The greatest asset any company can have? People.

A potential job candidate and I were talking about his transition from military to civilian aviation and he asked me a great question: What would you say your companies best asset is? It took me a second (it was a great question) but the answer was crystal clear. Our greatest asset is our people. My partner and I are well known around the industry as some of the best at what we do, and we're just trying to spread the vision we share for maintenance, which basically boils down to just take care of your people and they'll take care of you. 

During a break one day I picked up an aviation magazine I like to read frequently, and in an article I was reading they were talking about the labor issues the industry is facing, and the number one reason for a technician to leave his place of employment was because of not feeling taken care of at their job. Not pay. Not co-workers. The employee ends up leaving more times than not because they're not being taken care of properly. Why? Why is this so hard? People just want to be heard, respected, and appreciated, yet those 3 things I just mentioned are severely lacking in almost every hangar I walk in. I've always kept that in mind to keep those core values as pillars for my team as we continue to grow. 

We only hire the cream of the crop, most of our team comes recommended word of mouth, and we put the highest emphasis on putting out the most quality product we can. When it comes to the staffing part of our business, the technician IS the product. So we wont just take any old Joe Blow A&P of the street to fill a slot because hes a warm body, we have our name and reputation to uphold. 

Now, this is important, because this is the exact opposite of what every other aviation staffing agency does. They'll take anyone who even pretends to be half qualified because they just see that candidate as dollar signs. So they're hired and brought on...and because they're underqualifed, and well...SUCK. So they're shuffled around and given a "fair shake" the next few weeks, but there's no delaying the inevitable, and they're eventually let go. The staffing agency sends in another warm body to replace the one that was just shitcanned...and the process repeats over...and over. Until MAYBE you luck out and find someone who is worth their weight.

But all that time...and money! Gosh it would be so much easier to stop rolling the dice! Hire someone who you know is qualified. Who you know will work up to a set standard. Who will give you their best effort day in and day out. This is the reason I created Advanced Avionics. To raise the standard of our workforce's technician, and bring multifaceted solutions to labor problems that have been plaguing aircraft maintenance facilities. 

In our over 40 combined years of aircraft maintenance, my partner and I have seen, been a part of, and managed all different types of types of aircraft maintenance facilities. From military to commercial jets, doing work for business aviation clients including Donald Trump and Taylor Swift, and whether its working with a customer fixing up and selling their private jet, or leading a team of 15 guys who can rip apart a jet, install a full Wi-Fi system, and put it back together before the day is through...one thing we've learned is how to work with people. And our "people" is and always will be our greatest asset. Its best we start treating them like it. -Colin