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n Beasley

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proven to be ineffective, or even counterproductive, to your firm? JB: We have clear disciplinary standards and apply them uniformly, but underperforming employees are a diffi- cult issue, especially with the shortage of labor in our in- dustry. We will give underperformers verbal and written evaluations explaining specific areas where they are not meeting our expectations. We give the employee a reason- able amount of time to respond and correct the problems. Should they fail to respond to our evaluation, we will termi- nate the employee. We are a fast-paced, high-performance company, and underperformers are detrimental to the mo- rale of our work force and the quality of our services. TZL: Firms that have principals and firm owners that lower their compensation and invest back into the firm perform better, grow quicker, and have higher valua- tions. How do you balance owner compensation with in- vestment in the firm? JB: While the two founding principals of the company have base compensation higher than the others, those principals have lower than industry average salaries but are entitled to a percentage of profits for the studios which they lead. Each year the principals meet to decide on the percentage of overall corporate profit which will remain in the company, and not be subject to distribution to shareholders. This per- centage changes annually based on company performance, projected capital requirements, economic conditions, etc. The true compensation for our principals is measured in the increase in value of their stock. TZL: How does marketing contribute to your success rate? Are you content with your marketing efforts, or do you think you should increase/decrease marketing? JB: Business is changing so fast now that I don’t see howany- one can be content with their marketing efforts! We are con- stantly striving to increaseourmarketing.We seeadirect cor- relation between our marketing efforts and our success rate, and this year we added two additional full time business de- velopment managers to nurture existing client relationships and develop new client relationships in all of the markets we serve. Hiring an outside consultant to handle our social media program has been a great decision, and we are seeing positive market awareness across several platforms we had See CONFERENCE CALL, page 8 “Identifying future leaders early in their careers has been very important to our growth and success, and while we occasionally lose a key person to another firm, our retention record for top people has been excellent.”

atmosphere, allowing flexibility in work/life schedules, sharing company information, creating opportunities for personal and professional growth, and rewarding perfor- mance over tenure are all important to today’s workforce. “Culture is the glue that holds creative companies together, and providing a collaborative atmosphere, allowing flexibility in work/life schedules, sharing company information, creating opportunities for personal and professional growth, and rewarding performance over tenure are all important to today’s workforce.” TZL: The talent war in the A/E industry is here. What steps do you take to create the leadership pipeline need- ed to retain your top people and not lose them to other firms? JB: The best way to retain our top people has been to create a company that they don’t want to leave. Our culture includes open and honest communication about the company, both good and bad, operational and financial. We empower key people to make important decisions, without having to call special meetings or waste time. We respect and support the desired career paths of our top people, and provide mentor- ship and training in skills that they want and we know they will need to lead the company. We pay above industry aver- age salaries and bonuses, and promote on performance, not tenure. Identifying future leaders early in their careers has been very important to our growth and success, and while we occasionally lose a key person to another firm, our reten- tion record for top people has been excellent. TZL: The A/E market is great right now. What are you do- ing to cushion your firm in the event of a downturn? JB: Prior to the Great Recession, our practice was heavily based on developer projects, primarily retail, speculative office, and industrial. When these projects began to dwin- dle, we panicked and started chasing every project we could, whether or not we had experience in that project type, with minimal success. In order to qualify for projects outside of our realm of experience, we hired strong designers and managers in higher education, government, justice, multi- family, and hospitality projects. We opened branch offices here and abroad. Diversity in the types of projects we de- sign and clients we serve pulled us out of the recession and helped us grow as the economy turned around. When the next recession comes, and it will, we feel well positioned to adjust to market conditions. TZL: How do you deal with underperforming employ- ees? What are your steps for removal after they have

ober 2, 2017, ISSUE 1218

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