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Flextime and client service The two don’t have to be at odds with each other. Make sure someone’s at least answering the phones so perks don’t impede responsiveness.
C oming off the high of our annual Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Conference at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, we are transitioning our focus toward end- of-year strategic planning for our clients. Likewise, my hope is that every firm leader reading this article does the same for their organization. I also hope you get help from an industry expert like ourselves as opposed to local “facilitators.” Comprehensive knowledge of this industry is critical to understanding your firm at a deep enough level to design a meaningful plan that is more than clichés and empty buzzwords.
Chad Clinehens
I say all this to stress the importance of understanding the industry and what your peer firms are doing. Our planning process is intense in data collection and analysis. One part of that process is interviewing clients of the AEC firms that we are engaged with. One of the growing complaints we get from your clients is related to responsiveness. “There’s a growing conflict between employee retention and client service – two of the biggest challenges faced by AEC firms.” They are specifically referencing the problems they are having with firms that have modified working hours. Programs like “Four 10s with Friday off,” or “Half Day Fridays,” or “Modified Summertime Hours” are commonly referenced by your clients. Going back to the subject of awards, our largest program is the Best Firms to Work For. We survey
more than 11,000 employees from hundreds of firms in the United States and Canada. One of the top perks earning points with your employees is modified work schedules like those referenced above. And therein lies the problem. There’s a growing conflict between employee retention and client service – two of the biggest challenges faced by AEC firms. Even if your company does not have one of these modified work-hours programs, this emerging conflict still applies to you. As more millennials enter the workforce, they will dictate new policies and programs in your organization, many of which will provide a greater level of flexibility in some form. If your firm does have one of these programs, I would strongly encourage you to survey your clients using a third party to find out how your people are doing meeting their needs. All of this speaks to the importance of an annual review and update of your strategic and business plans. Things are changing fast out there and we
See CHAD CLINEHENS, page 8
THE ZWEIG LETTER November 7, 2016, ISSUE 1175
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