Working With Contractors
Lights, sound, video: all tools for helping your church proclaim the Word of God. Perhaps your A/V systems are not keeping up with the rapid growth of your church. Your church may be ready to make a big jump in technology, but how well are you prepared?
Do you have someone who can handle the purchase and installation process for you? A knowledgeable volunteer can serve in this area. Let this person be your main contact with the contractor. Empower this person to make decisions and give them the authority to represent the church. If they have to run back to a committee for every little detail, a lot of their time will be wasted. Honor their investment by making the process easy.
Who should you call? First call a couple of churches in the area that may have done a similar upgrade recently. Talk with their staff or volunteer person in charge of their technology. Tell them about the upgrade you are considering and schedule a time when you can talk about their recent purchases. When you sit down to talk with them, ask questions such as: Are they happy with the system? What gear works well with volunteers? What are the pitfalls of their system? Are they pleased with the contractor who completed the install? Was it done on time? Is the contractor available on weekends to help with problems? How do they handle training? There is a lot to learn from other church's experiences.
Before you call a contractor, get your desires and notes in order. How well can you define your problem? Can you be specific? Not, "I don't like the video screen" but rather "I think the video screen is dim, it is washed out," or "it is too small to see from the back of the sanctuary." Your needs may be wide ranging, so write down your entire wish list. The more specific you are, the better chance you will have of finding a vendor to correctly solve the problem the first time.
Can you propose a possible solution? This includes the type and brand of equipment you would like to use to upgrade your system. Initially, you may not want to provide your solution to the contractor, in order to see how they would solve the problem. After all, they might suggest something you have not thought of. However, if you have strong ideas on how to solve the issue, let the contractor know. Otherwise they are shooting in the dark. While their solutions may be good, they may not fit with your preferences.
Communicating your individual preferences can be difficult. Do you assume that certain work will be done a certain way? Make sure you discuss any specific requirements you have before you work with a contractor. Your building may have specific locations that your wire runs through. The Fire Marshall may have instructed you to put your wire runs through a firewall in a specific location with specific precautions including fire stopping caulk. Having the installer follow those directions will be very important. Do you require that a work area be kept clean even during the install? This is a much more difficult way to work as the crew will need to lay down tarps and vacuum multiple times during the day. The installer will need to take that into account when determining how long a job will take.
A final preference will be the completion date. While this seems obvious it is often missed because it is not viewed as very important. Are you installing this new gear to support a major event or holiday? While it is nice to use new gear for a major production make sure that you and the contractor plan ahead. You will add far too much stress to yourself and your volunteers if the install is only partly finished when your production starts. Even if the gear is installed, have you allowed enough time for training the volunteers? If this is last minute, perhaps you should hire the installer to work with your volunteers for the event. This may cost a bit, but your volunteers will be set up for success rather than failure.
You should communicate your preferences in several ways. Talk with the contractor and designers of your new system. Discuss what might be possible and what you can not afford. Perhaps certain gear is custom built and not available as quickly as you need it. It is always good to get a sense of what is possible from the contractor. Next, make sure that you email your preferences to the contractor. You may have changed a bit after your conversations, but still giving them a written copy will help them not miss what is important to you. Finally, when you see the estimate, make sure that it includes your preferences. If you requested specific gear, make sure that it is spelled out in the estimate.
Why do all this paperwork and require the contractor to provide a lengthy written estimate? You will get a system that will work in the way in which you expect. This will be much easier to teach your volunteers. As your installer begins to work there will be fewer questions which will enable them to work faster. If you have a requirement about keeping the worksite clean you should not have to discuss it when they arrive for work. They can just get started. When the system is complete there should be no questions about what is included. Wire labeling (if specified in the estimate) is required before you sign off on the finished system. Detailed estimates remove ambiguity.
While the install is going on, does your church make it easy for the work to get done? If the work is in a classroom, have you scheduled any Bible studies or meetings be moved to another room? It will be awkward for the installer if they need to ask for the meeting to move. Does your receptionist know when the installer will be in the building? Can that person make sure that doors are unlocked? Nothing is more frustrating than showing up to do work when the building is locked. Are your staff and volunteers polite to contractors? While this may seem obvious, do not forget that a contractor may actually inconvenience your staff. Remind your staff that the installers are here at your request and to treat them well.
Finally the job is done. Before you consider it done, make sure to test everything. Nothing may be taken for granted. If this is a system upgrade, test the old parts of the system to make sure nothing is disconnected or changed. Once the test is done you are ready to sign off on the install.
Take time with your staff and volunteers to celebrate the improvements in your available technology and be sure to thank God for what He has allowed your church to do.
