should anticipate some form of hostile reaction from the employee. Your job is to keep a calm, cool and collective demeanor. If you, the supervisor, become involved in a hostile argument, you become part of the problem, not the solution. Tell the employee the nature of the problem, and remind them about previous discussions you may have had about this issue. Ask the employee for any reasons that have prevented them from changing their performance or behavior. You should re-affirm the company’s position on the issue involved, if you have had previous discussions on this problem. This brings up an important point, documentation. You should get in the habit of documenting any problems or infractions that may result in disciplinary action in the future.
Without failure, employees will very often plead ignorance and claim that they don’t remember discussing an issue that you brought to their attention previously. Anytime that a performance problem is noted, and discussed, you should document the date and the nature of the conversation in the employee’s file. For example, lets say that you observed and documented that an employee was late in arriving to an event on two occasions. Being able to recite those specific dates and details will assist in resolving any dispute that may arise in the future. This is especially important if you use no-compete contracts with your staff and you have to terminate their employment (see the December issue of the DJ Times for more information).
Refer to the appropriate standard in your company training manual, if you have one. Lets say that the employee is required to arrive to the event site one full hour prior to the event to set up, and make a proper equipment check. If this standard of performance is outlined in your company training manual, you can point out the non-conformance to the employee in a way that shows where they are deficient, without it becoming a personal attack on the employee. This is yet another reason that you should have a company training manual.
Once you have identified the problem, and referred to the appropriate standard of performance, you should outline the disciplinary action that you are going to take. It is imperative that you are consistent in this area. You cannot give one employee a five week suspension for an infraction that a different employee received a one week suspension for. Word does have a way of getting around about these types of things, and you must be consistent to maintain your credibility.
In addition to outlining the disciplinary action you plan to take, you need to make the employee aware of the consequences if a future infraction should occur of the same or similar nature. Depending on the severity of the infraction, the employee needs to have a clear picture of what will happen if the problem is not corrected. This will help prevent any misunderstandings, should the problem happen again.
After you have outlined the disciplinary action you are going to take, you should discuss specific steps on how the employee can conform to your standards of performance. Be constructive and positive toward the employee, and try to get the employee to describe what actions he or she will take to conform to the standard. This is a very successful technique, as an employee is much more likely to follow through with a plan that they devised. Just be careful that the plan is suitable to correct the problem. Assist the employee with ideas of your own, and set a follow up meeting to make sure that the problem is corrected. This is important, because you are telling the employee that you won’t forget about the issue.
At the conclusion of the meeting, tell the employee that you value him or her as being an important part of your team. Try to end the session on a positive and upbeat tone. This will go a long way toward correcting the problem, and improve your credibility as a supervisor.
I have experienced a variety of employee’s over the last 16 years. There have been many challenging situations that I have had to deal with. In the early stages of being a supervisor, I simply wasn’t prepared to deal with them correctly, and wound up learning by trial and error. I would strongly encourage anyone who is in a position to supervise others, to go to their local college and sign up for as many supervision and management courses as you can afford to attend. This is what I did, after I took enough knocks the hard way.
The author, Paul Beardmore, welcomes anyone who has questions or specific employee problems to contact him by email at: info@djcruise.com , or by phone at (540)635-3503
The task of finding good help is the multi-mobile managers greatest challenge. No question about it. There are several ingredients that formulate the success of your company, when utilizing employees to represent you. Allow me to highlight a few of them:A positive/professional company image - Most DJ managers feel like the only people they have to “sell” on the quality of their services are the clients. I believe that it is equally as important to “sell” your own staff on the quality of your services, and the reputation you have worked hard to achieve. Pump up your staff members and convince them that they are now a part of a top-notch, professional organization.
Develop a comprehensive company training manual - You have seen me harp about this over and over………….but I cannot overemphasize the importance of having an ORGANIZED TRAINING PROGRAM. This serves several purposes. First, you become more consistent in the training you give to your employees. I can’t tell you how many times I forgot to tell a new employee vital information, and had problems due to my oversight. Your company training manual, if well written and organized, also impresses the new employee, and gives them a positive perception of your company image(see item #1),
Provide your employee good equipment and an organized music library. This serves to make their job easier, and allows them to 2concentrate on performing and entertaining, rather than wasting time fixing sub-standard equipment. An organized music library with an alphabetical database also serves to make your employees job a lot easier.
Give your employees regular pay raises and evaluations. This serves to keep the employee on their toes, realizing that if they begin to slack off, that it could cost them a pay raise. This is a crucial component of motivating a part time disc-jockey. It is imperative that you start your new employees off at a salary that gives you room to provide pay raises. However, pay raises should only be awarded for quality performances and good faith efforts by the employee to abide by your company rules and performance standards. This, once again, is why it is crucial to have an organized training manual. You cannot have arbitrary performance standards. Tip: give your new employee a blank copy of your evaluation form at the completion of their training. This will communicate to them EXACTLY what you expect from them in order to award a pay raise. If you want a copy of my employee performance evaluation, please email me, and I will send you one.
Add a clause in your company contract that suggests an OPTIONAL gratuity as being appropriate in the event that the disc-jockey provides a quality performance. I cannot stress enough how well this has worked for my company!!!!! In fact, this has changed the entire “culture” of my company . Why?? Because my staff members are treating the guests and clients as if they were a waiter at a fine dining restaurant, looking to provide the best service possible in hopes of being rewarded with a tip at the end of the show. You know those shows where only 75 people show up, and the DJ has a tendency to write off the event as a dud??? That doesn’t happen anymore………..not with our company………..our guys work hard to motivate and entertain. You see now, all of a sudden, there is something in it for them.
Be a good person to work for. This may sound silly, but think about it. Who wants to work in a negative environment where you constantly have to worry about the boss being a hot head, or unreasonable to work for?? Remember, you don’t employ a full time employee, in most cases. This means you have to find creative ways to motivate your staff in a POSITIVE way, and rely on the disciplinary process as a last resort. The problem is, a lot of guys who start out as a DJ, and then become a supervisor, do not have any training on supervising others. If you don’t, take a college class at your local community college. One tip: if you have a company training manual that spells out all of your performance standards, you can address them in a POSITIVE environment in the training process, rather than waiting for a problem to develop, and then have to address it in a negative way. In other words, be proactive, and head off any problems before they pop up.
If you don’t want to waste your time training future competitors, get a “No-Compete Contract” developed by an attorney. This will serve to reduce turnover in your company, and allow you to concentrate on managing a successful business.
I have spoke with a number of other disc-jockey’s from across the country, who feel that it is a next-to-impossible task to find good staff members who will provide good performances, and maintain the quality reputation that they worked so hard to earn. When I questioned these people about their experiences, I found in all cases, that they were deficient in several of the categories described above. Getting staff members to represent you in a professional manner is not impossible, nor is it an accident. Moreover, it is the result of a carefully planned management approach that must be applied, in order to be successful.
In my introductory article, I stated that “employee problems” topped my list of headaches when my disc-jockey service evolved from a solo DJ service to a five-system company in the early 1980’s. Numerous employee problems developed that I was not prepared to handle. One of the most significant problems that had to be handled was the time invested in training new DJ’s, only to lose them a few months later when they started their own DJ business. It started when one employee who was hired to cover a prominent night club five nights a week, developed a good relationship with the management of that club. You are probably already predicting the out-come of this story, the DJ was able to negotiate a contract the club directly. Needless to say, my company was out of the picture, and $1,000.00 per month.Numerous other DJ’s quit after several months of service to start their own business, and the problem got to the point that I was questioning whether I wanted to continue operating a multi-disc-jockey service. I was investing approximately forty to sixty hours of my time to train each disc-jockey. Each time I had to hire and train a new DJ, it took me away from other important managerial duties such as marketing, equipment maintenance, etc. In addition, it created a lot of turnover within the company that banquet hall managers who referred us were noticing. In short, it reeked havoc within my company, and I simply was not willing to continue to operate the same way. Something had to give.
I consulted with a very respectable attorney on the subject of No-Compete Contracts. In my consultation, he gave me two options: First, he could develop a short, two paragraph contract that would probably deter most people from violating the terms of the agreement. He explained, however, that in order to plug all of the loopholes, a hat are important for a No-Compete Contract to be legal.
PRINCIPLE # 1 - The basis of the agreement is that you agree to provide the person complete training in the trade of being a mobile disc-jockey in exchange for that person agreeing to not provide mobile disc-jockey services in direct competition with you. This means that you should have an organized training program, complete with a company training manual and all training sessions should be documented as to the date, time, and content of the training.
PRINCIPLE #2 - There is a limit on the amount of time that you can prohibit a person from not starting their own business in direct competition with yours. That limit has been recognized by the courts as two years.
PRINCIPLE #3 - You have to guarantee the person a certain number of jobs annually. You should make this a low number, in the event that you get a marginal employee who performs to a minimally acceptable standard. We guarantee 12 jobs per year.
PRINCIPLE #4 - The “No-Compete” portion of the contract must be limited to the geographic area that you serve. For us, this is a forty mile radius of our home base. This must be spelled out in the contract, and the person must be allowed to quit at any time and start their own business outside your normal area that you provide services. We specifically listed several counties in our contract.
PRINCIPLE #5 - You must provide a “release of obligations” clause for the contract to be legal. This means that you must have an option for the person to “buy out” the contract. In order for the person to be released of their obligations in the contract, they must re-imburse you for the training that you provided them. You must first put a price tag on the value of the training that you provided the person.
I placed a $4,000.00 price tag on my training. That’s probably a little high, but I am not interested in providing an employee with a cheap way to buy their way out of the contract. Whatever price tag you place on the training, you must have a scale that starts with the highest amount, and you must decrease the amount in six month increments. The legal theory is, that while this person provides disc-jockey services for you, they are making you money, and in turn, re-imbursing you for the training that you provided them.
The longer they work for you, the less that they owe you in the form of training re-imbursement. At the end of two years, they complete their obligation to you and can start their own business if they choose.
Our “release of obligations” starts at $4,000.00 on or before six months from the date of the signed agreement. From six months to one year, the value of the training declines to $3,000.00. The value of the training continues to decline until the end of the two year term of the contract.
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LOOPHOLES THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED
First, you must define what a mobile disc-jockey service is, the equipment and technologies.
My contract defines a mobile disc-jockey service as ” providing (i.e., playing through electronic play-back devices and or amplifiers) of any type of pre-recorded music(e.g., through audio tapes, audio records, compact discs, Karaoke, mini-discs, or any equivalent means, whether now existing or hereafter developed), to any public or private gathering of persons”.
Second, you must specifically state in your contract that the prohibited provision of mobile disc-jockey services is not limited to financial gain. In other words, what is to stop the individual from taking money under the table, and claiming that he provided the service for free? The contract must state “whether for hire, or otherwise” to eliminate this loophole.
Third, the contract must specify that it includes the provision of ANY mobile disc-jockey services, whether it is for another DJ Company, a restaurant, etc. In other words, the person can’t have his wife open a mobile DJ service up in her name, and get around their contract obligation.
Fourth, you must have a provision that allows you to terminate an employee “in the event of willful negligence or deliberate disregard for the Company’s Rules, Procedures and Performance Standards without affecting in any way or manner the continuing validity of the Contractor’s(the person who signs the contract) agreement to not engage in the provision of Mobile Disc-Jockey Services under the geographical and duration limitations set forth herein”. What this means is if you have specifically noted in your company training manual that an employee can be terminated if they are late starting the music, you can fire the employee, and that person must continue to abide by the terms of the No-Compete Contract. This means that you have to have a formal company training manual that includes not only the training portion, but any rules and performance standards you expect the person to abide by. This prevents the person from getting out of the contract by performing in a way that makes you fire them.
Fifth, you should have a “severability” clause that basically states that if a court of law finds one portion of the contract unlawful, that the unlawful provision shall not render the whole of the agreement invalid, but shall be severable from the remainder thereof, and that such remainder shall continue in full force and effect”. This part can be used to offer some flexibility in the contract, without jeopardizing the contract as a whole. It allows you to add other custom provisions without having to pay an attorney to decide if they are legal. In my contract, I specifically stated that the person had to give 30 days written notice prior to quitting. I put it in there to make an employee think twice prior to quitting with no notice. One person I know made his contract term four years instead of the two recommended by the attorney. He has no intention of enforcing the contract after the first two years, because he knows that he can’t enforce the agreement after that. It basically buys him some time.
I have used a No-Compete Contract since 1988. To date, I have not had the occasion to have anyone leave my employment and start a new business in direct competition with my company. These dramatic results are directly attributable to an air-tight contract that was designed specifically for my purposes. One issue that should be addressed is what happens when the term of the contract has expired.
I developed a simple “entertainers contract” that uses a lot of the legal language from the original No-Compete Contract, but is based entirely on my agreement to give them a guaranteed number of jobs per year, and a pay raise for their services. This has helped keep the experienced DJ’s on staff well after the term of the No-Compete Contract expires.
A three or four page No-Compete Contract can be intimidating to a new employee. You must carefully explain why such an agreement is necessary in your business. I always tell the story of the person who took over the nightclub that we were providing services for, and the financial impact of that incident. That usually satisfies the new applicant and they have no trouble signing the agreement. I have found that new DJ’s rarely apply for a job with my company with the intention of getting free training so they can start their own business. I believe that most people get excited about the fun job of providing mobile disc-jockey services after they have received the training and worked with the company for a few months.
A No-Compete Contract signed at the first training session prevents the person from starting their own business in your service area and reduces turnover within your company. This allows you to concentrate your time and efforts to providing the best quality mobile disc-jockey services to the customer. After all, that’s why you’re in business, isn’t it?
This article appeared in the December issue of The DJ Times magazine.
It all started out in 1981 for me. I enjoyed radio, but soon realized that there wasn’t much money in that field. I started a mobile disc-jockey service and for three years operated by myself successfully. The calls for reservations were coming in on a steady basis, and I was turning down gigs left and right. I hate turning down clients!! I decided to get a radio DJ/friend to start helping out with the work I was turning down, and all of a sudden, I had two sound systems and music libraries. We got lucky and landed a great night club five nights a week(with lots of single brides-to-be) and the next thing I know I have a five system multi-mobile disc-jockey service with six DJ’s on staff. Sound familiar? I was a successful disc-jockey, but I was totally un-prepared to manage a multi-mobile disc-jockey service and supervise six part-time DJ’s.The expected headaches and problems developed with managing a DJ service that performed at 200 plus events annually. Employee problems topped the list. Specifically, the people who represent you make or break your reputation. How do you convince a part time DJ to take their job as seriously as you do? In my judgment, there is a greater challenge in successfully managing five part-time DJ’s than managing twelve full time employees in most other professions. Simply put, when you manage full time employees who have a career at stake, it is easier to get them to perform to an acceptable standard. A part time DJ who works for you on weekends, presents a greater challenge.
The way that my company evolved from a single operator DJ service to a five system mult-dj service is common with a lot of DJ’s across the country. Most of us were not prepared to handle the added managerial and supervisory tasks, and had to operate by trial and error. As most of you know, this is not the preferred way to operate and manage a business. High employee turnover is a direct result of managing and supervising by trial and error. A lot of DJ’s that I know gave up on having DJ’s work for them because of the problems and headaches. Perhaps they were simply not prepared for the task of supervising others.
I had my share of problems in the early stages of supervising part-time DJ’s and decided to go back to college to take business management courses, as well as become a certified instructor in supervision courses in Virginia. After sixteen years in the DJ business, I have found a lot of self satisfaction in the management portion of my job. For those of you who have been in the business for a while, the new challenge of being an effective supervisor can be refreshing and exciting when you start to burn out on the DJ work itself.
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In this column, I intend to discuss a number of management and supervisory issues in the future. Some of them include:
The Hiring Interview
Setting Job Standards
Teaching a New Job
Employee Evaluations
Improving Employee Performance
Correcting Problem Behavior
Disciplinary Action
Overcoming Resistance To Change
Handling Employee Complaints
Employee Motivation
No-Compete Contracts
Developing a Company Training Manual
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A SIMPLE GUIDE TO SPEAKERSWe get numerous calls from customers asking how to compare one company’s speakers to another. You can find two nearly identical speaker cabinets with nearly identical components that have drastically different specifications and prices. There are many logical explanations for this. Before we go any further, let me make it clear that the following guide to speakers is “our opinion” based on 25 years in the business dealing with almost every major and minor brand of speakers.
1. SPEAKER CABLES AND 1/4 INCH PLUGS
Here’s the most important note about speakers I can pass on to you. NEVER use 1/4 inch phone plugs for speaker connections. That would be best compared to having a 2 inch water pipe coming from your street to your house, having a 1 inch water pipe running to all the faucets in your house and connecting the two by reducing each of them to a half inch connector. When you use a 1/4 inch plug and jack for speaker connections, you have less connection area than you would have if you touched the tip of one fingernail with another. This translates into a loss of power. We have tested two identical speaker cabinets powered by two channels of the same amp using a speaker cord with 1/4 inch plugs on both ends for the left speaker and on the right speaker we used a cord without any plugs so we connected the wires directly to the red and black binding posts on the amp and the speaker. Everyone in the room could hear the difference in volume between the two speakers.
2. IMPEDANCE: 2 OHM, 4 OHM, 8 OHM, 16 OHM
All speakers have an impedance measurement just as they have a diameter measurement. Not all speakers are 15 inches in diameter and not all speakers are 8 ohms. The most common 12, 15 and 18 inch woofer used in speaker cabinets by clubs and DJ’s is an 8 ohm woofer. If you have two of them in one cabinet you can wire the two woofers in parallel to create a 4 ohm cabinet, or you
Paul Beardmore | 
04 8th, 2008| 