Growing your very own principals Getting your folks hands-on, early on, in several key areas will provide a better picture of what they can expect as they grow into management and leadership roles. More »
More career sacrifices for women Women are more likely to put marriage and children on hold, while men are more likely to hand personal responsibilities off to spouses. Both men and women have difficulty juggling the demands of work and their personal lives and believe that a variety of informal and formal flexible arrangements would make life easier, according to a recent report from research firm Catalyst (New York, NY). More »
Slashing 401(k) fees A/E firm leaders look for ways to cut costs while maintaining an important benefit. While retirement offerings like 401(k) plans are a critical benefit for attracting and retaining employees, A/E firm leaders are being forced to take a look at modifying their 401(k) plans as rising fees make it more difficult to maintain the status quo. More »
Custom knowledge-management systems Not finding exactly what they want in the marketplace, some firms turn to in-house systems to create efficiencies in the workplace. More »
Tracking staff turnover Just keeping tabs on your firm-wide turnover rate won’t give you the full picture on your firm’s retention. If your human resources manager tells you that your firm experienced 10% staff turnover last year, would you celebrate or worry? More »
Entrepreneurship is alive and well Not even bad economic figures are preventing those with a desire to start their own businesses from taking the plunge. After two years of reported decline, entrepreneurial activity in the United States is back on the rise. More »
Forecasting costs in today’s economy With surging prices for certain construction materials, coming up with an
accurate estimate can be close to impossible. If the rising cost of steel wasn’t
enough to aggravate design firms, construction firms, and clients, it appears as
though concrete costs are going to add some more stress into the mix. More »
Taking a careful approach to design-build One A/E firm leader shares his firm’s lessons on the benefits and pitfalls of design-build. Design-build may be a quicker and less-expensive way of getting some projects done, but that doesn’t mean this method has no disadvantages, according to Peter McNulty, vice president of surface transportation for A/E giant URS Corporation (San Francisco, CA). More »
