Many years ago while working for Fender Canada, my boss's church was having a problem with its PA system. Apparently, the sound was distorted and it did not produce sufficient volume for the congregation to hear the sermon. As a remedy, the priest was asking the executive committee to approve the funding for a new PA system. My boss, who was on the executive committee, asked me if I could stop in and visit his church to have a look at the sound system and give him a first-hand evaluation.
Peter Janis is former CEO of Radial Engineering and owner of consulting firm Exit Plan.
When I got there, I turned the system on and, as expected, the sound was completely unintelligible and the PA was dysfunctional. I pulled out the equipment rack and in behind it discovered an absolute spaghetti nightmare. I disconnected all the mic cables and speaker wires from the mixer-amplifier, took out the multi-band EQ and a feedback eliminator from the insert loops, and started reconnecting everything from scratch. I happened to have my trusty Swiss Army Knife in hand, which allowed me to strip the speaker wires and re-insert them – removing the obvious short circuits. I’m surprised the thing did not catch fire!
To keep things as simple as possible, I decided to leave the feedback eliminator out of the audio signal chain, turned the system on again, and presto! ... the system was loud and clear. The executive was happy as it saved them a bundle, but the priest, not so much, [since] I believe he really wanted a new PA. My point: by visiting the venue, I got a firsthand look at the situation and was able to assess what needed to be done.
With COVID in our midst, how do we achieve the same outcome? What are clients concerns? Can we run a business remotely with Skype or Zoom? Do we need human interaction? To get answers, I asked some friends to chime in on how they have been conducting business for the past eight months and how they believe that business practices will change in the future.
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Social distancing during coronavirus pandemic
Social distancing during coronavirus pandemic
Human feedback
John Young with AVL Media Group, a distributor that represent brands such as Tannoy and Behringer across Canada, shared his perspective:
“Although concert touring and large-scale public events have come to a halt, construction is ongoing. Grocery stores are being built and they need paging systems. Like most companies, AVL stopped visiting customers when the pandemic hit. Only now are the sales reps beginning to get back on the road.”
Young points out that there are some jobs that absolutely require visiting the client. For instance, AVL recently commissioned a PA system for a gymnasium and another for an Ontario Transit. In both cases, the venues were clear of people, enabling the technical crew to work unhampered by masks or social distancing.
Speaking with TC Furlong
“When COVID hit in March, our live business drew to a complete stop, so we had no choice but to reduce our staff. We shifted our attention to quoting jobs, most of which are specified and tendered out. As many of our clients are dispersed throughout the United States, we were already comfortable with doing business over the phone or via video conference. As it sits right now, nobody wants to see you. In our office, most of our team works from home. We limit in-shop staff to a maximum of three, wear masks, wash our hands, have sanitation stations dispersed throughout, and insist that all shipments to and from our facility be kept outside.”
From the very beginning of time, humans have gathered in the form of clans and evolved into societies. We function better as groups versus individuals. Human interaction clearly works best when you can read body language. This is almost completely masked when on a video-conference call.
Can we run a business remotely with Skype or Zoom? Do we need human interaction?
I asked Robbie Starkey, principal consultant at CSD Group with offices in Fort Wayne, Dallas, and Phoenix and clients that include Summit Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, Grace Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Grace Revolution in Dallas about the importance of human interaction vs. communicating via the internet. Starkey has taken courses in non-verbal communication skills, giving him a very interesting perspective:
“When communicating via Facebook or Twitter, there is an invisible barrier that gives people a sense of immunity. What one may say online would not likely be said when in the presence of the other person. There is a sense of accountability when you are in the same room that seems to go away when filtered through the lens of a digital interface. You lose the ability to read body language. For those like me that are outgoing and gregarious, video calls are certainly not as effective. However, for those that tend to be more introverted, the safety of the filter somewhat evens the playing field.”
On the topic, Young adds:
“For some folks, staying at home without human interaction drives them nuts. You can only do so many webinars in a day until you begin to zone out. When you meet someone in person, the interaction keeps things alive.”
Working from home
There is much debate regarding the effectiveness of working from home. Business owners question whether their staff is 100% focused, or if their attention is being diluted by family interruptions. This is leading to the development of software that monitors staff to ensure that they are in front of the computer eight hours a day. One has to wonder if this is the right course of action. Would you not be better to hire good, dedicated staff?
Business owners question whether their staff is 100% focused, or if their attention is being diluted by outside interruptions.
Furlong points out:
“We had no choice but to furlough staff, however, we realized the critical importance of keeping our core teams together.”
Further research has shown that when working at the office you can turn off the computer at the end of the day, while those that work from home are often tethered to their office via a cell phone and will tend to answer emails late into the night. Without a break, you have to wonder if they are as effective the next day.
I also spoke with Dave Shadoan, president of Sound Image, regarding the impact COVID has had on his business. Sound Image has two divisions – concert touring with clients such as Jimmy Buffet, Maroon 5, and Brad Paisley – and then integration with four offices dispersed around the U.S.
“Live touring stopped immediately while the integration side stayed on course. Integration is a sub-sector of construction and construction has continued virtually unaffected throughout the pandemic. Our role is to handle low-voltage for the general contractor. Like most other integrators, we have jobs booked well into 2021, and we have taken precautionary health measures even when our clients tell us that wearing a mask is not required.
Simply put, the legal liability of not following safety guidelines is not worth the risk. At the same time, we have to be realistic; you cannot be six feet apart when it takes two people to lift a speaker cabinet or flat-screen TV. Wearing masks and gloves is part of the new reality.”
Starkey echoes a similar perspective:
“We usually have months or even years of jobs pre-booked, so ongoing business has not been heavily affected. In most cases, we pre-build everything in house so that it can be fully tested. It is then disassembled, delivered to the client, and put back together on-site. I can only recall one job in New York City where we had to vacate the building immediately due to increasing infection rates.”
As for how business will be conducted in the future, Starkey adds:
“Since COVID has forced many churches to close, they have shifted to delivering online sermons. This has spawned a huge demand for infrastructure such as video cameras and production suites. This, in turn, has led to an equipment shortage that only now is beginning to subside. Many churches are noticing a higher degree of participation online vs. being there in person.
As churches open up again, you have to wonder if people will return or if they will participate remotely by staying at home. Video broadcasting provides churches with local reach and enables them to expand their message to international markets.”
Furlong adds:
“It may be another year before public places such as churches, theaters, and concert halls fully open up again. I also believe many companies outside our industry will adopt work-at-home regiments [that] will undoubtedly affect office building vacancies. A major determining factor is the technology being developed around the globe for this pandemic and future outbreaks. Rapid onsite testing would enable churches to open up, whereby one would get swabbed, then wait five minutes for results. If you test safe, you would get a wristband to access the venue. A vaccine may also prove positive to reduce the infection rates.”
Shadoan mentions technology advances from a different perspective:
“This year, I have already logged over 50,000 miles on airplanes, and I have never felt so safe. The airlines have done a terrific job with updating their air-filtration systems. A typical home refreshes the air every 12 minutes or so while these airplanes do so at a rate that is five times greater. You can smell it … the air is so fresh. I am also impressed by the level of discipline: everywhere you go, people are wearing masks. As for our integration division, COVID has forced us to re-evaluate how we do business, and this is making us better and stronger. Our integration division no longer relies on other sources of funding. It has learned to stand on its own.”
End analysis
So, do you have to be there in person? In some cases you do, but It seems clear that COVID has changed certain aspects of doing business, and the adoption of video conferencing has made it possible to remotely achieve what was once only done in person. This not only reduces travel costs, it can also speed up much of the sales quote and design process.
As for the rest of us, even the simplest things will change. Remember how your kid used to blow out the candles on her birthday cake? From now on the only way to do this may be from the safety of your own home.
