NSCA, the leading not-for-profit association representing the commercial low-voltage electronic systems industry, has announced the winners of the 2020 Excellence in Business awards in six categories:

• Customer Experience: AV Solutions, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Talent Development: Hillman AV Inc., Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
• Differentiating Strategies: CEC (Communications Engineering Company), Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Employee Engagement: HB Communications, North Haven, Connecticut
• Business Performance: Corbett Technology Solutions, Inc. (CTSI), Chantilly, Virginia
• Strategic Transformation: Constant Technologies, Inc., North Kingstown, Rhode Island

NSCA 2020 Excellence in Business Award Winning Companies

This year’s Excellence in Business awards honor six systems integration firms in their efforts to adapt to the constantly changing industry:

AV Solutions, winner in the Customer Experience category, already enjoyed a 95% customer satisfaction rating, but it recently launched a strategy to sustain that status. The company implemented three key processes designed to keep the business and customer-facing employees aligned on constantly improving client experiences.

To improve employee retention and align with the company’s overall goals, Hillman AV Inc., winner in the Talent Development category, launched a unique, apprenticeship-style field technician training program with built-in milestones. While the program benefits individuals’ career development, the company has also seen it foster a team-oriented environment.

For CEC, winner in the Differentiating Strategies category, “customer-focused selling” is more than a concept. The company restructured its sales organization to better serve the needs of a refined list of customers that meet its ideal customer profile. Meanwhile, CEC is in the midst of launching its Managed Systems Program, which offers integration solutions as a CEC service with built-in refresh cycles.

Many integration firms can learn from what Employee Engagement category winner HB Communications did — it took an honest look at its company culture and recognized areas where improvement was needed if it truly wanted to retain great employees and attract talent to bring the organization to the next level. Led by a new HR director, the integration firm implemented several changes and, importantly, measured the results.

Instead of just talking about business transformation, Business Performance category winner CTSI is actually doing it. The company has implemented subscription services with customers subscribing to technology for a monthly fee in an Experience-as-a-service (XaaS) model.

Strategic Transformation category winner Constant Technologies Inc. has established itself as a provider of integrated solutions for mission-critical, 24/7 operations centers. The definition of “mission-critical,” however, has evolved to take on many forms. The integration firm has transformed its business model to address the needs of a growing client list that extends far beyond operation centers.

Award winners will be recognized at NSCA’s 22nd annual Business & Leadership Conference on Feb. 26-28, 2020, in Irving, Texas. Representatives from each company will discuss their unique strategies during a panel discussion.

Here are details.