Experts vs. Mr. Know-It-All - Partnering with the Right Team for Your AVL Project

Close your eyes and imagine the next AVL project you’ve got on the horizon. Who do you envision doing the work, and why? It’s tempting to rely on your volunteers who are willing, confident, and who you already know. This post is about exercising caution about a common challenge with this approach—the “know-it-all”—the nearby and available person who possesses opinions and confidence in spades, and is enthusiastic about pitching in.

You will need to learn to understand the difference between bravado and expertise. Technical projects are indeed, well, technical, with nuance and complexity around every turn. Finding and partnering with an expert can make all the difference in achieving your best results. Let’s dig into why partnering with a seasoned professional increases your odds for great project outcomes.

Expertise Saves Time and Avoids Costly Mistakes

One of the best ways you can save time and money is to avoid mistakes, both in planning and execution. Your trusted experts will bring years of training, hands-on experience, and specialized skills to the table. They can fill in your gaps in knowledge and experience and can understand complex system design, troubleshooting, and most importantly how to avoid mistakes that could cost you time and money.

Back to your well-meaning volunteer. They may feel confident in their abilities, but even small gaps in skill can lead to compromised results on mission-critical systems, distracting from and diminishing the human engagement with your vital message.

Consistency and Quality Matter

Ask yourself, for your next systems upgrade, how important is it that the results are consistent week-to-week? What are your specific plans to meet your standard of quality and user-friendliness? Church gatherings are filled with high-impact moments that should flow seamlessly. A poorly executed technical setup can easily pull people out of engagement.

Your project should be done right the first time. While your super-volunteer may understand the technology, our experience has taught us that the devil is in the details on the path toward creating a polished, inspiring outcome. Don’t underestimate the stacked years of seeing and solving specific problems, while keeping up with the latest gear, trends, and industry best practices. The desired result is an elegant system that supports the experience that you have in mind.

Long-Term Support and Growth

Reputable AV professionals will thoroughly train your team on the operation and maintenance of your new system and provide strategies for future growth. You need a fruitful long-term partnership that will help your team adapt to changing needs, with a shared vision for what ongoing success looks like.

You and your volunteers might get this next project done, but what happens next? Did you know that it is quite difficult for any outside expert to support a system that they had no hand in designing or implementing? This means that a DIY system solution typically means DIY support for the life of the system. Without proper guidance and support, small technical problems can escalate into bigger issues. An expert gives your team the knowledge and tools they need to keep things running smoothly long after the project is completed.

Expertise plus Team Collaboration

What then is the role of your volunteer team and local techie network in your next project? Your team is deeply invested in your ministry! The ideal solution is to make them a key part of the process. At Vantage Pro, our design process always includes staff and volunteers who will be operating the systems. We recognize the unique value they bring to the table, largely because we have been them. They have localized knowledge about your existing technology, workflows, and people. In our experience, we see the best outcomes from a both/and approach of working in parallel with both leadership and system operators.

When embarking on a project of significance, the best outcomes come from this synergy—a combination of your team’s passion and understanding with the expertise and professionalism of a skilled specialist. This is how the church wins big, with technology that empowers your ministry now and in the future.