Our industry currently faces unique hurdles; success hinges on adopting tailored solutions combined with tried-and-true principles.
If you are responsible for expanding your engineering firm’s presence – whether by securing new work in existing markets or entering new geographic or service areas – you already know it’s an exciting yet challenging time. The industry is evolving rapidly, and firms must navigate a complex landscape filled with both opportunities and obstacles.
While the forces shaping our industry are constantly shifting, growth remains the goal. As my colleague Katie often reminds me, success requires a strategic plan that is timeless in its foundation but tailored to fit today’s realities – much like a custom suit.
The challenges shaping today’s growth strategies. Firms must account for several factors influencing the competitive landscape:
- Increased funding and investment. The influx of funding into the infrastructure sector, coupled with the influence of private equity firms and a high level of mergers and acquisitions, has intensified the race for growth. Investors are aggressively seeking opportunities, making the market more dynamic and competitive.
- More employment options. As more firms enter the market, people have a wider array of employment options. This diversification means that firms must work harder to attract and retain top talent.
- Engineer talent shortage. Due to the ongoing shortage of engineers entering the labor market and the retirement of many experienced engineers, firms are facing significant growth challenges. Our industry continues to see a gap that’s not being filled quickly enough by new talent.
- Availability of information. While the accessibility of data can be beneficial when planning for strategic growth, allowing firms to make informed decisions based on comprehensive information, the abundance of information means that details about a firm, its staff, and its operations are readily available to competitors and clients alike. This transparency can be a double-edged sword, requiring firms to manage their reputations carefully.
There are, however, ways to address these complexities and achieve sustainable growth. Effective, intentional strategic planning is the key, and for companies navigating our industry today, it is crucial.
Tailoring your growth plan for today’s industry. Much like the suit, an off-the-rack plan might suffice, but a tailored fit ensures you leverage the best features, and account for the challenging landscape:
- Adaptability. The current fast-paced nature of our industry necessitates nimble plans that can respond to changing conditions. Create trigger mechanisms within the plan, and don’t ignore the need to shift the plan’s direction when necessary.
- Balance. Employees today want a balance between clear direction and the freedom to achieve success in their own way. They want to understand their roles and responsibilities while having the flexibility to meet the plan’s goals on their terms. Gone are the days of simply asking leaders to find new growth. Our plans must provide clear directions to those implementing them, while maintaining wide enough guardrails to allow for autonomy.
- Know your assets. Currently, every firm is looking for more people, but the pool of resources is shrinking. Therefore, recruiting and retaining top talent, along with developing a succession plan, must be integral parts of the strategy.
- Embrace technology. Leverage the technological advances of our time to enhance efficiency and innovation. Not only will this give you a competitive advantage, but it will also attract the next generation of talent that will one day build on your growth plan.
Timeless principles for sustainable growth. While not unique to the current state of our industry, these principles are very important for creating a strategic growth plan in today’s market. However, certain principles are timeless, and cannot be sacrificed:
- Implementation. A strategic growth plan is only valuable if it is implemented. Once the excitement of creating the plan has faded, it cannot simply sit on a shelf. Likewise, the implementation of your plan must start from the top of your leadership.
- Measurable goals. When creating your plan, avoid vague or unattainable goals. Creating measurable goals in your strategic plan helps provide direction and focus to those who implement the plan while providing leadership with the means to track progress.
- Buy-in and transparency. For a growth plan to succeed, it not only has to have the support of leadership, but staff. Both groups need to be involved in the development process to ensure they are committed to it. Similarly, keeping the plan from staff can be detrimental. Employees want to know the direction the firm is headed in and how they fit into the bigger picture.
- Don’t ignore what’s made you successful. Growth plans run parallel with continuing to deliver high-quality products and services. No amount of strategic planning can compensate for poor designs – your current product must continue to be of utmost quality, on time, and under budget.
In short, today’s engineering firms must navigate a complex, competitive landscape. No two approaches to strategic growth are alike, but some things will never change when it comes to the foundation of sustainable growth and long-term success.
Josh Crawford is a vice president and strategic growth director for Garver. Connect with him on LinkedIn.