There are two employee development methods instilled in the AV industry that have been around since the beginning. As our industry evolved from being part of the Electrical Union groups until we branched off into our own niche the mentorship/apprenticeship mentality was around from the beginning.
But at some point the mentality changed. It stopped being completely about using the knowledge of the senior folks to help develop the new folks coming in and started becoming “let the rookie figure it out”. This emergence of the trial by fire mentality allowed employers to discover very quickly how someone would integrate into their company by seeing just what the new hire was capable of doing. There is only one issue with the trial by fire way of initiating a new employee into a company in the modern age: they don’t know what they don’t know.
Unless someone is just starting out at the ground level of the industry, it’s expected that their past experience has led them to the position they currently hold. However, we all know the saying the AV industry jokes about “the people are all the same, they just change business cards every few years”. That’s an important thing to keep in the back of your mind, because the job that someone performed previously might have a completely different function from the job they move into. So if you’re changing roles in the industry how are you expected to get a complete grasp on your new role if it incorporates tasks or duties that you have never done before?
This is where the importance of understanding if the corporate culture is trial by fire or mentorship needs to be a part of the individual’s decision. In a trial by fire environment the experience can vary drastically as you could be entering a company that will expect you to meet the same standards as someone that has performed this job function for decades, or they could have lower expectations for you as you go through the process of figuring things out. You will need to make sure that you understand what the expectations are going in or you could be in a position that will not yield much success.
I would argue that the trial by fire mentality is outdated and should be abandoned by our industry. It makes sense that it still exists because the experienced and senior industry leaders had to come up with no one showing them what to do. AV was an industry in emergence and they truly had to figure it out as it went because there wasn’t anyone to help them develop their skills. But just because that’s how they made their way in the industry doesn’t mean that trend is something that should stay a part of the industry.
Having a mentoring program in your firm allows for the younger industry personnel to learn the ropes and ask questions of those that came before them without initially being asked to stand on their own. It gives them the opportunity to learn that they don’t know everything (assuming they are open to that concept) and see what practices are commonplace in the company they have chosen to join.
Some out there might think of this as coddling the younger generation of AV professionals, but the fact remains, I still hear that those starting out are disappointed by the way they are looked down upon by the senior members of the team instead of being welcomed as a part of the industry that will one day take over and become the leadership. This, in turn, means we are losing individuals that may have passion and talent because they want to work some place they are appreciated and can develop.
I can already hear the detractors screaming at me across the internet as I type this, so let me clarify the point. I am not, repeat NOT, saying that new members of the industry need to be watched and coached and essentially babysat as they get rolling. There is a certain amount of personal responsibility that each employee has to take to demonstrate that they can be a contributor to the company. The mentality that I still see all too often of “let the newbie figure it out” needs to be abandoned. Instead let’s accept that those that came before us have laid down a foundation we can learn from; one where we can witness examples of the right and wrong way to do things as well as understand why it was right or wrong. I have always taught with the “why” mentality because if you promote the reasoning behind something, it helps understanding and allows for creative thought when the circumstances are not the same in every situation.
The mentality that I want to see adopted and featured across the industry is one where those coming in are coached. Take that new guy or gal aside, show them how to do something and explain why you want them to do it that way and make certain that they understand it. Then, send them off to do it on their own and report back when their done for review. Yes, this methodology can be time consuming and will not always be an option in every job or environment, but we are no longer an industry where “figure it out” is the only option. There has become a clear resentment between the older generation and the new and it goes both ways. If the elder statesmen of the industry continue to lord over the up-and-comers by saying they don’t know anything as opposed to reaching out to teach them, and if the up-and-comers can’t accept that they don’t know everything there is to know about A/V then the rift will grow and the knowledge gained in the industry’s infancy will disappear.
This message goes out to individuals and companies alike, if you don’t keep an open mind when it comes to how you choose to train or be trained, you’re only hurting yourself and the company that employs you. With so many members of this industry looking at retirement as something that will happen sooner than later, now it’s the time to impart your wisdom and experience, not harbor spite for those coming up behind you.
