Contract - April 2014 - 34

PHOTO COURTESY RICHARD POLLACK

COLUMNIST

Making Recruiting a Continual Firm Project

by Richard N. Pollack, FAIA, FIIDA

Recruiting for employees is something that a firm typically does only
when there is a need for new staff. I would argue it is too late then,
and that is not the best approach.
The value of a firm is not simply established by your great
designs. Nor is it the sum of your rent and equipment. The value is
completely about the people. The only way to increase a firm's value
is by having the best staff that adds to the quality of the organization,
its ability to provide clients with exceptional service, and to produce
the best design. Firm leaders should always be looking to strengthen
staff by recruiting the best and brightest-not waiting until there
is a specific need to hire.
Of course, you may not feel the need to be looking for new
employees at all times if you do not have the income to support them.
But when you do need new people, how can you find them quickly if
you are not always seeking them out? If you find an absolutely fantastic
person who will be a great asset to the firm, do you just let them go to
a competitor? The best approach is to make recruiting an unceasing
effort, mirroring what should be the firm's relentless focus on
developing new business-even when the firm is busy.
Ongoing recruiting serves additional purposes:
* Word will circulate through the design community and the buzz
on the street will be that the firm is busy and doing well.
* Existing staff will appreciate that the firm is continually working
to improve and grow, contributing to the feeling that they are in
the right organization.
So how do you get into a constant recruiting mindset? The first
step is to build a strategic consensus among the firm's leadership.
Once there is leadership buy-in, a plan must be established to make
recruiting efforts as consistent as timesheets, along with accountability
and appropriate time allocations for staff. The person responsible for
the program should report on recruiting to the full leadership team on
a regular, at least monthly, basis.
Sources for recruiting candidates include AIA and IIDA job
boards, Monster and other general online job boards, LinkedIn, and
business publications, to name a few. Where it is possible to place an
ad, very clear, creative copy should be developed incorporating the

34

personality of the firm. Think about some of the best ads you have
seen. They stand out, are usually funny, and depart from the norm.
An example of the copy might be: "Are you fully satisfied at your job,
have great possibilities for advancement, and can't imagine having new
design opportunities? If so, don't bother submitting your CV to us."
For the advertisement, do not use a position description-that
comes later. The sole initial purpose is to entice great candidates to
respond to a specific recruiting email address. Internally within a firm,
I also recommend offering a bonus to employees if they assist in
recruiting a new hire.
Other sources for potential employees can include allied
professionals, such as furniture, contracting, and engineering
colleagues, and even your larger clients. The latter can also be a superb
combined business development tactic: Ask a client for the names of
people they love to work with in competing design firms. If you later hire
them, you might get more of the client's work. A side benefit is that you
may get interesting information when interviewing a person from a
competing firm.
One of my key techniques when interviewing a candidate would
be to spend several minutes of general conversation to help them feel
comfortable, then tell them that I would not be reviewing their design
work or drawings. Other people in the firm had already looked at their
work and vetted their professional qualifications, and I did not want the
candidate to use the visual aids as a crutch. My only objective in my
meeting a prospective employee was to determine if they had an
exceptional brain and would be a cultural match in the firm.
In overview, a recruiting mindset gives the firm a pipeline of
great professionals to increase the firm's growth and success.
Happy recruiting!

Richard N. Pollack, FAIA, FIIDA, writes a regular column for
Contract on business practices in design and professional
development. Pollack is the CEO of San Francisco-based Pollack
Consulting, which supports firm growth and success through
improved business development, winning presentation techniques,
recruitment of top talent, business coaching, and ownership
transition implementation.
contractdesign.com

APRIL 2014
http://www.contractdesign.com
Contract - April 2014

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