Wrap-up - Sound & Communications

Finding Your Own TalentSome comments on the state of our workforce.By David McNuttThere is so much to write about inbusiness. Business functions, companies,industries and economiesare so vast and diverse that selectinga topic sometimes is an impossibletask. Hospital construction plans inthe US? The effect of oil prices onthe production of circuit boards?Human resource trends in employeeeducation? More importantly, howdoes the chosen topic affect our industry,our companies and our tradeassociation members? Without thisfocus, “Down to Business” should appearin some other publication.During my tenure in this printedspace, I have attempted to stay politicallyneutral, forward-looking andgenerally positive, avoiding the wrathof my publisher and the editing ofmy editor. Although the perspectivesand opinions I have written aremy own, they seem to be shared bymany of you, and sometimes debatedby others of you, as evidenced byemail response, phone calls andconversations at tradeshows. Thisinteraction is important, alwayswelcomed and forms the basis for“Down to Business.”Something is slowly eating away atour industry.Recently, I have been hearing alot about human resource issues;more specifically, a labor shortfall. ItTo broaden our workforce, theindustry requires more outreachand recruitment...moredevelopment at the local level.seems we are experiencing a deepeningshortage of qualified workersand, in some places, it is becomingcritical.This situation appears counterintuitiveat first glance. Because theunemployment rate is almost 6% andbusiness in the systems integrationmarket seems fairly strong, onewould assume that supply wouldfill demand. However, the key wordhere seems to be “qualified.” Whetherit’s a manufacturer seeking to fillpositions in an outbound call center,a contractor seeking a technician, anintegrator seeking a project manageror a consulting firm seeking additionaldesign personnel, the industryis suffering from an anemic shortageof qualified people.One company owner I know expressedit this way: “I want anotherme.” A little brassy, but I guess wehave all had a similar feeling at somepoint when we’re overloaded withwork. But the problem is universal:lots of business, need a clone. Thisowner wants to hire someone withhis same knowledge, project managementskills, hard work ethic,personal accountability, and whocares for the customer and the project...buthe can’t find him or her. Infact, I would bet that, if he could findsuch individuals, he would hire a halfdozen just to stock up.Earlier this year, I was asked tojoin a committee that is charged withcreating and developing the curriculumfor the certification programsthrough InfoComm International.I noticed from looking at the list ofcommittee members that I and oneother person are the only two whodo not have some version of a CTSdesignation after our names.Because I have plenty of lettersthat I could list after my name, thisdidn’t really concern me, but it occurredto me that, although the CTStraining and certification is good andwe are increasing and validating theoverall knowledge base in our industry,we don’t seem to be expandingour workforce. As a group, we arebecoming more qualified, but therearen’t enough of us.On a global scale, you solve laborshortages by shifting manufacturingto another location. On a local level,this is impossible. Much of our workforceis at the integrator level, with alocal office where the labor force isoften fixed. Company structures areflat and career paths are short; payscales and benefits are not lucrative,although one could do worse; andterminating BNCs or pulling cablethrough an attic or basement is notglamorous work in and of itself. Yet,(continued on page 108)A member of Sound & Communications’ Technical Council, David McNutt has morethan 35 years of experience, covering live sound engineering, marketing for well-known manufacturers,audio system design and consultation, and fixed installation contracting. McNuttholds a Masters in Telecommunications and an MBA in Marketing and Strategy. He can bereached at dmcnutt@testa.com.20 Sound & Communicationswww.soundandcommunications.com