Attract Talent with an Innovative Workplace

This is the sixth entry in a series of articles by the CIO Advisory Team. Check out the previous one here.

The AECO industry has been experiencing a talent shortage for years now. The dual factors of ever-evolving technology and intense competition among firms makes it harder than ever to hire the best professionals. Additionally, onboarding must be streamlined to keep projects on schedule while leveraging the latest industry technology. To ensure your firm has the right environment to attract energized talent, you need a foundation that can support digital project management and process automation, content management systems, augmented reality training and options for remote work.

To begin, delivering a modern workplace requires a robust technology framework that allows project work to be more productive, agile and fulfilling. Firm leadership should seek to support teams with continuous improvement and upskilling opportunities so that they have the best chance to deliver optimal outcomes with as little error and friction as possible.

Next, providing easy access to self-service resources and highly responsive applications while building increasingly more trustworthy content systems should be a baseline expectation rather than an exception. Starting from scratch on the next new project is no longer reasonable or sustainable. Rather, project teams should have a jump-start and be significantly better equipped given easy access to services, resources and accurate project information. Platforms like Autodesk BIM 360 provides a centralized location for maintaining all project documentation and delivers exceptional results for your user base.

Once a foundation for project management is established, firms can begin to research more compelling options for visualization and onboarding. Augmented Reality (AR) is a fast-evolving technology where early adoption and training can engage staff in innovative digital methods. As an overlay of rich digital representations mapped over physical 3D environments, AR can convey design ideas in fresh and more meaningful ways and offer existing and new customers a more immersive collaboration and learning experience. As an early adopter, you can establish your firm as an leading community contributor and better position your project teams in a highly competitive environment.

In-house capabilities are no longer the only area prospective hires look to when considering an employer, especially with telecommuting quickly becoming the norm. Effectively managing the remote workforce is a core capability for sustaining business operations during unanticipated disruptions. It is an important skillset that supports more seamless collaboration and facilitates faster group decision-making. Remote workforce offerings supplement work-life balance benefits and create flexible working arrangements for existing staff while extending the boundaries when considering new hires.

Building these types of technology-enabled environments needs leadership, carefully considered business requirements, articulated goals and targeted outcomes. Cross-functional teams provide domain expertise, determination and passion to ensure scalability, proper governance and execution. While yes, IT may lead these efforts, they are also trusted partners and advisors throughout the discovery and execution process.

Those who capture the benefits of the agile, mobile workforce and leverage the digital opportunities at hand, will discover new information services, process and procedural improvements, and operational efficiencies to carry with them well into the future. The combination of rich project opportunities, forward-looking leadership, a strong staff empowerment program and a supportive digital workplace will help you attract and keep the top talent that you need to sustain your practice.

Find out more about how Microdesk enables AECO firms to LEAD through managed IT services from the CIO Advisory team. Contact our team here.