Commercial Integrator January 2023 - 23

off a line of credit, pledging against their
receivables or their inventory. Wilson
mentions rising mortgage rates, which have
more than doubled from 3% to approaching
7% in the past 18 months, and he says
integration businesses face an analogous
situation with their lines of credit. Integrators
are commonly having to pay an extra
couple thousand dollars a month in interest,
and most didn't have those interest rates in
mind 18 months ago as they were preparing
bid documents. This situation is forcing
integrators to make hard choices, particularly
with respect to bonded projects. " In
a lot of cases, we're better off buying our
way out of that job than we are to take that
project, " Wilson acknowledges candidly.
Supply-Chain Snarls
Nearly 83% of integrators say that lingering
supply-chain problems are a major
challenge for their businesses. However,
both Wilson and LeBlanc acknowledge the
resilience that integrators have shown. Calling
integrators' adaptability to alternative
products and substitutions nothing short
of remarkable, Wilson says, " Months ago,
they started to work with the designers,
specifying engineers and consultants to
make sure that they're not proposing or
designing things that they just can't get. "
Those workarounds, he says, continue to
fuel optimism.
Wilson and LeBlanc concede that there's
no snap-your-fingers solution to the supply
chain; instead, there are risk-mitigation
techniques and proactive strategies to
maximize businesses' chances of succeeding.
LeBlanc immediately points to
better contract language, such as ensuring
the presence of force majeure language
and waiver of remedies clauses to protect
against liquidated damages and related
penalties. He also exhorts integrators that
they should be, " Doing a better job of
inventory management and trying to get
good at projecting needs so that you can
stock products that you know are going to
be needed, as you analyze your pipeline. "
This relates to the shift from " just in time "
to " just in case " but underscores that
integrators must have a strategy based on
insights into when " just in case " inventory
will be needed. " One of the keys to success
commercialintegrator.com
as integrators continue to work through the
supply chain is how well they can do that, "
LeBlanc adds.
Finding and Retaining Talent
More than 72% of integrators say talent
issues are among their top concerns this
year. In particular, business owners are finding
it challenging to attract and retain key
employees. The biggest problem is a lack
of qualified candidates; indeed, 73.3% of
survey respondents say that's the principal
challenge they face in filling open positions.
If you ask LeBlanc, commercial AV's insularity
is the problem. " This industry exists
in a bubble, " he declares. " And, inside the
bubble, we all know about the great career
opportunities that can be had in the integration
market. We know how rewarding
careers can be. But, outside of the bubble,
people don't know about this industry. "
Technical schools today are turning out
highly trained, enthusiastic, promising
young talent; regrettably, the commercial
AV industry isn't even on the radar for many
of them. " We need to go outside of the
bubble and educate people about this
industry in order to create a better pool of
candidates, " declares LeBlanc, who says
it's time to stop bemoaning how hard it is
to recruit in this industry and, instead, try to
improve the situation. NSCA is leading the
charge with its Ignite initiative, which seeks
not only to spark interest in our industry but
also to build out internship opportunities,
bringing together young candidates and
leading integration businesses. NSCA
members have become ambassadors for
our craft and trade, acting as feet on the
street at career fairs and colleges. According
to LeBlanc, " The internship program is
unique because it's designed specifically to
incubate people into the company culture
and to this industry. So, if they come in
through that robust internship program,
there's a better chance that they're going to
end up being a good employee. "
Wilson runs with the topic of company
culture, saying that many AV businesses
that do manage to attract outstanding talent
end up quickly losing them because of
inadequate onboarding. " We assume that,
because they have 10 years of experience,
off they go, " Wilson says, calling this a
huge missed opportunity. It's essential, he
believes, to train new team members to be
great employees at your company, rather
than simply being satisfied that they were
competent at what they were doing before.
" So many times, we forget that we have to
Most Concerning Challenges Your
Business Faces Heading into 2023
83.6%
82.8%
72.4%
14.9%
13.4%
10.4%
9.7%
Inflation/Escalating Costs:
(e.g., higher prices, interest rates)
Supply Chain:
(lack of product availability creating project obstacles)
Talent: (finding and retaining key employees)
COVID-19-Related Business Challenges:
(e.g., managing a remote workforce, creating
vaccine policies, managing flex time, morale)
Cybersecurity Readiness:
(providing customers with assurance your
technicians are able to protect their networks)
Legislative Challenges: (proposed or existing
laws that may limit your ability to conduct business)
COVID-19-Related Customer Challenges:
(e.g., lack of budget, difficulty accessing jobsites)
JANUARY 2023 Commercial Integrator 23
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Commercial Integrator January 2023

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