Plus, other great takeaways from our Edge Partner Alliance meeting in Nashville
This April, USIS AV landed in Nashville to join the Edge Partner Alliance for a week of education, networking, and other opportunities to grow together. Lots to unpack about AV managed services, hybrid workforce management, and what we can learn from the music industry (it was, after all, Nashville). A few highlights:
Um, what’s Edge?
Glad you asked! Edge is our global AV Partner Alliance. USIS AV has been a member of Edge since 2021, joining other integrators with a similar focus on quality over quantity, helping one another’s clients to thrive, and collectively boosting the group’s buying power. It’s also a place of learning: technology, best practices, market outlooks, and success stories.
XLAs
Our CTO, Todd Hutchins, joined an Edge panel to discuss managed services, specifically AV remote monitoring and management. The AV world generally focuses on SLAs when delivering service. These are Service Level Agreements dictating response times, levels of escalation, and systems covered. However, one panelist asked us all to consider XLAs: Experience Level Agreements. XLAs are meant to focus on client-centric metrics such as the value an end user should receive and perceive, and outcomes measured by the experience delivered. An SLA combined with an XLA can become the client’s and the AV service provider’s most effective and mutually beneficial tool.
Hybrid Handbook
Over the past year integrators have dedicated a lot of time dissecting hybrid work: how we can best support clients’ workforces through AV and collaboration technology. Our Edge group discussion turned that lens inward and focused on how we as integrators were approaching hybrid work within our own companies. Some great, practical advice:
Define which roles, rather than which people, will thrive within a specific workstyle.
Have a set schedule for which days will be work from home options. Rather than individuals dictating their days, the company sets and enforces a shared schedule.
Since there are etiquette rules for in office (I’m certain you’ve seen those signs in the employee café), there should be etiquette rules for work from home. The most agreed on one: if you are in a meeting, your video is on.
Update your employee handbook with a section dedicated to work from home.
Teams that Jam together
Or “what we can learn from the music industry” when reimaging the office. It’s true: teams that play together may be better able to withstand challenges. No need to be in an actual band: simply creating spaces that allow teams to collaborate, to be inspired, and to socialize together helps build strong culture.