Brian Vitale, AIA. Co-Managing Director & Design Principal, Gensler, Chicago
When planning and building a progressive, forward-looking vision for the success of your firm, the first step is bringing together the best industry talent who collectively reflect the firm’s culture and values. Diligent efforts to retain and recruit incredible talent with varied skills and tenures can support the growth needed to become a premiere architecture and design firm.
Reports show that nearly 50% of new senior hires leave their firms within 18 months. This begs the question: What is involved in attracting and retaining exceptional design talent? The process begins before posting a new job opening. Firms must broadcast their ethos—for examples, focus on design excellence, community engagement, continuously to the industry, the market, and the larger community. Being open and visible with what your firm represents helps lure people who are passionate about your mission and who mirror the firm’s values. Marketplace awareness can draw more quality talent than any amount of targeted recruiting and is key to ensuring potential hires know what drives your firm.
To find the best people, always be in a recruiting mindset. Looking for talent only when your firm wins an important project limits the pool and increases the risk of making a hire that may not fit culturally. Ask your people to go to events, join organizations, and invest their time in teaching, so your firm’s talent network grows. Open your office to the public by hosting events, lectures, and providing tours for students frequently, so people can experience the firm’s energetic buzz and creative atmosphere.
If your team becomes intrigued by an individual, get to know them, form a relationship, and begin a dialogue about their future goals. Ideally, do not hire someone simply to fill a specific position. Instead ask yourself, "will they help us achieve our vision and expand our services? Do they have the potential to be among our best talent?" Once you decide a person would be a fit, make communication with the candidate timely and personalized. Spend time with them and make sure they understand how important your mission and people are and why they’d be successful working in your firm.
|
|
|
| © Gensler/Gillian Fry |
© Gensler/Gillian Fry |
Andrew Berlin, the American businessman, said that “traits are more important than skills when hiring.” Look for natural leaders, people with integrity, who have the same passion for the industry as you do. It may be best to pass on incredibly talented people if they aren’t a fit. Skills can be taught but follow your instincts about who is best suited for your culture.
Onboarding is as important as finding the right talent and will determine a new hire’s success at any firm. Don’t leave their integration into the culture to happenstance. Just as no athlete has ever realized their full potential without a coach and a plan, every organization must have an onboarding strategy and process to ensure the success of the person you’ve invested time and resources in hiring. Strategically assign a senior staff member who is accountable for the new hire’s success. This person should be responsible for coordinating introductory meetings, such as lunches with office leadership and other key personnel, and clearly sharing expectations of what success looks like with a supportive, actionable plan. The senior staff member should establish weekly one-on-one meetings to answer questions and provide vital mentorship.
Onboarding also involves structured meetings with directors from HR, finance, marketing, communications, legal, and office leadership. These leaders offer incredible support and guidance, so getting to know them and understanding how they function ensures immediate collaboration and a welcome line of communication.
Finally, arrange a few social events where people can get to know each other outside of the office on a more personal level. This creates important bonds, and research shows that when colleagues become friends, the success rate of any hire grows exponentially.
Recruiting and retaining talent is one of the most critical skills a firm can master. Ensuring the success of new people in your firm is something that Gensler’s founder, Art Gensler, FAIA, lived by, sharing advice that echoes the likes of Lee Iacocca and Steve Jobs: “Hire good people and get out of their way!”
_____________________________________
Brian Vitale, AIA, LEED AP is the Co-Managing Director and inspirational leader of Gensler Chicago. Named one of the 50 people “shaping Chicago’s design culture,” his influential work has earned over 90 major design honors locally, nationally, and internationally. Vitale has served as adjunct design faculty at multiple universities and delivered convocation speeches at both the University of Illinois School of Architecture and Columbia College Chicago, where he received an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts for his transformative work. Brian is an alum of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Washington University in St Louis, where he received the school’s Award of Distinction.
(Return to the cover of the April 2025 PM Digest)