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.

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.

The gig economy may be expanding in various industries, but it’s always been a big part of the AV world. Freelancers have long been a part of AV projects, providing specialized skill sets and extra hands on deck when large projects land on an AV company’s desk.

AV freelancers have long been a part of executing projects in the AV industry. Yet even with their longstanding role in the AV industry, there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding how to properly pay AV freelancers.

As an audio visual scheduler, it's important to approach each AV project with an open mind so you can cater to the individual crewing needs of each project. How you coordinate a new project often depends on the type of event you’re crewing and who is needed to achieve the project's completion and success. In order to make this process easy and efficient, regardless of the project, there are a number of tips you should follow -- from understanding the different positions and their qualities to automating scheduling. Utilize these audio visual technician hiring and coordination tips to ease the crewing process from start to finish.

For some AV schedulers and planners, arranging contracts and verifying insurance for audio visual crews is foreign territory — packing with it a hefty box of intimidating questions and variables -— especially when it comes to insurance. Rather than figuring out how to contract and insure freelancers properly, AV companies will often "hire" them as temporary Part Time employees to make the process simpler. While this may serve as a simple, upfront solution to a confusing hiring dilemma, doing this actually requires far more paperwork and is 2x to 3x more expensive. However, working with AV contractors doesn’t have to create extra work or complications. By becoming more familiar with AV contractor insurance systems and requirements, you can rest easy knowing that your crew has the necessary coverage so you’ll be prepared for any project related accident.

How do you pay the project-based technicians that work on your projects?  Do they have their own Workers Comp and Liability Insurance or do you provide their coverage?

In the AV industry, companies typically choose from two options: