"I Can't Find Any People!"

Before I start, I confess that that what I am about to espouse is more anecdotal then evidential. So, here goes, and I'll start with a question: Where are all the people?

For the last several months, some of our clients have been trying to find trained design and business professionals for some very exciting leadership roles. Truth be told: they can't find people, and it is not for lack of effort. National searches have ended with candidates that are a poor cultural fit (but technically qualified). Several different agencies have been engaged to find a candidate that could easily have been found seven years ago. What happened?

CNN Money recently reported that the labor force has shrunk to a level not seen in 35 years. In August, the labor participation rate -- the percentage of people over 16 who either have a job or are actively searching for one -- fell to 63.2%. That means there are now 90.5 million Americans who don't work and are not counted as part of the labor force. The last time it was that low was in August of 1978.

For the population as a whole, numerous reasons have been cited for this occurrence--retirement of the baby boomers, fewer students who also work or a lack of "good jobs". According to AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, the AIA doesn't track labor participation rates for architects. The government tracks architecture firms in its payroll survey, but doesn’t track the profession in its household survey. As a result, in design and construction, we can only collect anecdotal evidence.

Retirement, consolidation of practices, unwillingness of younger generations to assume leadership roles, the lack of transparency to achieve promotion, frustrations, high stress, low pay, long hours and not enough flexible time remain among the most common reasons for leaving the profession.

A study conducted by the Royal British Institute of Architects cited some of these reasons in their 2003 study of 174 women who left the profession. While they could equally apply to men and women, one thing is sure: We need to offer compelling reasons to lure people back to the profession, or our ability to deliver creative design into the future will be limited.

Karen Compton, CPSM. Karen Compton is principal of A3K Consulting (Glendale, CA), a business development and strategic planning firm specializing in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Ms. Compton is also the founder of Industry Speaks™, a web-based business-to-business portal that connects AEC firms with experienced consultants, provides peer reviews of consultants, reports on key industry trends, and publishes expert reviews of professional courses and books. Contact her at kcompton@a3kconsulting.com.

Did You See It?

I love the Food Network®. Last night Priscilla Yeh of Great Neck, New York, battled to become the Executive Chef at Travertina Restaurant in Chicago. This would be a sleeper of a story except...Priscilla Yeh is a former architect. After the Great Recession of 2008, Priscilla left the industry and entered culinary school.

This begs the question: Just what is the labor participation rate of architects in the United States? CNN Money recently reported that the labor force has shrunk to a level not seen in 35 years. In August, the labor participation rate - the percentage of people over 16 who either have a job or are actively searching for one - fell to 63.2%. That means there are now 90.5 million Americans who don't work and are not counted as part of the labor force. The last time it was that low was in August 1978.

Priscilla Yeh’s story is a sad example of how this is playing out across the country. Unfortunately, there are no statistics available that track the labor participation rate of architects. We can only explore this issue anecdotally. But, here is the real loss: not only did we lose a talented designer to another profession, we lost important intellectual capital. After almost ten years in her career, having worked with "New York City School Construction Authority" and "... on several projects including housing, nursing homes, recreation centers and office spaces,” she walked away from it all.

Where is our lesson? The Great Recession affected us all very deeply and in some permanent, indelible ways. However, we must find ways to retain creative professionals who have invested time and effort in the industry - our intellectual capital. As for Priscilla...she won! She is now the Executive Chef for Travertina. Our loss, but the culinary world's gain!

Karen Compton, CPSM. Karen Compton is principal of A3K Consulting (Glendale, CA), a business development and strategic planning firm specializing in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Ms. Compton is also the founder of Industry Speaks™, a web-based business-to-business portal that connects AEC firms with experienced consultants, provides peer reviews of consultants, reports on key industry trends, and publishes expert reviews of professional courses and books. Contact her at kcompton@a3kconsulting.com.

Survey of Leading Architecture Schools

The 15th Annual DesignIntelligence Survey of Leading Architecture Schools is underway, with responses accepted through August 30. Follow this link to participate.

Facility Design for Decentralized Care: American College of Healthcare Architects Explores Issues

"With healthcare continuing its increase in out-patient treatment, wellness and health maintenance, patients and families will have more opportunities to select care givers based upon a retail perspective. What is Yelp saying about the physicians? Is the provider convenient to my home? Is their environment welcoming? . . . This year’s California Health Facilities Forum will begin by talking about the trends in healthcare and continue discuss various aspects of retail and the outpatient experience."

The AIA California Council and the American College of Healthcare Architects open their annual program brochure with the comments above. The program is scheduled for September 18, 2013, in Garden Grove, California. Featured speakers include:

• Michael Hubble, Senior Director, The Advisory Board Company
• Brendan Kremer, UC San Diego Health System
• Sunil Shah, Kaiser Permanente
• Amber Kemp, Vice President, California Hospital Association
• Dr. John Mattison, Chief Medical Information Officer, Kaiser Permanente
• Dr. Richard Satava, Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Washington
• Isabel Becerra, Chief Executive Officer,The Coalition of Orange County Community Health Centers

Link to program brochure.
Link to registration page.

REALLY? IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU

Networking. Most of us think of this “painful” experience as having to ‘work a room” to develop relationships with people that you don’t know, so that they can help you win work. WRONG.

Networking is the process of developing relationships with individuals that can help YOUR CLIENTS SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS.  This may come as a shock, but, it’s not about you! It IS about your client.

If you can only ask your client one question, ask them what keeps them awake at night.  While you may secretly be hoping that it’s an engineering or design dilemma, don’t be surprised if it’s a business problem.  Maybe they just lost their city manager or administrative vice president; maybe they're facing a union negotiation or just “politics as usual.”  What keeps your clients awake may have nothing to do with your firm or its business line.  Yet, if you are able to solve it, offer a solution or point them in the direction of a resource, and you will become that thing we all want to be—the trusted advisor.  So, how do you do that?

Don’t limit your networking events to events where you will meet your peers and colleagues.  Peer to peer networking doesn’t get you very far.  This is peer to partner networking.  Consider tangential relationships—legal professionals, accountants, human resources, governance and leadership professional—the list is endless.  But, the rules are the same:

1.     Talk less about yourself and more about them; find out what do they do and for what type of client.

2.     Learn types of clients that are best for them.

3.     Understand how you might be of benefit to their business or their professional success.

4.     Finally, whether you see a partnership or not, take their card.

Last week, I had a client ask me if I could refer them to an attorney who could review their existing contract language to see where their agreements might be “weak”.  Believe it or not, I had some referrals and I solved their problem.  Can you solve your clients problems?

A New Idea in This Economy? Are you crazy?

Yes!  I am crazy!

In summer of 2010, phone calls kept streaming into our offices from architecture, engineering and construction clients (current and past) looking for consultants with special skills. They asked for marketing professionals, accountants with experience in the FAR, attorneys with specialties in water intrusion, and more. As if I “had the answers,” they were calling me! While each firm’s need was different, every referral request had one common criterion: “They must know our industry.”

We knew the industry, and we saw an opportunity to meet this demand. With a team of dedicated staff, we designed a searchable database that allows firm owners, small businesses, and emerging practices to find consultant and professional resources that fit their needs. They can read or post reviews of service providers or even recommend one. Today, this database is known as Industry Speaks.™ Our tag line is simple: “Consultants that speak your language.”

I later found out from friends of mine that lead professional associations that they can’t provide recommendations.  Their organizations are concerned about “conflict of interest” or being perceived as “playing favorites.”  So, where does that leave the millions of firms each day trying to find solutions?

The truth is, every day we each have a choice to make.  We can be part of the group of people who complain about why something doesn’t exist or why “they” can’t solve our problems.  Or we can do the thing that drove us to be creators—we can solve our own problems. 

Which choice did you make today?  It’s not too late…be part of a movement to change something that “they” haven’t.  Join us at IndustrySpeaks.  Be part of our Industry Ideas.  We’d love to have you.

Watch our instructional video to learn how you can increase the competitive advantage of your company today!