Compensation and Benefit Trends: What to Expect in the AV Industry

In today’s competitive landscape, if you want to make a killer presentation to a client, partner or investor, you need to have the technology to bring your pitch to life. This is just one place where Audio-Visual (AV) technicians come into play. They have the technology knowledge and skills that will help bring your organization’s presentations, pitches and audio-visual productions to the next level. And you know those small tech errors that always derail your productivity? They can fix those, too.

But how do you attract an AV professional to your organization? And what will these professionals expect of your organization in return? For those unfamiliar with the AV industry, these questions can feel daunting. Fortunately, we’ve identified one important trend that will help you gain an insight into what to expect in this industry.

 

The Youth Movement

Technology is getting younger. And with technology shifting and developing so rapidly, it’s no wonder that the industry is trending towards younger, less established workers. According to a recent study, the seven companies with the lowest median age were all technology companies, including Facebook, Google, and AOL. And that trend shows no signs of slowing down: with children growing up with tablets and smartphones, the future workforce will be more more skilled with technology than ever.

In response to a workforce growing younger, the industry is also seeing a slow (and steady) shift. On average, young people tend to expect higher wages and more benefits. This youth movement in the AV industry is driving changes in compensation and benefits across the board.

  • Compensation: With the growing demand for AV Technicians, salaries have steadily grown in the last several decades. In more recent years, this trend has plateaued. In May 2016, the median salary was a little over $42,000 and has hovered in that range over the last five years.

Of course, compensation varies significantly depending on a variety of factors. For example, cost of living will influence salaries in certain regions. The more experience a candidate has, the heftier salary they will expect. Additionally, the more employees a company has, the higher they are expected to pay those employees.

  • Health Coverage: Like most industries, the AV industry prioritizes health insurance as its leading benefit. 84 percent of employers offer some level of medical coverage and 76 percent of employers cover more than half of medical cost for employees. Further, 53 percent of firms offer some degree of coverage for employee dependents. If you want to stay competitive, health insurance in some form is a must.
  • Benefits: Benefits are another great way to show loyalty to a particular employee. For example, the average AV employee gets 10.1 paid days off, including sick time, vacation time, and/or paid holidays. (Hint: Paid time off is a great way to attract an employee in general).

Other ways to entice candidates include offering predefined contribution plans like 401(k) options, professional certification assistance or college tuition reimbursement. All of these are somewhat common in the industry: According to a recent study, 71 percent of firms offer predefined contribution plans, 79 percent offer professional certification assistance, and 35 percent offer college tuition reimbursement.

While you likely cannot offer all of these benefits, it’s helpful to know what an AV technician will expect when working for you in the near future. Now, assess what your organization can feasibly do to bring in an AV Technician.

Post that job listing today and find the all-star AV Technician who can vault your business into the 21st century.

 

All data points gathered from this study.

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