Using Your Firm’s Internal Knowledge to Your Advantage

Knowledge management, which is distinct from project management, can be equally critical to a design firm’s success. The majority of architects and interior designers are not likely dealing with spreadsheets of data on a daily basis, but that also means that those same designers may be missing out on a potential goldmine of information from current and past projects. Proper knowledge management will provide a foundation that can be harnessed to grow business development and marketing efforts, support existing and future projects, and empower employees.

In my work, I find it worthwhile to compile project data into one database to make comparisons across clients, as well as to see how similar data sets begin to change over time. Each of my strategy projects starts with what is essentially a data dump of all things related to utilization and occupancy of the workplace. The next step often requires inputting the information into a database to begin to make sense of all of the numbers.

Here are three areas in which you may want to rethink how your firm manages its knowledge by initiating new internal processes.

Project knowledge
Even if you are not downloading a ton of numbers from your clients on a regular basis, there is significant information that is contained in a project that often does not find itself in a common repository during closeout. For example, your firm’s programming information—for the project types that it specializes in—is useful over time. Rather than quoting a generic number to your new clients about the average usable square footage per person in the tech industry, you may be able to tell a story, depending on your firm’s history, about how the spaces you have designed for similar clients have evolved over time. The same programmatic information catalogued from more recent clients may offer better benchmark comparisons if a client wants to know what other organizations of a similar size are doing now.

Leader knowledge
I have a high level of anxiety at the thought of any of my bosses retiring. The anxiety is not as much about stepping into their position as it is about losing their knowledge. When they leave, my opportunity to continue to learn from them will disappear, along with access to their wealth of knowledge. This should be of some concern in our industry overall, as we look at the population of Baby Boomers who are approaching retirement age. How do we better encapsulate the experience and lessons learned from firm leaders before they leave?

When considering transition planning within your firm, ensure that there is adequate time for the passing on of knowledge at all levels. That lesson is top of mind for me in one of my current projects at Savills Studley. For the relocation of the Mercedes- Benz USA headquarters from New Jersey to Atlanta, only about 200 of the company’s 1,000 employees are choosing to make the move. The response has required the entire organization to retain nearly twice as many individuals on the payroll during the transition so that there is enough time to successfully transfer knowledge from those in New Jersey to the many new hires in Georgia.

Experience knowledge
Creating a database of interview experiences enables an even greater learning opportunity for the entire firm, including future employees. Many firms have regular internal discussions to share lessons learned from a prospective client meeting or a visit to the job site, but this information is usually only available to the few who were in attendance and is not recorded for posterity. Document the discussion. A repository of information on meetings with prospective clients, for example, would be invaluable to your firm in the future. What questions were asked? What was discussed? What was the client most concerned about? What proposed solutions did the client respond positively to? Collecting this information over time will be a valuable resource for both you and the next generation within your firm.

How is your firm capturing and sharing knowledge, and how can it be done better?

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This article was originally published in Contract Magazine.