Commercial Integrator October 2022 - 18

PERSPECTIVES
How to Build High-Performing AV Teams
Drawing on 20 years of management experience, the author explains
his top tips for attracting and retaining the best talent. By Al Ayulo
ACHIEVING SUCCESS in business is the
result of many variables. Based on my experiences,
it's crucial to find people who share
common goals, as well as whose drive
and passion align. This is the foundation of
building and creating success.
Throughout my nearly 20 years in management,
working with different cultures,
industries and companies, I have fine-tuned
my process for building high-performing
teams. In this article, I will share it.
Talent does not trump passion: My
first soccer coach taught me that skill is
something I can develop, but passion and
desire must come from within. This life
lesson has stayed with me throughout my
professional career. Individuals with drive
will complement your organization better,
and carry it further, than those who
are simply talented could. In business,
just as in sports, talent might win some
short-term goals, but drive gets you to
the finish line.
Our industry is not unique: Look to
other industries to recruit. Project management
is just one example. This position
translates well in various industries, and I've
found that an individual who is successful in
this role can quickly maneuver well within
the AV sphere. Take the time to network
outside of AV. You'll likely meet individuals
who will provide our industry with ways to
evolve and become stronger.
Potential Talent is Everywhere
Always network: We often discuss networking
as a means of finding the next big
sale or customer. I've taken this approach
to finding talent, too. I met one of my most
successful hires at a charitable networking
event. This individual was in finance for a
different industry, but I knew within minutes
that he had the personality I needed
on my team. We talked over a few months
and developed a relationship. Eventually,
I hired him for a finance role. Now, eight
18
years later, he has been promoted several
times, and he is instrumental within the
organization. He's proof that you can find
eager workers in many ways. Always look
for talent!
Create your own pipeline: We lack an
abundance of technical schools specializing
in, or degree programs for, AV. But we
can borrow leaders from similar industries.
You can find comparable talent in people
with low-voltage and broadcast degrees.
A proactive approach I've taken in the
past is to partner with a technical school to
offer fabrication as an evening class in our
workspace. The students built a rack by leveraging
example drawings created by our
engineering team. Although this strategy
does not fill an immediate need, it does
build toward the future: It allows us to hire
and invest in training people more tailored
to our standards.
Nurture Your Internal Talent
Promote from within: Before you look to
find talent externally, do all you can to promote
from within your organization. Continue
doing so until you simply cannot find
anyone qualified to fill the gaps. It sounds
cliché, but people want to work where
there are opportunities to grow. A constant
goal in my organization is to promote a
minimum of 25% of our workforce annually.
My advice to my managers is to invest in our
own employees before we take the risk of
hiring new people.
Create excitement: AV is not that well
known. But, when people really understand
what we do, only a few don't think it's cool.
I leverage LinkedIn to create awareness
within outside companies and industries
using a team hashtag. This hashtag creates
a recruiting photo album that showcases
our accomplishments and our company
culture. To get my team excited about this, I
created a competition that worked like this:
The person who used the hashtag in the
Commercial Integrator OCTOBER 2022
Develop something unique to the culture
you are creating for your teams.
post that generated the most " likes " won a
$500 gift card.
Develop something unique to the culture
you are creating; then, get those around
you to participate in the effort. It's much
easier to hire when people have tangible
things to read or review. Take advantage of
all the free marketing that exists on social
media and by building word of mouth.
Conclusion
I didn't learn these lessons through
conventional methods. However, many talented
people aren't conventional, either.
Great people exist in every industry, and
the best have common characteristics that
make their skill sets translatable to AV. It
is our job as trendsetters to find the talent
and introduce new faces into our industry.
Let's build it together - one talent at
a time.
Al Ayulo is senior vice president and
general manager, west region, with AVI-SPL.
commercialintegrator.com
RIDO/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
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Commercial Integrator October 2022

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