Cumulus Media Reviews

Pros

Concert tickets and other perks are nice.

There's diversity among the staff, and most of the sales folks are good people.

Our program directors and on-air talent are incredible.

Cons

Senior management tends to use fear as a motivation tactic. Threatening to can new, young AE's if they don't hit their budget goal isn't exactly an effective means of motivation. To some it certainly may be, but others tend to perform worse when under that type of pressure. I think there should be more emphasis on "coaching" the newer sellers. The training is ridiculous.

You cant just lock a new seller in an office and tell him/her to read a 300 page module every day for two weeks, take a quiz everyday and one final exam and expect them to be meeting their budget goals after a couple of months or else. It's almost as if they hire a bunch of new AE's and give them a guaranteed subsidy that you can barely pay your bills with for a couple months. Then when the subsidy starts running out and they're not hitting budget, they fire the AE and hire a new one. It's a vicious cycle. I've seen so many young AE's come and go...

Advice to Senior Management

Emphasize more on coaching, and don't resort to scare tactics. Seek to INSPIRE and POSITIVELY MOTIVATE. In sales when all is said and done, inspiration and positive motivation = REVENUE. I've seen the Terminator himself give an awe-inspiring speech to our sales staff. Let's have more of that.

Pros

Pretty laid back... good perks...little micro managing if you are doing job.. work with some really good people and meet the local programming people... Cool industry to be in.

Cons

Management is clueless about direction of individual branch... There is NO training at all, you are thrown to the wolves... Draw vs commission and if you are starting out it is low. Communication between departments is horrible... People tell you to go in a million different directions to accomplish one thing and then it doesnt get done... Basically cold calling to people who dont want or care what you have to say... Ideation gets crushed from programming who doesnt want to put an idea together that would work for the client. Accounts to start out are tough since they are mostly taken up by senior reps.. left with the crumbs

Advice to Senior Management

Get Branch managers who actually know what they are doing and not just past sales people who have put in their time so want to move up just to simply not have to call on people anymore... If you want to be in a managerial role then know how to lead and keep things in order and not just have the sales people do more than you ever did yourself in the role.

Pros

Their internal Web system allows stations to acquire surplus equipment from other stations in the company.

Cons

Rampant micromanagement and the fact that these people are CHEAP make Cumulus a horrible company to work for. All decisions have to go through Atlanta, no matter how trivial. Corporate loves to tie people up with senseless conference calls instead of letting people do their jobs. After the merger, Cumulus laid off many talented engineering and IT people who would have been an asset to the company.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop the conference calls, micromanagement, and general corporate B.S. and let people do their jobs! Give your technical people the resources to keep your stations on the air.

Pros

Training is great and some of the sales structure is good, A great market manager will buffer any corporate poundings.

Cons

Agency biz that's outside of 100 miles from station, you can not work which limits any growth potential. Reduction in commissions. Sales meetings 3 days a week. no time to do the job. Salespeople are micro-managed.

Advice to Senior Management

Let your talented employees simply do their job! Offer local rewards All the micro-managing is not necessary if you have good people in place. Don't limit salespeople as to who they can and cannot work with.

Pros

The only thing Cumulus had going for it was that you got to work in media. Radio was one of the funnest industries to be apart of.

Cons

Lack of creativity and growth from the top on down. They don’t allow you to be a personality. Plus it was horrible work life balance, worse than normal for radio which is hard to beat. Pay was way below average because they would just pay someone to record it days ahead.

Advice to Senior Management

Radio is a local, creative and fun industry. Stop looking at how to save a dollar today and consider larger profits over time.

Pros

Cumulus embraces a very centralized approach to operating its stations. They provide a wealth of information to employees which saves a lot of time and effort. They are very clear about how they want things done.

Cons

Cumulus has little to no experience operating stations in large markets and it shows. They demand that all stations follow the same operating procedures without taking into account the differences in each market that may make those procedures ineffective or impractical. They bog down employees with paperwork that is often redundant and unnecessary. They stifle creativity and spontaneity. They have little interest in providing good programming and don't have the ability to look further ahead than the next quarters earning statement.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on providing a good product and the profits will follow. Employees are motivated by encouragement and support...not by the fear of losing their jobs.

Pros

A very relaxed and friendly atmosphere, unsure about advancement opportunities but people are very welcoming and there is diversity to be found.

Cons

Unsure of advancement opportunities, big upheaval in staff as of late due to merger with Citadel Broadcasting.

Pros

The best reasons to work at Cumulus Media are that radio co-workers tend to be very tight. I developed some of the best relationships of my entire life while working at Cumulus.

Cons

Because of corporate control, local stations are often at the whims of people that have (likely) never visited the cluster of stations. Decisions are made not on what works best for the stations and health of the company; but rather on what will help increase shareholders profits. An example. Shortly after laying off 30% of on air staff in the entire company, the CEO of the company was given a $500,000 bonus for "excellent leadership and continued strengthening of the company." I missed the part where laying of 30% of on air staff increases the strength of the company; other than shareholders bottom line.

Advice to Senior Management

I believe what I've said in the "cons" sections of this lays out my advice pretty well. Return local control to the individual markets. That will help a lot.

Pros

My peers are nice, I like all of them. However there is a period for new people where the people who have been there longer will be unwelcoming. Huge turn over.

Cons

The woman who is the main boss is very mean and manages based on fear. Everyone that leaves will name her as the primary reason for doing so. Worst benefits I have ever seen.

Advice to Senior Management

Offer incentives for hitting goals not threats if we don't. Realize we are 100% commission and don't have time to train new people or for the hours of meaningless reports. Oh and paying some expenses would be nice...

Pros

The structure imposed with guarantee that you become disciplined about use of time.

Cons

Micromangement eliminates the drive for creativity and creates an environment of fear. This market has been operating in the red for many years. Management just decided to pay attention to the market, and now a swat team guards every decision. The local staff does not operate as a team because every move is watched by upper management. The goal becomes producing reports that are attractive rather than actually DOING a good job.

Advice to Senior Management

A staff that operates under too much fear and pressure cannot perform; non performance becomes a habit. Look for ways to celebrate small successes daily. Success will breed success. The local market manager is too busy keeping corporate off his back to be available to help the sales staff grow the opportunity. If corporate insists on managing the market, then show up in the market and learn the local reality rather than managing from the other end of the phone.