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Given today’s economy, it is especially challenging for firms to maintain a strong commitment to both their employees and the world around them. Yet, this is exactly what sets this year’s Best Architecture Firms to Work For apart from their peers.
Heightened internal staff communication and unwavering benefits as well as a strong push toward firm-wide environmental accountability drove the 2010 awardees to the top of the list.
The participants
This year’s fifth annual Best Architecture Firms to Work For ranking is the result of participation from 26 firms, down from 31 in 2009. Seven newcomers made this year’s top 14 ranking (see table on page 19), while the single honorable mention went to a new awardee as well: Fentress Architects.
More than 50 percent of this year’s participants, including the top three firms, are mid-sized, with 50-199 employees, while 42 percent are small firms with fewer than 50 staff members and just one large firm employs more than 200 professionals. With anywhere from 14 to 99 years in business, all 26 firms are privately owned, citing between one and 63 owners and 10 to 274 employees.
Despite the economic recession, as many as 60 percent of participating firms reported positive average annual growth during the last three years, while 15 percent reported unchanged or stable growth. The average annual turnover rate was just 15 percent in 2009, with the greatest source of new hires from referrals or word of mouth.
As many as 65 percent of firms conducted layoffs, while 58 percent reported salary freezes last year. Thirteen percent of these firms were able to lift the freezes across the board in 2010, while others lifted them only for select employees and one gave 2009 year-end bonuses instead to compensate. Overall, 23 of the 26, or 88 percent, of firms awarded at least some type of monetary bonus last year.
Because money was tight for a large number of firms, many sought to demonstrate their commitment to staff members in non-monetary ways. The majority reported instituting company-wide forums, meetings, or employee retreats to promote increased communication between management and staff. One firm reported increased transparency in sharing financial statements across the firm, while another instituted record promotions to thank staff for their “long-term loyalty and outstanding achievement during this tough economic time.”
Commitment to the environment was top on every firm’s list in 2009 as well, with as many as 84 percent of firms reporting a dedicated green practices coordinator or committee. Firm-wide professional LEED accreditation became a goal for 96 percent of applicants, while others instituted recycling programs, sustainability newsletters, and LEED accreditation study groups. One firm even moved into the only LEED Platinum building in the area to demonstrate its commitment to the environment.
Check out “Best Firms To Work For ranked by size” below, where the top firms are broken out by firm size. Congratulations to Corgan Associates, Inc., the No. 1 large firm; TowerPinkster, the No. 1 mid-size firm; and Mackey Mitchell Architects, the No. 1 small firm!
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Best Firms To Work For ranked by size TOP 3 SMALL FIRMS (<50 employees)
TOP 3 MEDIUM FIRMS (50-199 employees)
TOP LARGE FIRM (≥200 employees)
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Superlative spotlight
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| The Judges | |||||
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Nancy Usrey, FSMPS, CPSM Principal Consultant Partners Usrey Rowlett, Texas |
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Carol Metzner President The Metzner Group, LLC Myersville, Md. |
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Pamela Britton Principal The Knowledge Environment Aspen, Colo. |
The process
The application period for the Best Architecture Firms to Work For ranking began in January. Firms completed an online form known as the Corporate Survey and invited their staff to complete an Employee Survey. Firms were required to achieve a 20-percent minimum response rate for the anonymous survey. Next, the Corporate and Employee Surveys, which make up the two equally weighted components, were evaluated and subsequently ranked the firms. Information about the top three firms was reviewed by a judging panel, who determined their final ranks. For a more detailed description of the application and grading process, go to www.bestfirmstoworkfor.com.
The top three
Newcomers and veteran firms alike make their way to the top of the 2010 ranking.
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First place – Rising from number two on last year’s ranking, Kalamazoo, Mich.-based TowerPinkster (www.towerpinkster.com) is "making it real" as the No. 1 Architecture Firm to Work For. Established in 1953, the firm boasts more than 60 employees, including two new owners added last year, and focuses on K-12 and higher education, government, and health care projects.
TowerPinkster represents the ideal in employee and environmental commitment, with its ability to maintain a 4-percent average employee salary increase and a variety of benefits in 2009.
“While other firms have made decisions to cut benefit programs, TowerPinkster maintained its benefits and compensation programs, stating ‘…it is difficult to have satisfied clients with less than satisfied employees’,” said Judge Carol A. Metzner, president of The Metzner Group, LLC, (www.themetznergroup.com) in Myersville, Md. “Employees overwhelmingly describe confidence in the firm’s management team to lead them through these difficult market conditions. This firm acts to fulfill corporate goals and objectives.”
Internal bi-weekly staff and team meetings focus on communication, teamwork, productivity, and quality and provide employees with an opportunity to discuss concerns or issues openly regarding the firm. Each year’s on-going, off-site team-building retreats promote “communication training” and help management and non-management employees “build/strengthen bonds,” according to the firm.
“[TowerPinkster] invests in the successes of their employees,” said Judge Nancy Usrey, principal consultant of Partners Usrey in Rowlett, Texas. “Off-site team-building retreats and team training give employees useful tools for interaction with others at work and home.”
Employee benefits unique to TowerPinkster include concierge services administrated by the firm’s Human Resources Department with dry cleaning, car detailing, shipping and notary services, animal care, appointment and vacation scheduling as well as preparing resumes, making employment contacts, and monitoring employment websites and newspaper ads for a team member’s displaced spouse. Additionally, TowerPinkster offers employees eight hours of paid time off annually for community service, totaling as many as 570 hours, a benefit that cost the firm nearly $20,000 in 2009.
In an effort to work toward 100-percent employee LEED accreditation, TowerPinkster provides an eight-week, off-site training program utilizing professional instructors for all individuals preparing to take the exam. In 2009, 12 additional team members became LEED accredited. The firm also endows a scholarship at nearby Kalamazoo College for study in sustainability.
“[I’m] impressed with their lifelong commitment to education, in particular LEED accreditation,” said Judge Pamela Britton of The Knowledge Environment, LLC, in Aspen, Colo.
Second place — New to the list this year, NAC|Architecture (www.nwarchco.com), headquartered in Spokane, Wash., employs 135 professionals including 34 owners, one of whom was added in 2009. Focusing its work in the education and healthcare markets, NAC is committed to its staff and the environment.
Representative of the firm’s “Leadership through Collaboration” corporate culture, NAC developed a coaching-based, professional development program last year to replace the annual review process. Rather than assessing performance and finding corrective action, the new program focuses on goal setting achieved by mentoring. Furthermore, individualized goal setting was also aligned with the firm’s strategic plan in 2009.
“Good communication promotes transparency, participation, and empowerment, all of which facilitate the highly collaborative environment [at NAC],” said Usrey. “Small discussion groups, brownbag lunches, and individual conversations helped manage the pulse of the firm. Aligning individual professional development with the strategic plan shows the employees how their successes affect the firm’s successes.”
Firm-wide benefits include NAC’s unique Health Advocate, a free service offered to employees and their families to help navigate the health care system, including elder care issues, disability assistance, insurance claim help, appointment scheduling, location and research of medical treatments, and assistance with complex medical issues and more.
NAC also created thought leadership positions throughout the firm in an effort to infuse new thinking into its design work and further career development. Britton says this “strong theme of institutional knowledge development, including its thought leaders and lifelong learning” catapulted the firm to the top of the ranking.
Exemplifying NAC’s environmental commitment is the firm’s cost offset of mass transit for staff members and its donation to the University of Washington program working to design a net-zero portable classroom that will ultimately be used by K-12 schools across the region and beyond. Additionally, the firm recently built a $4 million sustainable addition to its headquarters office, which President and CEO Bruce E. Blackmer believes has boosted morale.
Third place — Rising from number four last year, Scott&Goble Architects (SGA, www.scottgoble.com), provides national retail and volume build architecture services from its headquarters in Tulsa, Okla., as well as two satellite offices in Bentonville, Ark., and Berkeley, Calif. This 15-year-old firm employs 84 professionals, including nine owners, and has already earned itself a reputation as a Best Firm To Work For, thanks to the multiple industry and statewide employment awards it has recently won.
Weekly company-wide Monday morning and town hall meetings where satellite offices join via video conference as well as “What’s on your mind” luncheons and individual quarterly meetings with the firm’s president showcase the management’s commitment to its staff, while providing a open dialogue for concerns and ideas.
“An open-door policy minimizes stress during strong market conditions and certainly goes a long way in building trust with staff in these challenging times,” said Metzner. “A quarterly performance review process allows managers and staff specific feedback on successes and areas for improvement. Information is power and SGA empowers its staff!”
And it’s true. SGA has learned that this type of strong employee commitment can reap many reciprocal benefits. “No layoffs or voluntary turnover in three years!” said Usrey. “The employees recognize that the lack of negative impact on them is the result of committed leadership, strong business management, and personal sacrifice at the top.”
In addition to 19 LEED-accredited professionals on staff, SGA is also an Energy Star Partner, working with clients to design and build more energy efficient buildings with reduced environmental impact.
Conclusion
Maintaining a strong sense of responsibility to staff and the environment is what has cemented the bonds created between the 2010 Best Architecture Firms To Work For and their employees. Congratulations to the top firms and keep up the good work! Thanks to all 26-applicant firms and the judges who made this year’s ranking a success.
Mark your calendar!
If your firm didn’t apply this year, if you didn’t make the list, or even if you are a ranked firm, you are encouraged to apply next year. To be sure you don’t miss out on the 2011 application information, sign up today for our Contact List at www.bestfirmstoworkfor.com/2011. We’ll notify you directly via e-mail when the 2011 applications are posted online. One important note to newcomers: Rest assured that the names of firms that apply but do not make the list will not be revealed. Hope to see you on the list in 2011!
For more information visit, www.bestfirmstoworkfor.com.
