Labor Services in the New Decade

As we enter the new decade the landscape for labor continues to evolve for AV integrators. 

The challenges remain the same; how many technicians do I need to both maintain and grow my business? How can I compete if I am smaller in size but actually have the “smarts and parts” to otherwise compete?

The answer to both is outsource!

In the (20)20’s, we are clearly in the throes of the gig economy, and the field of AV labor is no exception. Many technicians have chosen to freelance as opposed to work full-time on the staff of an integrator, which presents great opportunities for all involved.

The techs can be self-employed, and the business owners don’t have to deal with hiring, vetting, managing, and carry technicians on payroll.

A primary focus for the industry now is commonly referred to as AVaaS, or AV as a service. Leveraging outsourced labor is a great way to support these solutions, along with SLAs. If you are not building an annual recurring revenue stream for your business – please begin to now! 

Again, regardless of the size of your company, could you not benefit from having access to a nationwide footprint of technicians to allow you to service your clients, and support these contracts? In most instances you can outsource technicians to respond within 48 hours, and in some instances 24 hours, or even same day.

If you are a smaller integrator, you can now see how you can grow and create annual recurring revenue without managing your employees. If you are a larger integrator, you now have the ability to extend your support to an even wider client base, without losing a great lead who is onsite at a project – to a service call.What if you send a team out to install a project, but 6 months later that client requires a service call? What is the cost to send a tech on a plane, or extended drive – losing that tech as a resource for primary projects? Could you not benefit from a local tech – that effectively becomes “your tech” to provide consistent support to your client?

What if an existing local client is opening, or renovating an office 1,000 miles away? What you require is a site survey. Compare the cost of sending a tech of your own versus having access to a local tech who can not only provide that survey on an hourly basis (no travel/per diem), and then serve as a resource if needed on the install/upgrade? The benefit seems clear.

As summer approaches (being based in the Northeast – we think summer is coming in February), school projects become both an opportunity and a challenge. You are presented with a local school district looking to install a few hundred projectors or smartboards across several schools in a tight time frame. Your existing labor force cannot complete it. Do you pass, or do you call a partner who can provide you day rate AV techs to augment your team.

These are just a few examples of how important outsourcing labor is to both maintaining and growing your business.

There are many obvious concerns you have. Will the techs maintain the level of excellence you expect? How will they represent themselves? What are their skills? Do they have the required licensing, background/drug checks? Have they done this work before? Where do they come from?

All of the above are a part of the vetting process that must be in place when you seek a partner to help you with your outsourced labor needs. All must be addressed in advance to guarantee that the expectations of both you, and your client are met.

ALMO Labor services offer integrators skilled technicians to support they businesses in all aspects inlacing full project completions, nationwide rollouts, temporary labor, site surveys, and service calls. With a nationwide footprint, this enables dealers to take on more projects, reduce travel costs, support their service contracts, and more.

Jay Saret – ALMO Services Development Manager – East

The bottom line is – outsourced labor is a resource to consider to help grow and maintain your business. If you’ve not yet tried it – do so. Start small, and make sure you are vetting the partner that you choose to insure your success.

Here’s to a great 2020 (and beyond)!

To learn more about ALMO’s outsourced labor options, you can catch this on-demand webinar for more information.