Shifting Focus During Radical, Unprecedented Change

The health of an architecture firm is directly tied to the pipeline of incoming work secured. Fortunately, the recovery after the Great Recession has generated a boom in cities across the world. Architects are busy; however, the concern of shifting priorities at this moment make everyone cautious about what is to come from the economically cyclical industry.

 We are entering a new era of workplace culture — by force. Firms across the nation have asked their staff to go home and remain productive. As a millennial, I dreamed about the possibility of one day having a work from home option, but never imagined it would go down like this. Firm owners seemed more than reluctant to change; primarily, they didn’t want to part with the valuable face-to-face culture a creative studio offers. Yet, I watched my friends burn out from the inflexible nature of the industry. Many walked away or shifted over to technology companies that offered greater flexibility, benefits, and income.

 Earlier today, I heard Senator Chuck Schumer say that this moment is particularly challenging because, during moments of crisis, Americans like to come together. Yet, at this particular moment, they physically cannot. Set against the backdrop of social distancing and the shelter-in-place mandates — Americans, and more specifically architecture design studios — are coming together. Screenshots of video conference calls with a dozen to a hundred people are filling my social media feeds. Cats, babies, and house plants now occupy the void where professional peers once stood. Impromptu virtual gatherings and happy hours are bringing the design community together in the face of uncertainty, and the comfort of their own home.

 There is optimism at this moment because, collectively, we know we can remain productive – we have enough work (right now). We also know our talent has been training diligently since the Great Recession to face adversity. While architects and designers cannot jump in and save lives in the short-term, we can design for the short and long-term needs of our communities to solve the exponential problems we are about to face.

 New work brings energy into design practice. It fuels the buzz of busy minds and aspirations of what is possible. What we learned during the Great Recession is that work is not always a promise, and without it, firms face tough decisions. However, unlike the Great Recession, we are better equipped to shift our business models toward greater flexibility and broader problem-solving. From the ashes of the economic bottom, new jobs emerged in firms that previously had not existed. We got creative in showing our clients unique services that diversified our offering and made our design studios unique.

Now we face the daunting task of learning how to manage a virtual studio. It’s only daunting because it’s new, and most of us haven’t done it before. Freelancers have already established the case study creative leaders can look to for transitioning into an online business model. While the mindset of entirely online businesses seems absurd for many architect entrepreneurs, the opportunity is within their reach.

 For the immediate — weeks 1 and 2 – the emphasis is on trial and error as you learn to navigate the new digital workflow. The priority, as many firms are experiencing, is to stabilize your workforce operations. By helping your staff set up a work-from-home model, you can establish confidence with your existing staff and clients that work can be done in this new evolution of practice. Be sure to communicate to both how your firm is responding during this crisis. Demonstrate competency and instill trust through practice and project leadership.

Next, it’s time to check-in with past clients to see how they are responding during this challenging moment. Assess the landscape of how your current and past clients are responding to change. What does their plan look like?

The new studio model will incorporate taking someone out for coffee, lunch or dinner — except now it will be in the comfort of your own home over a video conferencing platform. Go ahead and schedule your first coffee meeting with someone over a video. Discuss how weird this moment is, and share how you both are dealing with the circumstance. Congratulations, you’re officially doing online business development. 

It’s helpful to assess your current beliefs on what you think is possible and accept that you may need to open yourself up to new thoughts about your overall approach and strategy. Rather than shutting down on new ideas, lean into the exploration and discomfort of possibility. Large institutions will help lead the way toward identifying creative models of how to move forward during this process. Explore those examples and see what you might put into practice. Share and collaborate with your team to ensure open channels of communication and ideation.

We think that now is the perfect time to look at your digital communications and marketing strategy. As an online business, you will need to assess your visibility over the internet. What are your current website and social media strategy saying about your firm? What opportunities for improvement exist?

It will soon be time to work on those dusty marketing ideas you never had time for. How do you build out your website? Is it up to date? Are there blog ideas you never got around to writing? Have you set up an email list to capture visitors to your website? Where can you ramp up on your overall message as a thought leader? Reach for the content you always put on the back burner and create a digital voice that resonates with your ideal clients. The moment is here.

Inevitably, there will be market sectors that shift in response to the sudden global economic shifts. Assess where you can diversify your portfolio. In the absence of Architecture for Humanity, we are in desperate need of socially conscious firms who will take charge and lead the way on crisis responsiveness. Perhaps work looks like designing temporary shelter, or new ways to support hospitals and the healthcare system.

Above all, communicate. As you shift away from having a studio team at your side, leadership and communication are the lifelines that will keep your practice operational. Rise to this moment.

Link to living google doc: Covid 19 Architecture Firm Best Practices, Communications, and Policies