Freelancing in the AV industry is continuing to grow as an integral part to the success of almost every AV company.  In general, freelancing continues to be a growing trend in the US economy with 34% of US workers currently freelancing in some form and this number is expected to grow to 43% by 2020.

 With those stats in mind, AV companies should stay aware of key trends that may affect AV freelancers.  Below are the top 5 trends I anticipate for 2018:

#1.) The Debate About Freelancer Classification And Compliance Will Continue To Be An Issue

Many AV companies know Independent contractor compliance is an important topic and most companies have a general idea of what is required.  However, many AV companies fail to consistently manage and execute a fully-compliant process that aligns with the various state & federal compliance laws.  

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These are syllabus-driven, hands on, interactive workshops taught by industry professionals. Technicians will confidently leave with new repeatable skill sets, and a deep knowledge of the equipment.

• Each of their expert trainers have from 15-25+ years of Pro AV field experience.
• Travel and expenses are the responsibility of the trainee.

For more details check out www.nationwidevideo.com/training, or to discuss a custom workshop, send an email to info@subrent.com or call 800-935-2323

If you are registered with Mertzcrew and you select a training program offered by Nationwide Video, you can enjoy 10% off of the cost of the courses!

On May 15th, the Freelance Isn’t Free Act went into effect in New York City.  Below we share important details of the law and what it means for AV companies working with freelancers in New York City.

Every year the Infocomm show brings something new and exciting to the AV industry.  On the show floor and demo rooms, you have the latest technology from the exhibitors. In the classroom, you have new education sessions being offered by some of the best in the business. This year’s show has the most updates I have seen in quite some time. As a live event professional, here are my top 5 must-see items at the show.

Once you have found a potential AV technician to fill a role on your project, what is your process to qualify this individual to determine if they are the best fit?

Here are 6 best practices to select the right people for your project:

#1 Start Early
A best practice for an operation is to start lining up technicians as soon as you are aware of a project's potential, all the way down to the stagehands. You're not the only company with a busy season so make sure you don’t get stuck competing with others to find techs.  If you wait too long, your available quality will go down and your costs could go up! 

The AV industry relies on a large population of talented freelance technicians. But most AV companies are not experts in understanding how to decide whether a person should be an employee or a contractor, and quite frankly, there are a lot of differing opinions about how to make this determination.

Approving project hours and invoices is never as straight-forward as it should be. When crew members submit their services for your approval, errors and missing details are bound to occur. However, with the Clarify tool on the Mertzcrew approvals page, these corrections don’t need to slow down your approval process.

From an insurance perspective, there are a number of risks and benefits to consider regarding the AV technicians that will work on your project. This is true whether the technician is an employee of your company or is a contracted freelancer for a specific project. In particular, one important risk for you to consider before a contracted freelancer begins work on your project is how your company will manage a  Worker’s Compensation claim (or worse, a lawsuit!) from injuries incurred by the contractor while working on your project.

At Mertzcrew, we’re all about simplicity. Our all-in-one AV crew management platform has given AV companies the ability to centralize project details, services/hours rendered, payments, communications, project updates, and more for both the company’s employees and the freelancers Mertzcrew helps to contract.

While we designed our online, AV Crew Management system to be intuitive and easy to use, we knew that challenges and questions would still come up. When they do, your team needs answers, and fast -- especially when you’re in the midst of coordinating a project on a tight timeline.

We are happy to announce that our recently released Help Center will help you find all of the answers you need so you don’t have to stop working on your projects.