Healthcare Design - October 2017 - 20

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the healthcare design field grows, colleges and universities
continue to develop new programs and enrich current curriculums to foster the
next generation of thoughtful, well-rounded, and empathic healthcare designers, architects, interior designers, facility planners, and construction and engineering professionals. As these young hires enter the industry, seasoned experts
at firms across the country are ready to mentor, guide, and propel this new talent. We asked our Editorial Advisory Board members and their colleagues to
weigh in on what attributes they're seeking in recent graduates, the challenges of
attracting talent, and what advice they have for the next generation of healthcare design professionals. Here's what they had to say.-Anne DiNardo
S AWARENESS OF

Q : W H AT S K I L L S / AT T R I B U T E S A R E Y O U L O O K I N G F O R

"The baseline includes talent and communications skills,
but the differentiators are an open mind, the ability to collaborate, and being a great listener,
with motivation and a passion to make a difference and
interest in working with others to learn and achieve it."-
Carolyn BaRoss, principal, firmwide healthcare interior
design director, Perkins+Will
"Enthusiasm, a curious mind, and the ability to work
in a team-oriented environment. ...These are the
differentiators that separate good candidates from great
ones."-Kurt Spiering, vice president, HGA Architects and
Engineers

You're either a
critical thinker or you're
not. We need staff who
will think through
issues and make critical
decisions well for our
clients.

IN YOUNG HIRES?

-Catherine L. Gow, principal, health
facilities planning, Francis Cauffman

"Healthcare environments in many ways have become
more and more prescriptive as evidence-based design,
LEED, and Well buildings make their mark in the health
and wellness environment. At the same time, the industry's want and need for creativity and innovation is at an all-time high.
Critical thinkers can discover the new opportunities."
-Tom Trenolone, design director, central region, HDR

Y O U N G TA L E N T A N D H O W I S Y O U R O R G A N I Z AT I O N
O V E R C O M I N G T H AT ?

Q : W H AT C A R E E R A D V I C E D O Y O U
H AV E F O R Y O U N G P R O F E S S I O N A L S
ENTERING THE FIELD?

"Young professionals should immerse themselves as much as possible in activities that
provide exposure to the people who
provide patient care. For me personally,
my interactions with the amazing people of the
nursing profession are always motivating. Beyond that, this exposure will expand their ability to understand the inner workings and build
their capacity for empathy."-Tom Chessum,
principal, CO Architects

"Be a sponge to learn from fellow workers,
clients, other professionals (consultants, contractors, and engineers) and get exposed to a variety of project types-not just healthcare."
-Karl Sonnenberg, partner, ZGF Architects LLP

"Keeping them focused in one building type over a prolonged period.
Because of the immense complexities in this building type, it takes

a long time to develop competency and then mastery.

Some don't have the patience for the long haul and leave the practice for
other less complicated building types. Because we have multiple building types within our practice, we regularly offer staff opportunities to investigate other building typologies by working on other projects. We've
found that this experience brings new ideas into our healthcare practice
and makes our design responses richer because of this perspective."
-Kurt Spiering

"Develop your own five-year plan

that answers the following questions: Where do
you want to be? What do you want to do? How
much do you want to make? What do you want to
accomplish? Giving millennials clarity in their
path of progression in our design profession can
only assist in the greater whole, which is a winwin."-Steve Stokes

"Attracting younger talent away from the large market cities with the larger
firms that have name recognition. We're overcoming this by integrating [young hires] into the design process and project

OCTOBER 2017

"Being too big. The challenges of working for a very large firm can be vast,
and to a young hire, it can provide many obstacles. For example, millennials want an environment that gives them a chance to advance
quickly-with or without sacrifice. Candidates
might believe those opportunities only exist
in smaller firms and that larger firms have too
many levels and layers. However, this is not always the case. We're trying to overcome this by
proving to be open, honest, and transparent."
-Steve Stokes, senior associate vice president,
CallisonRTKL

"Look for a culture fit for the long haul. Be patient. Select a place and opportunity to
thrive, and don't be complacent."-Jeff
Stouffer, executive vice president, health group
director, HKS Inc.

Q : W H AT ' S T H E B I G G E S T C H A L L E N G E T O AT T R A C T I N G

team from day one. Their voice and point of view
are important to diversity of thought for the project team, and we emphasize their involvement
and contribution."-Michael Lied, principal, director of healthcare, GBBN Architects Inc.

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Healthcare Design - October 2017

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