Who And Where A/E Firms Hire From

I used to think people cared about the house you lived in. That they cared about the car you drove. That they cared about the watch you wore on your wrist or the shoes on your feet.

It wasn't until after I sold my big house and moved into a small one-bedroom apartment, that I realized no one cared. They weren't living there, so it didn't matter to them. They only cared where they lived. And the car they drove.

When it came to work I thought it was about how long you were at the office. It wasn't about the work you did or the quality of your work. Only about how long you were at the office. How many hours did people see you there? Because you must be working hard if you're seen at the office at all hours. This was the work environment I experienced in three different A/E firms and what I've heard about in others. This is a common phenomenon across the industry.

Personally, I enjoy work. Working long hours isn't a problem for me. What I didn't like about these "must be in office" policies is that it enforced the wrong metric. They made the assumption that because you are in the office, we will get more out of you. That being in the office is how "creativity" and "impromptu" meetings happen.

How do you then explain that for 2020, 2021, and 2022, most everyone worked from home and work still got done?

Now, we are getting to the core of the issue. This is what's known as bias. Everyone has one and it's okay to have one. You have to admit that you have one. Kinda like Alcoholics Anonymous, you first must admit you have a problem. Now, I'm not a quitter, so I haven't been, but that's what I hear.

We know that working remotely is doable. Now, the question is two-fold. Are you the type of person who can work remotely, or must you be in the office?

The poll I ran on LinkedIn had a split vote. 35% preferred working remotely, 50% hybrid, and 15% preferred working in the office.

Of the 15% I wonder how many preferred the office because they wanted to get out of the house? And of the 50% hybrid, I wonder how many were that because they wanted to see people. Using work to fulfill social needs.

Here's where it gets interesting. When you look at the largest corporations, what do they have in common?

A sales force that reaches customers across the Country/Globe. They aren't physically where their customers are located. They have many office locations across the Country/Globe.

They want geographic diversity and they want to pay more for overhead. They want to be seen as having a presence in many areas. Even if they only have (1) one person in that office that they pay rent and utilities for.

To me, at the end of the day, this comes down to the personality of the leadership. If they want to see everyone every day, then the talent pool will be limited because not everyone wants to go into the office. And the best don't always live in your area. On top of that, most A/E firms don't have the brand equity to attract top-tier talent.

The name on the door for most is completely interchangeable. You're working on the same types of projects for the same types of clients. Sure, some people are better or worse to work for, but it's pretty much the same. So until you can differentiate yourself, you're stuck with the talent you have in your local area.

Not to mention, you have to become a better communicator to work at distances. When you don't see people every day, your communication loops have to be better. Your ability to write, speak, and convey information, is that much better. Frankly, most haven't developed their communication skills nor know the steps to improve.

The culture of the leadership will dictate not only who you hire, but where you hire from.