When you are trying to accomplish something BIG, like developing your radio business, whom you choose to surround yourself with can make or break you. That’s a simple truth. When managers bring in the right people, even the biggest most audacious goals can be easily achieved.

The problem is that most managers don’t have the time and energy necessary to recruit the right people. In fact, most managers are buried with day-to-day operational issues that keep them in the hallways fighting fires. So, they don’t have the mental bandwidth required to effectively identify and screen talent.

This is not just a radio industry problem. It’s a business problem.

This week in Radio3D, three quick tips to help you in recruiting the right people to your team.

1. Birds of a feather flock together.

The first step to finding top performers in the market is to talk internally to your top performers. If you are looking for a good seller, talk to the rock stars on your sales team. If you are looking for a good programmer, talk to other good programmers. Birds of a feather flock together—the A-listers know who the other A-listers are. They may even be able to give you a personal introduction, if they are networked enough. Consider offering incentives to employees who help to identify winning candidates.

Also, use tools like LinkedIn to identify people in your network (or one or two contacts away) who might qualify for the position you’re looking to fill.

If you’re looking for a seller who is a killer networker, go to Chamber of Commerce meetings. Go to the places where killer networkers go.

2. Fish where the fish are.

If you are trying to recruit someone who is familiar with digital media, don’t advertise in the newspaper. Advertise on digital hobbyist and career oriented sites that are natural “bookmarks” for the people who you are trying to reach.

The best people to hire for radio are the people who love the business so much they’d do it for free. (That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay them fairly—it means that you should hire for passion and pay for performance!)

Home Depot took a unique and interesting approach to recruiting talent. They wanted someone in their IT department who was savvy with social media and the internet. They posted a YouTube video inviting applicants to their IT/Technology department. Imagine the people at your station doing a video to recruit new talent—perhaps with one of your key talent giving a video tour of the radio station, the studio, and introducing the management team. See how Home Depot did it.

3. Let the team interview them too.

Once you have some finalists for the position, let the team participate in the hiring. The best way to know whether you have someone on hand who will work well with your team is to have the team interview them too. If you’re hiring a new sales manager and it’s important to you that they are compatible with your top biller, have your top biller engage with them and offer “buy-in” on their hiring.

If you are hiring a Program Director, invite key air talent to meet them first.

If you are hiring someone for digital, ask your key managers to have a conversation with your finalists.