What percentage of your office's staff leaves in a year? How many of them are fired? Does this create a lack of continuity in projects, or do you appreciate the fresh ideas coming into the firm with new people?
I just got to thinking about my office's turnover and was wondering what is 'normal' for an architecture firm.
eastcoastarch03
May 9, 07 1:28 pm
in the year that i've been in my 20 person firm, we have "lost", mainly fired about 12 people. tells you some things about the place. i'd appreciate not losing that many people, but hey, it happens.
dml955i
May 9, 07 1:33 pm
Depends on the size of the firm (obviously). My first office was about 30 people with relatively high turnover among recent graduates to 5 years experience. Nobody was ever fired - they just got frustrated with picking up redlines, building models, 3D renderings, etc. and left for other jobs or grad school. The firm didn't seem to mind at all. However, there was always a huge experience gap with hardly any mid-level architects. You either had people with little experience or 10+ years.
You have to realize that most firms aren't hiring new people to bring in fresh ideas - they're more concerned with bringing in fresh bodies that have at least a shread of talent or some other skills (3D modeling for one).
garpike
May 9, 07 1:34 pm
Hey tumbleweed, I'm sitting right next to you. Damn. Say it to my face.
I kid I kid.
This is interesting as I have worked in similarly small firms for most my career, and the turnover is pretty much the same where ever I go. There seems to be two groups: the long term and short term - long being 3 - 5 years and short being 6 months to a year. Each group represents about 50% of the whole.
Unfortunately the long termers take the brunt of the project loads when the short termers leave. Projects don't suffer a lack of continuity. Just the employees.
I don't understand how 8 people don't show, tw. Part time? Lazy office?
farwest1
May 9, 07 1:35 pm
In my first job out of grad school (prominent NYC architect) 12 of 22 people turned over in a year. Almost all of them were unhappy, and left. As far as I know, no one was fired, and the office even begged a number of them to stay.
In my last job, a 40 person firm, only a few people turned over each year, despite the fact that much of the office was unhappy and were actively TALKING about leaving. But didn't.
I think it's normal for 10-20% of an office to turn over in a given year.
phuyaké
May 9, 07 1:37 pm
My first job out of college had an insanely high turnover rate. Out of 40+ people, there were only 7 that had been there over a year, and that includes the principal, three partners, and the janitor. It was a very corporate firm, the type that sucked in people right out of school, put them in charge of a project instantly, let you go to meetings, etc.. but after a while I think most realized (including me, I left after 7 months) that you were slowly loosing your soul in daily increments.
I'm now at a smaller firm with a much stronger foundation of people who have been here since the start... I think it helps that here you actually have a "face" (not anonymous intern #43 at the meeting) and can establish real relationships with your co-workers and clients.
Erin Williams
May 9, 07 1:43 pm
wow! 12/20? 12/22? That's pretty bad.
My office seems pretty similar to dml's. 15 people, we've lost 3-4 people each of the two years I've been here, so around 20% turnover each year. But also, yeah, a lot of people talking about leaving. There is the big gap in experience- several people of a year or two experience, then a bunch of people at 10+ years, and nobody in between. It seems to me like we'd be doing better if there were fewer old people, and more mid-range people. The young people keep leaving because it's already too crowded at the top of the ladder, there's no room to move up.
Erin Williams
May 9, 07 1:44 pm
oh, and all leave of their own choice, no firings whatsoever, in two years. They seem afraid to fire people, even when they really deserve it, and hang on until the person quits.
mdlerweed
May 9, 07 1:49 pm
garpike- you can't be sitting next to me because nobody's here!
lets see, of the 12:
-one has a family in vermont (office is in ca), so he takes really long trips there.
-one is my age, but acts like a teenager trying to skip school all the time... he rearly puts in a solid day, and often doesn't show up for a few days at a time.
-one guy is curently on vacation.
-the owner, who has other pet projects, like real estate.
-the owner's best friend- not sure what his job title is, but he is here about 3 days a week (he has a family in AZ)
-the owner's son. also not sure what he does. he went to school to be an engineer, but we have consultants for that. go figure.
-a 'furniture' girl, who I suspect is the owner's mistress. she puts post-its in magazines when she is here, which is irregularly. she has a company truck. hmmm.
-the office manager is always here.
-the secratary is always here.
-and I must be forgetting some people, who really don't come in very often.
whistler
May 9, 07 2:09 pm
I've lost 5 people in 10 years in a 4-6 person firm
- First guy left to start his own firm
- One left because his work visa expired
- one left to move with her husband back east for his first career job ( standing offer for her to come back and work when they decide to return )
- Fired one guy for continuous screw ups
- One left to work in the states at a larger more prestigous office.
The only one that I hummed and hawwed over was the firing, although I'm glad the last left because they weren't into it and motivationally didn't have their head in the projects. Always better to have people into the work than not even if it kills the ability to get the work done on schedule. That way you know its done well.
farwest1
May 9, 07 2:19 pm
mdlerweed,
is anyone ever called on their absenteeism? you seem to be in a very unique office. in other places, if someone just didn't show up a couple of times a week, i think they'd quickly be fired.
mdlerweed
May 9, 07 2:31 pm
no, it is almost ignored. I really don't understand how it is acceptable. the first time the young guy didn't show up for 3 days (with no call), not only did I assume he was in the hospital or something (silly me), but also assumed it was understood he would not be returning (also a silly asumption).
it seems as if everybody has some sort of 'special circumstance' here, and is therefore not held accountable.
crowbert
May 9, 07 2:34 pm
In the 6mo. I've been here 7 of 15 full timers have left (1 fired, 6 quit) so before the year is up I expect, statistically anyway, for nobody to be left who was here when I started. Including me.
When I added this up, I got a little depressed.
crowbert
May 9, 07 2:35 pm
Wait, mdlerweed - do you work in the white house?
Christopher Daniel
May 9, 07 3:42 pm
Our studio has a steady through-flow of contract staff because it's damned hard to get good people in London at the moment. We probably have 2 contract people around at any one time and they're normally only here for 2-3 months (although some have stayed a year).
Three people have left in the last 9 months. One (interior designer) changed firm, one was fired & one quit having run a competition so badly (& lost his temper so seriously in the process) that he just didn't have the confidence of the rest of the studio.
Architecture firms in London are dying for staff right now. It doesn't make the pay (much) better, but it does mean there's loads of choice for us young'uns right now.
Christopher Daniel
May 9, 07 3:46 pm
Another London firm I know of (one that happens to have won the Stirling Prize twice in the last decade & recently had one of it's projects comemorated on a £1 coin) has 30 people leaving in the next few weeks or who have recently left. Apparently there are at least 2 leaving parties a week.
The way I hear it, they grew really fast and hired a load of talented people but then took on work that the staff aren't enjoying. They're crying out for new people. If anyone wants a pretty good name on their CV, now's your chance!
zzzhc
May 9, 07 4:32 pm
The average industry turnover rate for AEP firms according to my company's research is 14.5% presently. This includes voluntary and involuntary turnover. We do management consulting and specialize in architecture and engineering clients. If your office is concerned with retention, you should check out our "A/E Recruitment & Retention Cookbook" at www.zweigwhite.com
Erin Williams
May 9, 07 5:10 pm
No, I wouldn't like any SPAM with that, thanks.
knock
May 9, 07 5:24 pm
wow, I thought I had a quite particular experience a few years ago until i read this thread
by the point that I left this 4-6 person firm after two years, I was the only continuous employee besides the owner, and I saw a dozen people in and out the door. It was the worst run organization i've ever seen, the owner low-balled every job, and expected you to work extra w/out pay for it, which i refused to do, and quit over the pressure for it. Didn't keep him from calling me a year later to try to lure me back after finding out I was looking for another job ... idoit.
farwest1
May 9, 07 5:28 pm
In a number of the jobs I've had, I've been amazed at how oblivious to employee contentment the bosses have been. Turnover has been sky-high, but the bosses ignore, manipulate, or intimidate their employees nonetheless (then wonder why there aren't more good people out there.)
Treat your employees right, and generally they'll do good work. Pay decently, respect them, hear them out.
Erin Williams
May 9, 07 5:33 pm
oddly enough, that's what's created my situation. My boss has tried to do right by his employees, and the result is that some have stayed on past their expiration date. Now the organization is top-heavy, and offers no opportunity to younger employees, because there's already not enough to go around among those who have been there for many years already.
crowbert
May 9, 07 5:47 pm
rationalist - I would advise spreading those bathroom details upward...
zzzhc
May 9, 07 6:04 pm
Just trying to be helpful. Not asking you to sign up your email or address anything.
treekiller
May 9, 07 6:17 pm
where do all those hot london firms advertise their job openings??? or do I just send them my cv?
snooker
May 9, 07 6:46 pm
I can say in ten years I haven't fired anyone....and my two dogs at my feet are very loyal! My wife well she can give me a shot in the butt from time to time...but it is well deserving...I know I'm a pain to work with....you know the guy with the pile of papers...and mrs..not a thing out of place. However she is still with me after seven years...so she isn't bored.
Christopher Daniel
May 9, 07 7:11 pm
Just send them your CV. Blanket bomb them with a good paper copy (or digital if it's well-formatted and doesn't have to be printed). Of course, make it seem like their specific firm is your first choice, don't let them know they're one of a hundred! I assume the same goes for any city though.
From what I can tell, by the time a firm advertises for staff it has exhausted the good CVs it had on file. Advertising for staff costs £££ that bosses would rather not pay.
Treekiller, get your CV out there in the next few weeks (i.e, before all the grad school projects end) and you may well be in luck. There's an Olympics on after all. Shit needs building and someone has to design it (or that's the idea anyway).
vado retro
May 9, 07 7:53 pm
check out the riba website they got jobs posted on there. be warned though its written in english not american.
Gloominati
May 9, 07 8:52 pm
I remember reading an article 5 or 6 years ago in which someone at NCARB said that the average intern had 4 or 5 jobs while fulfilling IDP, and that the majority of people doing IDP take 4 to 6 years to complete it. So that would be about a job a year for several years - which means that a lot of firms do have to be having pretty high turnover.
The longest I ever stayed in a firm before I went out on my own was about 5 years. But I also worked at a large, old firm for awhile where the the average length of time that most emploiyees had been there was 12 years, and a few had been there more than 30 years (and they weren't partners/owners). I only stayed in that firm for about 18 months. But I was the exception and they all seemed quite surprised that someone was leaving.
some person
May 9, 07 9:06 pm
Just the facts: of the 70 people in my firm, 46 were there when I started 1.5 years ago. The average 14.5% turnover rate seems about right.
I can't keep up with the new faces. I've actually said out loud to people, "Do you work here?"
snooker
May 9, 07 9:48 pm
mmmm...starting to think we have alot of people here who actually understand the back of baseball cards....all the odds and the odd ones....doesn't anyone work anymore?
kissy_face
May 9, 07 10:44 pm
there is a rumor at my job about a guy who left for a pack of cigarettes and never came back. The story is that 3 weeks later he came back and sat at his desk like nothing ever happened and no one said anything to to him.
KEG
May 10, 07 12:07 am
that's what my dad said 3 years ago...
I'm sure he'll be back any minute...
j/k
Say No to Student Loans
May 10, 07 12:16 am
My firm in Santa Monica has a low turnover- it is a very lathargic, comfortable environment, much like its location. We're 45 deep and since starting a year and a half ago, there have maybe been 6 people added and 2 people lost.
bfunk
May 10, 07 3:03 am
probably about 30% annual turnover at my +100 person office. there are good and bad sides to it -- i think the younger you are the more high turnover works to your benefit (if you can hang in there). it certainly diminishes the cost/time efficiency of projects though, which is unfortunate.
Dapper Napper
May 10, 07 11:41 am
Almost a year here. No one has left but 4 added after me.
Company overall seems to be very stable with some of the VP's having been here 30+years. Company is spread over muiltiple states, but all offices appear to be oddly balanced with experience levels, upper, mid, and interns.
Dapper Napper
May 10, 07 11:42 am
And I think the 4-5 jobs for interns might be the norm but still looks bad. If you choose well, you can get IDP done at 1-2 stops. Maybe 3.
joshuacarrell
May 10, 07 12:26 pm
Around here it is pretty common knowledge that if you want a pay/benefit increase, switch jobs. Our office of 12 has lost 3 in the last 6 months, another one leaving in a month, 1 other leaving soon, and anyone under 40 talking about leaving daily.
j
larslarson
May 10, 07 12:34 pm
wait..is tumbleweed also mdlerweed?
here there's been a bit of turnover.. 8 people...there have been
four other people in the past year and a half...one was an intern,
one returned to canada, one was a mom and went back to her own
practice and one quit after a day...called at 10:30
of the second day to say he wasn't coming in. pretty glad
personally cause he literally shook our shared desk with how hard
he typed/moused.
Erin Williams
May 10, 07 5:34 pm
Just realized, there are two people (one being myself) already lined up to be gone by the end of this summer, so I anticipate this year's turnover being higher than other years.
mdlerweed = mdler + tumbleweed. They seem to both have the password to mdlerweed, so sometimes it's one and sometimes it's the other.
24out1in
May 11, 07 3:55 pm
out of an office of 7: 3 left in the past year and have all been replaced... one of those replacee's being myself.
unfortunately for them though i will be #4 :)
le bossman
May 12, 07 2:10 pm
my office has a pretty low turnover rate. we've lost 1 and hired 1 full time in a year. we have a fabrication shop which has a slightly higher turn over rate; i think they've had a little more difficulty in finding good employees.
personally i'm not planning on staying at this office for more than another 1+ year, but it isn't so much about the office as it is about the location.
file
May 12, 07 4:12 pm
"personally i'm not planning on staying at this office for more than another 1+ year"
there are so many young professionals who adopt this attitude (for good reasons) that i think we have to be careful about how we think of "turnover" -- many people entering our profession make a conscious decision to job-hop for a few years to try-out several different firms. others -- there are others who seemingly cannot stay in one place for very long and will job hop all of their careers. our profession is populated by large numbers of both.
there is very little a firm can do to reduce this particular type of turnover ... short of not hiring these individuals in the first place.
i've worked in a number of different firms over the years. some had great hr programs / others did not. either way, turnover seems to be a constant thread in our profession and i'm not all that convinced that a firm's policies and approaches to its staff can do a great deal to reduce turnover. certainly - bad practices will increase turnover. but even the best, most enlightened firms still lose good people with regularity.
while i'm not defending weak hr practices, because a certain degree of turnover seems inevitable, i can understand why some firms don't invest heavily in the things that most hr professionals will tell you to do ... for those firms, i think there's a whole "what's the point - they're not going to be loyal no matter what we do" attitude in play.
Ms Beary
May 13, 07 12:12 am
one person fired in the last year and a half. 8 of us total.
Ms Beary
May 13, 07 12:13 am
last office - one person fired, and one person resigned in 3.5 years. out of 20ish in the whole office.
antipod
May 14, 07 8:59 am
Just handed in my notice after 3 months. Felt a bit bad, but the Director is a goober. I cannot work with the guy.
The lats straw was a 6pm Friday meeting he agreed to and then pulled out of at the last minute, allowing me to go it alone trying to defend his design to an aggressive developer client when it clearly didn't work in the first place.
2 More weeks and I'm goooone!
So, anyone in a good London office who's hiring?
Erin Williams
May 14, 07 1:35 pm
wow. Just found out that our turnover for this year is going to be at least 40%. Four people have quit since the start of the year, and two more (myself included) are known to be leaving at later dates. So 6/15 will be gone by September, and who knows what else will happen in the meantime?
arkitekt
May 25, 07 2:40 pm
i'm in a 15 person firm. have been here for 4 years. i'm the second most senior person here...
no one stays here longer than two years because its ridiculously organized...that is, it isn't at all.
Jonas77
May 25, 07 4:07 pm
25% ?
alfrejas24
May 25, 07 4:50 pm
50%....I quit today. And then there was only 1.
+i
May 25, 07 5:20 pm
four people left last week. 3 two weeks ago. 2 last month. office of 200. but we just hired four more. so whats that?
What percentage of your office's staff leaves in a year? How many of them are fired? Does this create a lack of continuity in projects, or do you appreciate the fresh ideas coming into the firm with new people?
I just got to thinking about my office's turnover and was wondering what is 'normal' for an architecture firm.
in the year that i've been in my 20 person firm, we have "lost", mainly fired about 12 people. tells you some things about the place. i'd appreciate not losing that many people, but hey, it happens.
Depends on the size of the firm (obviously). My first office was about 30 people with relatively high turnover among recent graduates to 5 years experience. Nobody was ever fired - they just got frustrated with picking up redlines, building models, 3D renderings, etc. and left for other jobs or grad school. The firm didn't seem to mind at all. However, there was always a huge experience gap with hardly any mid-level architects. You either had people with little experience or 10+ years.
You have to realize that most firms aren't hiring new people to bring in fresh ideas - they're more concerned with bringing in fresh bodies that have at least a shread of talent or some other skills (3D modeling for one).
Hey tumbleweed, I'm sitting right next to you. Damn. Say it to my face.
I kid I kid.
This is interesting as I have worked in similarly small firms for most my career, and the turnover is pretty much the same where ever I go. There seems to be two groups: the long term and short term - long being 3 - 5 years and short being 6 months to a year. Each group represents about 50% of the whole.
Unfortunately the long termers take the brunt of the project loads when the short termers leave. Projects don't suffer a lack of continuity. Just the employees.
I don't understand how 8 people don't show, tw. Part time? Lazy office?
In my first job out of grad school (prominent NYC architect) 12 of 22 people turned over in a year. Almost all of them were unhappy, and left. As far as I know, no one was fired, and the office even begged a number of them to stay.
In my last job, a 40 person firm, only a few people turned over each year, despite the fact that much of the office was unhappy and were actively TALKING about leaving. But didn't.
I think it's normal for 10-20% of an office to turn over in a given year.
My first job out of college had an insanely high turnover rate. Out of 40+ people, there were only 7 that had been there over a year, and that includes the principal, three partners, and the janitor. It was a very corporate firm, the type that sucked in people right out of school, put them in charge of a project instantly, let you go to meetings, etc.. but after a while I think most realized (including me, I left after 7 months) that you were slowly loosing your soul in daily increments.
I'm now at a smaller firm with a much stronger foundation of people who have been here since the start... I think it helps that here you actually have a "face" (not anonymous intern #43 at the meeting) and can establish real relationships with your co-workers and clients.
wow! 12/20? 12/22? That's pretty bad.
My office seems pretty similar to dml's. 15 people, we've lost 3-4 people each of the two years I've been here, so around 20% turnover each year. But also, yeah, a lot of people talking about leaving. There is the big gap in experience- several people of a year or two experience, then a bunch of people at 10+ years, and nobody in between. It seems to me like we'd be doing better if there were fewer old people, and more mid-range people. The young people keep leaving because it's already too crowded at the top of the ladder, there's no room to move up.
oh, and all leave of their own choice, no firings whatsoever, in two years. They seem afraid to fire people, even when they really deserve it, and hang on until the person quits.
garpike- you can't be sitting next to me because nobody's here!
lets see, of the 12:
-one has a family in vermont (office is in ca), so he takes really long trips there.
-one is my age, but acts like a teenager trying to skip school all the time... he rearly puts in a solid day, and often doesn't show up for a few days at a time.
-one guy is curently on vacation.
-the owner, who has other pet projects, like real estate.
-the owner's best friend- not sure what his job title is, but he is here about 3 days a week (he has a family in AZ)
-the owner's son. also not sure what he does. he went to school to be an engineer, but we have consultants for that. go figure.
-a 'furniture' girl, who I suspect is the owner's mistress. she puts post-its in magazines when she is here, which is irregularly. she has a company truck. hmmm.
-the office manager is always here.
-the secratary is always here.
-and I must be forgetting some people, who really don't come in very often.
I've lost 5 people in 10 years in a 4-6 person firm
- First guy left to start his own firm
- One left because his work visa expired
- one left to move with her husband back east for his first career job ( standing offer for her to come back and work when they decide to return )
- Fired one guy for continuous screw ups
- One left to work in the states at a larger more prestigous office.
The only one that I hummed and hawwed over was the firing, although I'm glad the last left because they weren't into it and motivationally didn't have their head in the projects. Always better to have people into the work than not even if it kills the ability to get the work done on schedule. That way you know its done well.
mdlerweed,
is anyone ever called on their absenteeism? you seem to be in a very unique office. in other places, if someone just didn't show up a couple of times a week, i think they'd quickly be fired.
no, it is almost ignored. I really don't understand how it is acceptable. the first time the young guy didn't show up for 3 days (with no call), not only did I assume he was in the hospital or something (silly me), but also assumed it was understood he would not be returning (also a silly asumption).
it seems as if everybody has some sort of 'special circumstance' here, and is therefore not held accountable.
In the 6mo. I've been here 7 of 15 full timers have left (1 fired, 6 quit) so before the year is up I expect, statistically anyway, for nobody to be left who was here when I started. Including me.
When I added this up, I got a little depressed.
Wait, mdlerweed - do you work in the white house?
Our studio has a steady through-flow of contract staff because it's damned hard to get good people in London at the moment. We probably have 2 contract people around at any one time and they're normally only here for 2-3 months (although some have stayed a year).
Three people have left in the last 9 months. One (interior designer) changed firm, one was fired & one quit having run a competition so badly (& lost his temper so seriously in the process) that he just didn't have the confidence of the rest of the studio.
Architecture firms in London are dying for staff right now. It doesn't make the pay (much) better, but it does mean there's loads of choice for us young'uns right now.
Another London firm I know of (one that happens to have won the Stirling Prize twice in the last decade & recently had one of it's projects comemorated on a £1 coin) has 30 people leaving in the next few weeks or who have recently left. Apparently there are at least 2 leaving parties a week.
The way I hear it, they grew really fast and hired a load of talented people but then took on work that the staff aren't enjoying. They're crying out for new people. If anyone wants a pretty good name on their CV, now's your chance!
The average industry turnover rate for AEP firms according to my company's research is 14.5% presently. This includes voluntary and involuntary turnover. We do management consulting and specialize in architecture and engineering clients. If your office is concerned with retention, you should check out our "A/E Recruitment & Retention Cookbook" at www.zweigwhite.com
No, I wouldn't like any SPAM with that, thanks.
wow, I thought I had a quite particular experience a few years ago until i read this thread
by the point that I left this 4-6 person firm after two years, I was the only continuous employee besides the owner, and I saw a dozen people in and out the door. It was the worst run organization i've ever seen, the owner low-balled every job, and expected you to work extra w/out pay for it, which i refused to do, and quit over the pressure for it. Didn't keep him from calling me a year later to try to lure me back after finding out I was looking for another job ... idoit.
In a number of the jobs I've had, I've been amazed at how oblivious to employee contentment the bosses have been. Turnover has been sky-high, but the bosses ignore, manipulate, or intimidate their employees nonetheless (then wonder why there aren't more good people out there.)
Treat your employees right, and generally they'll do good work. Pay decently, respect them, hear them out.
oddly enough, that's what's created my situation. My boss has tried to do right by his employees, and the result is that some have stayed on past their expiration date. Now the organization is top-heavy, and offers no opportunity to younger employees, because there's already not enough to go around among those who have been there for many years already.
rationalist - I would advise spreading those bathroom details upward...
Just trying to be helpful. Not asking you to sign up your email or address anything.
where do all those hot london firms advertise their job openings??? or do I just send them my cv?
I can say in ten years I haven't fired anyone....and my two dogs at my feet are very loyal! My wife well she can give me a shot in the butt from time to time...but it is well deserving...I know I'm a pain to work with....you know the guy with the pile of papers...and mrs..not a thing out of place. However she is still with me after seven years...so she isn't bored.
Just send them your CV. Blanket bomb them with a good paper copy (or digital if it's well-formatted and doesn't have to be printed). Of course, make it seem like their specific firm is your first choice, don't let them know they're one of a hundred! I assume the same goes for any city though.
From what I can tell, by the time a firm advertises for staff it has exhausted the good CVs it had on file. Advertising for staff costs £££ that bosses would rather not pay.
Treekiller, get your CV out there in the next few weeks (i.e, before all the grad school projects end) and you may well be in luck. There's an Olympics on after all. Shit needs building and someone has to design it (or that's the idea anyway).
check out the riba website they got jobs posted on there. be warned though its written in english not american.
I remember reading an article 5 or 6 years ago in which someone at NCARB said that the average intern had 4 or 5 jobs while fulfilling IDP, and that the majority of people doing IDP take 4 to 6 years to complete it. So that would be about a job a year for several years - which means that a lot of firms do have to be having pretty high turnover.
The longest I ever stayed in a firm before I went out on my own was about 5 years. But I also worked at a large, old firm for awhile where the the average length of time that most emploiyees had been there was 12 years, and a few had been there more than 30 years (and they weren't partners/owners). I only stayed in that firm for about 18 months. But I was the exception and they all seemed quite surprised that someone was leaving.
Just the facts: of the 70 people in my firm, 46 were there when I started 1.5 years ago. The average 14.5% turnover rate seems about right.
I can't keep up with the new faces. I've actually said out loud to people, "Do you work here?"
mmmm...starting to think we have alot of people here who actually understand the back of baseball cards....all the odds and the odd ones....doesn't anyone work anymore?
there is a rumor at my job about a guy who left for a pack of cigarettes and never came back. The story is that 3 weeks later he came back and sat at his desk like nothing ever happened and no one said anything to to him.
that's what my dad said 3 years ago...
I'm sure he'll be back any minute...
j/k
My firm in Santa Monica has a low turnover- it is a very lathargic, comfortable environment, much like its location. We're 45 deep and since starting a year and a half ago, there have maybe been 6 people added and 2 people lost.
probably about 30% annual turnover at my +100 person office. there are good and bad sides to it -- i think the younger you are the more high turnover works to your benefit (if you can hang in there). it certainly diminishes the cost/time efficiency of projects though, which is unfortunate.
Almost a year here. No one has left but 4 added after me.
Company overall seems to be very stable with some of the VP's having been here 30+years. Company is spread over muiltiple states, but all offices appear to be oddly balanced with experience levels, upper, mid, and interns.
And I think the 4-5 jobs for interns might be the norm but still looks bad. If you choose well, you can get IDP done at 1-2 stops. Maybe 3.
Around here it is pretty common knowledge that if you want a pay/benefit increase, switch jobs. Our office of 12 has lost 3 in the last 6 months, another one leaving in a month, 1 other leaving soon, and anyone under 40 talking about leaving daily.
j
wait..is tumbleweed also mdlerweed?
here there's been a bit of turnover.. 8 people...there have been
four other people in the past year and a half...one was an intern,
one returned to canada, one was a mom and went back to her own
practice and one quit after a day...called at 10:30
of the second day to say he wasn't coming in. pretty glad
personally cause he literally shook our shared desk with how hard
he typed/moused.
Just realized, there are two people (one being myself) already lined up to be gone by the end of this summer, so I anticipate this year's turnover being higher than other years.
mdlerweed = mdler + tumbleweed. They seem to both have the password to mdlerweed, so sometimes it's one and sometimes it's the other.
out of an office of 7: 3 left in the past year and have all been replaced... one of those replacee's being myself.
unfortunately for them though i will be #4 :)
my office has a pretty low turnover rate. we've lost 1 and hired 1 full time in a year. we have a fabrication shop which has a slightly higher turn over rate; i think they've had a little more difficulty in finding good employees.
personally i'm not planning on staying at this office for more than another 1+ year, but it isn't so much about the office as it is about the location.
there are so many young professionals who adopt this attitude (for good reasons) that i think we have to be careful about how we think of "turnover" -- many people entering our profession make a conscious decision to job-hop for a few years to try-out several different firms. others -- there are others who seemingly cannot stay in one place for very long and will job hop all of their careers. our profession is populated by large numbers of both.
there is very little a firm can do to reduce this particular type of turnover ... short of not hiring these individuals in the first place.
i've worked in a number of different firms over the years. some had great hr programs / others did not. either way, turnover seems to be a constant thread in our profession and i'm not all that convinced that a firm's policies and approaches to its staff can do a great deal to reduce turnover. certainly - bad practices will increase turnover. but even the best, most enlightened firms still lose good people with regularity.
while i'm not defending weak hr practices, because a certain degree of turnover seems inevitable, i can understand why some firms don't invest heavily in the things that most hr professionals will tell you to do ... for those firms, i think there's a whole "what's the point - they're not going to be loyal no matter what we do" attitude in play.
one person fired in the last year and a half. 8 of us total.
last office - one person fired, and one person resigned in 3.5 years. out of 20ish in the whole office.
Just handed in my notice after 3 months. Felt a bit bad, but the Director is a goober. I cannot work with the guy.
The lats straw was a 6pm Friday meeting he agreed to and then pulled out of at the last minute, allowing me to go it alone trying to defend his design to an aggressive developer client when it clearly didn't work in the first place.
2 More weeks and I'm goooone!
So, anyone in a good London office who's hiring?
wow. Just found out that our turnover for this year is going to be at least 40%. Four people have quit since the start of the year, and two more (myself included) are known to be leaving at later dates. So 6/15 will be gone by September, and who knows what else will happen in the meantime?
i'm in a 15 person firm. have been here for 4 years. i'm the second most senior person here...
no one stays here longer than two years because its ridiculously organized...that is, it isn't at all.
25% ?
50%....I quit today. And then there was only 1.
four people left last week. 3 two weeks ago. 2 last month. office of 200. but we just hired four more. so whats that?
oh, in a whole year... i will take a stab at 35%