On Wednesday 15th April, The New York Times wrote ‘The American Economic recovery is gathering steam, renewing confidence that a vibrant revival awaits as the pandemic recedes.’ How do architecture firms prepare for this? And how do they make sure that they retain their best people and attract talented staff as we move into a buoyant economy and post-pandemic world? Is it just a case of throwing more money at the issue in the form of bigger salaries and bonuses to urge people to stay, or is it more nuanced and delicate?
“People stay with firms because of people,” says Meg Brown, Chief Talent Officer at Perkins & Will. “You have to find that happy place where people feel that they’re contributing, that they’re valued, that they have growth and that they feel personal satisfaction about the work that they’re doing on a day-to-day basis.”
By its very nature, the architectural profession lends itself easily to a sense of purpose and meaning that most people try to achieve as they move through their careers; you are quite literally, ‘changing the world’ – hopefully through better buildings and well-designed spaces. However, over time, keeping staff engaged and motivated so that they can flourish, isn’t always going to be easy. There is a balance to be maintained between the overall objectives of the business; trying to produce quality work and maintain profit, and at the same time aiming to nurture individual careers, ambitions and growth. It’s not an easy balancing act.
There is a balance to be maintained between the overall objectives of the business; trying to produce quality work and maintain profit, and at the same time aiming to nurture individual careers, ambitions and growth
Yearly or quarterly reviews with open conversations from everyone can help match the two objectives. Perkins & Will have been utilizing Arianna Huffington’s ‘Thrive Global’ with regular, open conversations and feedback driven by the individual with the objective of nurturing their own careers, whilst actively supporting the needs of the business.
“Leadership is very cognizant about this,” says Meg Brown, “they’re aware of it and they’re mentoring; having conversations to make sure that we can attract and retain top talent.”
The leading American firms we spoke to for this article produce high-quality architecture which is always going to help attract the best people, especially graduates and those at the beginning of their careers lured by a sense of good design. During the challenges of the last twelve months, these companies seem to have stayed on top of their game and kept their teams engaged and happy for the most part.
Remuneration, titles, and promotion will always be important, but equally so are office culture, teamwork and what motivates you to get up in the morning. Making sure that employees have long-term careers and not just jobs to pay the bills are crucial for a business’s success.
The collaboration and teamwork that’s inherent in design firms is also going to attract the best people. Since the pandemic, Studio Gang has utilized technology so that they can collaborate across offices even more. “We really think of ourselves as one studio that is distributed across locations rather than having individual studios in different cities,” says Elizebeth Krasner, Director of Communications at Studio Gang. “So we are able to open up certain meetings to different teams using the technology.”
“We’re looking forward to being together again, when we can do that safely,” stated Studio Gang’s Claire Cahan, Chief People Officer. Their yearly summer camp outing to Wandawaga, Wisconsin was postponed last year but they’re keen to pick this up when things are safe to do so. “This could be the year to get together and play softball!”
New York’s FXCollaborative have maintained much of their team spirit virtually despite the pandemic. “We’re still doing a lot of the social stuff that we did before, except this time via Zoom,” says Shannon Rodriguez, HR Director at FXCollaborative. “We still have happy hour, our mentoring program and we celebrated woman’s month last month.”
Developing and sustaining relationships with schools of architecture, along with internships, are also other successful ways of attracting top talent. “We usually have seven or so interns before the pandemic” said Claire Cahan from Studio Gang. “We try and recruit from local colleges and high schools when we can.”
Diversity, equity, and inclusion occupy a lot of the space in conversations around talent acquisition and retention. “We’re making a commitment to attract more black and minority architects,” says Meg Brown, from Perkins & Will. “Consciously recruiting from HBCUs as well as local colleges around each office.”
Diversity, equity, and inclusion occupy a lot of the space in conversations around talent acquisition and retention
“In 2019 we had the most diverse group of interns ever,” says FXCollaborative’s Shannon Rodriguez, recruiting some interns via the NOMA Foundation Fellowship, “Eight of the nine interns were people of color. It was really successful.”
Traditionally, larger firms like Perkins & Will can offer referral incentives to their employees. Good architects and designers tend to stick together, so the chances of sourcing and recruiting top talent throughout the internal network of your own employees is high. Word of mouth and reputation also figure highly within the lexicon of work culture, so the better you treat your employees the more people will know and ultimately be attracted to your company.
Whoever is chosen to represent the company at industry conferences and events and such is also a key figure in attracting the right people. Particularly at interview stages; you want someone who is engaging and presentable, someone who can offer an interview style that ensures that any potential prospect who is offered a position accepts happily and spreads the word as to how great the interview process was.
With the Covid pandemic, the downsides have been easily noted; less face-to-face collaboration, lack of social interaction, and blurred ‘work’ and ‘home’ boundaries, with people finding it harder to switch off when not at work. Not forgetting the ubiquitous Zoom burnout. Traditionally work has presented a platform for friendships to form and thrive, but the pandemic has made this more difficult without the regular contact and camaraderie between employees.
A recent study by Nicholas Bloom of Stanford University, based on interviews with some 5000 full-time workers, found a strong preference for continued home working after the pandemic, for at least about two days a week.
“A sort of ‘hyper-efficiency’ has been emerging,” says Carolyn Gembles, Partner at Foster + Partners. Fewer office distractions and previous commute times dedicated to working production, the working from home, and flexible work time culture that has been thrust upon us, is definitely a double-edged sword. The pandemic has uncovered potential productivity improvements including a hybrid model of home and office working.
The pandemic has uncovered potential productivity improvements including a hybrid model of home and office working
FXCollaborative’s Shannon Rodriguez stated that their flexible working times and working from home policies had already been discussed. The pandemic provided the opportunity to put these ideas into practice and see that they work.
Any doubters about this new way of working have been reassured and can now see how successfully it works and how it can be easily implemented. “People have embraced working from home a bit more than might have been reluctant otherwise,” stated Meg Brown, from Perkins & Will.
Most New York offices have always offered the traditional ‘Summer Fridays,’ whereby you can leave early on Friday in the summer months, so long as you have made up the work time in your allocated working week. Many companies are now taking this further; Perkins & Will have implemented flexible working in all of their offices and Studio Gang offer Summer Fridays despite their main office being in Chicago. Flexible working is here to stay, the pandemic just acted as a catalyst to prove that it can and does work.
Paid overtime is usually a rarity in the architectural profession, although most firms do offer time-off in lieu, following the inevitable tight deadline or competition entry. Bonuses and even sometimes an occasional profit share, following the success of a particularly good financial year or project, is not uncommon.
“We encourage everyone to get licensed, where possible,” says Shannon Rodriguez. “Reimbursing them for architecture exam costs and offering a bonus upon successful licensure.”
Scott studied his Masters in Architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture and his BA Architecture degree at Manchester University. His professional industry experience spans education, commercial and residential sectors, gained at award winning design practices including CRTKL, Austin Smith ...
2 Comments
Pay us more money.
Provide a competitive and respectable salary. Offer benefits and family leave. Prioritize a healthy balance between work and life with clear boundaries between the two. Trust your employees to manage their own time and work from home, communicate with them, and treat them like adults.
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