Creating a More Democratic Work Environment
A bright fellow named Stephen Simon has set out to "democratize" the process of employer selection for interns and young architects.
As a young professional he looked at the marketplace for Architects and made a keen observation: "As interns and young architects we usually think of ourselves as sellers, hawking our skills to the best firm that will have us. What if we instead consider ourselves as buyers, investing our skills in the best firm we can find? We are the consumers of architectural employment. Unfortunately, we consumers have very little information about the enterprises that we're investing in"
He has set about to create a community where interns and young architects in the huge AEC marketplace can share their experiences and perspectives with others.
He has correctly determined that there is a sizable "information gap" as relates to the ability to identify firm characteristics and workplace styles. So he created a unique website called InsideArch.org to enable young design professionals to share information that will enable them and others to make smarter employment choices.
The site produces a "Firm Report" which provides a set of metrics which recap the survey data gathered by the young professionals who have been exposed to the firm.
In addition to an overall firm score (on a scale from 1-25) for each firm, the InsideArch Firm Reports contain scores in 9 different sub categories called 'Key Metrics' (on a scale from 1-5).
- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- EMPLOYEE CALIBER
- WORK ENVIRONMENT
- OVERALL EXPERIENCE
- MANAGEMENT SKILL
- DESIGN QUALITY
- WORK HOURS
- COMPENSATION
- ATTITUDE TOWARD INTERNS
The majority of architecture firms are small firms. They don't receive a lot of press and may not have a website. Those few firms that do the 'coolest' and most publicized work are inundated with unsolicited resumes, regardless of the quality of the experience for the intern. Lesser-known firms place 'help wanted' ads that offer only cursory descriptions of the firm and its work and often don't even mention the firm's name.
Mr Simon's site enables interns and young architects to evaluate, in a subjective manner, the quality of the firm work experience. Things that are of interest to young A&E professionals include:
- How much will we learn?
- How much opportunity will we have?
- Which firm's work will most interest us?
- Where will our contribution be most respected?
WI th additional information Simon feels that these young professionals can make more intelligent decisions about which firm to invest their time and talent in.
It also seems to have a benefit for top employers.
By letting evaluations expose which Architecture firms are providing high-quality experiences to their employees, those firms would attract a larger pool of candidates, they could be more selective in their hiring, and ultimately produce better work.
(This however puts those firms that let their interns stagnate in a cube in the corner with piles of redlines on their desks would see their applicant pools dry up, the skill levels of their applicants decrease and they would either have to offer higher salaries to compensate or offer a more challenging work experience)
Simon's site seems to provide a community where conceivably everyone wins. Wonder what the workplace would become if there were more sites of this caliber?
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