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NEW FROM ZWEIG GROUP
2020 POLICIES, PROCEDURES & BENEFITS SURVEY REPORT Zweig Group surveyed AEC industry firms on their workplace policies, benefits, HR staff composition, HR operating expenses, and other important workplace issues and challenges. Data was collected from firms of every size, type, and region of the country. The 2020 edition includes updated data on response to COVID-19 including project, projection, budget, and policy changes. The results of this study will help you benchmark your AEC firm in all areas related to benefits and compensation. The 2020 Policies, Procedures & Benefits Survey Report of AEC Firms provides you with industry statistics on policies and procedures, so you can support your policy decisions with hard data. Use the 2020 Policies, Procedures & Benefits Survey Report to: ❚ ❚ Ensure your firm’s benefits and policies are competitive with industry norms, to help you recruit and retain employees ❚ ❚ Identify HR operating expenses that you can — or can’t — afford to cut ❚ ❚ Benchmark your firm’s medical, dental, and life insurance packages ❚ ❚ Support your firm’s paid-time-off and other policies with hard data on industry norms
❚ ❚ Find out if firms are projecting benefits increases and make sure your budget aligns with the industry ❚ ❚ Get data on HR directors’ typical backgrounds, education, roles, and compensation
The key to growing your firm and reaching your strategic goals often rests with the quality of your employees, and the quality of your firm’s policies, procedures, and benefits is critical to hiring and retaining a top-notch workforce. The data presented in the 2020 Policies, Procedures & Benefits Survey Report is broken down by firm type, size, region, and other important factors, so you can make accurate comparisons between your firm and others. Click here to learn more.
CHRISTINA ZWEIG NIEHUES, from page 1
environment” (4.7/5) followed by interesting projects/unique work (4.2/5). Difficulties in the hiring process are most often due to external factors – firms still state a “lack of qualified candidates” as the top impediment to successful hiring. The hiring environment remains competitive, with firms giving an average of just eight days for a candidate to accept or reject an employment offer. Even with COVID-19, perhaps even more so, there’s still a talent shortage and a need to move quickly when engaging with a person in the hiring process. AEC firms that are recruiting successfully know it’s necessary to put their best foot forward, because most people don’t expect to negotiate much at this point. Along with the need to move quickly, there is also the need to streamline processes – do you really need two phone interviews, a Skype interview, and in-person panel interview before making a decision? With more of the AEC industry workforce working from home, turnover rates are only expected to increase over the next year – for both positive and negative reasons. Communication breakdowns, increased stress and pressure, and less streamlined processes are adding to the frustrations of many people in the industry, while the ability to work from anywhere is opening up a new world of non-location specific job opportunities. As a firm owner or leader, it’s very important to pay attention to both of these factors and ensure your workplace (virtual or not) is set up in a way to retain and value key employees. For those who are hiring, geography may be less important for certain job roles and nimble firms may be able to expand workplace flexibility in a way to attract new candidates. For more information check out Zweig Group’s 2020 Policies, Procedures & Benefits Report and the new Q3 update of Zweig Group’s COVID-19 Survey. CHRISTINA ZWEIG NIEHUES is Zweig Group’s director of research and e-commerce. She can be reached at czweig@zweiggroup.com.
1200 North College Ave. Fayetteville, AR 72703 Chad Clinehens | Publisher cclinehens@zweiggroup.com Sara Parkman | Senior Editor & Designer sparkman@zweiggroup.com Christina Zweig | Contributing Editor czweig@zweiggroup.com Liisa Andreassen | Correspondent landreassen@zweiggroup.com
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THE ZWEIG LETTER AUGUST 3, 2020, ISSUE 1355
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