Firm Principals Spring 2022 Survey Results
This survey was sent to BSA member firm principals in April 2022 to help us track COVID-19 reopening trends and identify the most pressing needs among our members. This survey closed with 83 principals responding.
What are the top concerns that you are weighing as you (and your staff) return to the office?
- Continual growth and having the capacity to sustain it in this difficult hiring climate.
- Training and onboarding
- How to maintain flexibility that the remote schedule allows but still have a culture that connects people in person at the office for mentoring, collaborating, and learning.
- The next recession
- Using public transportation remains a concern; we have added Boston Blue-Bike participation as a staff perk, etc.
- In-person interactions in an office setting with people outside the organization.
- High cost of construction and material delays.
- Fluctuating infection rates, new variants; impacts of inflation, global market issues, effects of Ukraine war
- Collaborative technology to be updated (supply chain delays)
- Safety of our staff and providing a consistent level of service to our clients
- Do we move to an unassigned seating model if people are going to continue to work remotely part of the week?
- Avoiding COVID fatigue and being less vigilant
- Firm culture, equity, mentorship, quality of work
- Schedule with employee daycare providers
- Getting the work completed well
What resources are most important for the BSA to provide at this time?
- Connecting firms who want to hire staff with potential candidates
- Maintaining the committees and various educational efforts as usual. Specifically, helping firm leaders better understand and plan for future market conditions including the economy, staffing shortages, and potential changes to city approval processes.
- Sharing these metrics, and making BSA Space as safe and healthy as possible, adjusting as needed for new variant flare ups, etc.
- Information sharing about small business grants or loans that may be available through state or municipal governments; knowledge-sharing about how firms are navigating the pandemic waters.
- Community forum
- Continued discussion about new ways of delivering our services in a hybrid model
- Continuing principal's roundtable. Perhaps, BSA sponsored and themed support groups for staff working to adjust to isolation, variable schedules, family coordination, career development under presently changing circumstances.
- Climate advocacy. Continuing education.
- While we have been very successful at maintaining internal professional relationships, I feel like our connection to our other architectural friends in the BSA has significantly diminished. The BSA events and committees we good vehicles to create and maintain the connections. The sooner the BSA can get back to a physical the better.
- Encourage profession to be back in office because it’s best for young architects and ultimately the profession.
- Perhaps tools for younger staff to advocate for more progressive thinking other than fixed schedules.
- Continued advocacy for strong planning and zoning agency within Boston city hall. Return to in-person events at the BSA Space. Continuing firm education around DEI issues.
- Develop marketing promoting architects to relocate to Greater Boston.
- Salary survey among firms that the TAG group used to provide. In programming, to provide both in-person and virtual options.
- Would be great to get more communication about goals/priorities of the BSA.
