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  “Say yes as much as you can when you’re young so that you can balance things a little better when you’re older.” Sondra Rotty Sondra Rotty is the newly elected president and COO of...

By Chris Catton | Recruiting is the AEC industry’s biggest challenge, yet most firms still operate without a real recruiting plan.

By Kyle Ahern | Employee survey data reveals the hidden drivers of culture, retention, and performance in AEC firms.

By Duncan Robertson | Referral incentives turn employee connections into one of your firm’s strongest recruiting tools.

By Mark Zweig | Annual performance reviews fail AEC firms because real leadership requires continuous feedback, not once-a-year management theater.

By Mark Zweig | In the AEC business, recruiting isn’t just about finding people; it’s about becoming the kind of firm people want to join.

By Daryl Simons Jr. | Technology can enhance recruiting efficiency, but human connection, trust, and judgment will always define successful hiring.

By Mark Zweig | Meeting people face-to-face builds energy, strengthens relationships, and creates new opportunities.

    “If you're going to be an entrepreneur and you're going to accomplish anything and you're going to grow your business in spite of a lot of negative things happening, you've got to be...

The leading source of business management insights, research, and strategies tailored specifically for leaders of AEC firms.

By Daryl Simons Jr. | Rethinking first impressions creates fairer decisions, stronger relationships, and lasting benefits for candidates and firms.

By Kyle Ahern | A closer look reveals hiring and retention pressures demanding smarter, people-focused strategies.

Benchmarking the Future: AE Firm Performance Insights with Monograph and Zweig Group   “Whatever is the hardest path is probably the path we should be on. The hardest path is also the least traveled.” Robert...

By Kyle Ahern | The latest recruitment and retention data reveals shifting expectations, transparency, and tools reshaping AEC firms’ talent strategies.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of TPD, Inc. (Pottstown, PA), a consulting engineering firm specializing in transportation engineering and related environmental and construction services.

By Megan Valencia | Every employee plays a crucial role in recognizing and attracting top talent, shaping company culture, and ensuring long-term business success.

By Janki DePalma | Ghosting job candidates damages trust, reputation, and your firm’s future recruitment success.

By Morgan Stinson | Attracting and retaining top talent in the AEC industry requires adapting to what employees value today.

By Mark Zweig | Stop procrastinating on this issue and start searching in earnest for some outside directors to help you be more successful.

By Tiara Marcus | True leaders tune out the noise and let their expertise, talent, and technical understanding speak for itself.

By Mark Zweig | Too many firm owners want different results and want to be more successful, yet keep doing things the same way they always have.

By Mark Zweig | If you want the best people, you have to sell – the company, the role, and the location – and move fast when you get a good one!

By Sara Parkman | AEC firms remain largely committed to flexible options that benefit both firms and their employees.

Join us as Justin Smith moderates a panel of esteemed experts, including Aaron Lauinger, Tiara Marcus, and Brian Sielaff, representing firms excelling in client engagement, project leadership, and culture protection.

By Leisbel Lam | Harnessing the power of a growth mindset and the S-curve of learning to transform human capital in the AEC industry.

By Daryl Simons Jr. & Jeremy Clarke | Rather than a liability, these candidates could offer an opportunity to uncover exceptional talent.

By Mark Zweig | These four things are beyond essential if you are serious about building an enduring organization that will evolve over time.

By Bob McGee | When employees actively promote themselves, their projects, and their expertise, they enhance their professional credibility and elevate your company’s reputation.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of MG2 (Seattle, WA), a global architecture, design, strategy, construction, and branding studio.

By Mark Zweig | Sparkplugs are the people in your business who make things happen – and they are essential if you want to grow beyond what you alone can ignite.

Zweig Group is proud to announce the release of its 2024 Recruitment & Retention Report of AEC Firms, which covers all areas of recruitment and retention from the search process, integrating a new candidate into a firm, HR...

By Jeremy Clarke | Spot these devastating hires before they sabotage your team.

By Lalitha Benjaram | Committees are an efficient way for young professionals and newer employees to meet other team members and develop a strong connection to their organization.

By Mark Zweig | Here are some ways your CEO could be even more helpful to your company than they already are.

By Ying Liu | Five essential practices you can use to actively engage board members and forge invaluable business partners.

By David Doxtad & Andy Brandel | As your firm grows, this person ensures you will maintain your core competencies, values, and environment with your newly added team members.

In this engaging episode of The Zweig Letter Podcast, host Randy Wilburn delves into the ever-evolving world of recruitment and retention within the design industry. Joined by Jeremy Clarke, Director of Recruiting and Retention at...

By Mark Zweig | Entrepreneurship is all about seeing and doing things differently from everyone else, so maybe you should be more questioning of the status quo.

By Jeremy Clarke | Focus your firm’s retention strategy on offering meaningful benefits that are in alignment with core human needs.

By Kevin Brown | Five resume red flags to help AEC firm recruiters identify and set apart the best applicants from the rest.

By Will Swearingen | Explore the latest data on compensation, perks, and key challenges shaping the industry’s ownership landscape.

By Rolf Armstrong | This exercise empowers employees and provides clear direction, allowing leadership to let go and focus on success during periods of growth.

Zweig Group announces the release of its 2024 Principals, Partners & Owners Report of AEC Firms. This comprehensive report contains information on the ownership agreements, responsibilities, compensation, billing rates, chargeability, work habits, and challenges of AEC firm...

By Jeremy Clarke | Job descriptions need radical simplification for authenticity, brevity, and impact in attracting top talent.

By Mitch Fortner | Ensure employee growth and success by implementing innovative approaches to career development, like diverse training programs and leadership initiatives.

By Jesse Sievers | Enhance recruitment by focusing on individual connections, forming partnerships with diverse institutions, and building robust internship programs.

By Sara Parkman | The success of any firm relies heavily on finding the right candidates, but this process can be complex and costly.

By Sara Parkman | The success of any firm relies heavily on finding the right candidates, but this process can be complex and costly.

By Mark Zweig | See how you stack up against the best in the industry – and remember, it’s never too late to change your behavior.

In this enlightening episode of the TZL podcast, Melvalean MacLemore and Zhetique Gunn, dedicated committee members of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and key players in the HBCU Professional Development Program (PDP), sit...

Zweig Group is excited to announce the release of its 2023 Recruitment & Retention Report of AEC Firms. This comprehensive survey presents valuable statistics and data on the latest methods and challenges faced by AEC firms...

Zweig Group, a global leader in products and services for the AEC) industry, is excited to announce promotions and the addition of key personnel to its team.

By Mark Zweig | When you work in a crowded field full of many companies that do essentially the same thing, you can either be one of many or you can choose to stand out.

Zweig Group is delighted to announce the promotion of Katelynn Santiago to the position of Senior Design Manager. In this role, Katelynn will spearhead the company's design team, oversee the management of marketing and creative requests, and...

By Jeff Sober | If you want to keep people at your firm long-term, it’s time to rethink traditional approaches to preventing turnover.

By Jennifer Haddad | If you can approach the situation with empathy, compassion, and an open mind, you can create a positive experience and leave the door open for future opportunities.

By Justin Smith | Instead of waiting for the perfect project manager to appear, invest in developing these valuable professionals within your firm.

By Clay Worley | Don’t be paralyzed by the many workplace changes we’re experiencing; instead embrace new expectations to the benefit of your company and employees.

By Johnny Smith | What characteristics of a job, firm, and industry act as predictors of voluntary turnover?

By John Shaw | Communication and relationships are the greatest driving forces in success or failure during a change journey.

By Mark Zweig | When used consistently, this strategy will allow you to grow faster, raise fees, shed bad clients, and ramp up your pipeline of job candidates.

By Tim Dunn | If you want to hire people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, it’s important to understand them and provide a comfortable, motivating space for all.

By Mitch Fortner | To be effective over the long-term for an organization, our personal ambition must be grounded in mutual respect, collaborative teamwork, and integrity.

By Mark Zweig | This could greatly impact your firm’s ability to grow and adapt to a changing environment.

By Janki DePalma | Pay attention to who apologizes and when, and work to create an environment of psychological safety within your firm.

By Kollan Spradlin | A broader view of client objectives allows us to add value and, in some cases, recategorize isolated projects into stepping stones that line the path to the client’s ultimate goal.

By Andy Chavez | Some of the best practices that the most experienced buyers in our industry employ to get deals across the finish line.

Zweig Group's executive search team has successfully placed Brian Myller with its client ADEC Innovations as president of its global Professional Services businesses.

By Ernesto Aguilar | Achieving rapid expansion through both organic and inorganic growth while maintaining a strong, employee-centric culture.

By Mercedez Thompson | It’s worthwhile to continue conversations around what marketing is and is not and why it’s critical to your bottom line.

By Mark Zweig | It’s time to turn your firm’s HR upside down and make some big changes to your policies and practices.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Campos Engineering (Dallas, TX), an MEP engineering, testing, adjusting and balancing, and commissioning firm.

By Liisa Andreassen | Chief people officer at HEAPY (Dayton, OH), a nationally recognized leader in sustainable and resilient engineering design.

By Mark Zweig | Just like any professional sports team, your firm is made or broken based on how effective you are at recruiting talent.

By Mark Zweig | Just because you hear other firm leaders are pushing for something, that doesn’t mean it’s right for your firm.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | We’re about to be short on leaders in AEC industry firms. It’s time to act now before it’s too late.

By Liisa Andreassen | President at ELEMENT (Tampa, FL), an award-winning, certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Minority Business Enterprise, consulting firm.

By Mark Zweig | Here’s what you really need to do to get more job candidates for any opening you have, increase your job offer acceptance rate, and speed up the hiring process.

  Research and advisory firm for the AEC industry, Zweig Group, announces their annual survey on recruitment and retention in the AEC industry is open for participation.  This succinct survey is open to HR managers/directors,...

By Ryan Gallagher | Firms that actively work to attract these rare creatures will be best positioned to grow and prosper.

By Eduardo Smith | With more work than we can handle and the current recruiting challenges we face, we need to be sure that our organizations have the foundations for sustained growth.

By Jim Pappas | How scalable systems can be used to find the right people, bring a new product idea to life, and help it grow quickly and profitably.

By John Bray | How will the new infrastructure bill impact M&A activity in the AEC industry?

By Mark Zweig | You need to be identifying your successor and preparing the road for them so they can be successful.

By Mark Zweig | We create much of our own good luck – and a lot of that comes down to understanding probabilities and doing things that increase our odds for success.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | Women in the AEC industry leave at a faster rate than men, and COVID-19 has only accelerated this phenomenon.

By Laura Rescorla | We must work intentionally to remove barriers and provide opportunities in our industry for people of all backgrounds.

By Julie Benezet | Mentors do not fight for candidates’ advancement opportunities. That is the job of champions.

By Chad Coldiron | Over the last 12 months, firms have been forced to rapidly adjust how they approach many workplace strategies – including recruitment strategies.

By Mark Zweig | Firms that can quickly fill any opening with excellent people have a major advantage over their competition in any market.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | New data on recruitment and retention shows how firms of different sizes, types, and geographies were impacted by the events of 2020.

By Stephen Lucy | In the past year, we’ve learned a great deal about how we can do better and have begun to seize opportunities created by 2020.

By Mark Zweig | Many people in this business will say they agree with this idea, yet the people doing the hiring rarely do it.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | There are several management areas where award-winning, fast-growth, and very high profit AEC firms stand out.

When it comes to M&A, stay flexible and remember that it takes drive, determination, and the ability to connect people and ideas to achieve remarkable results.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | In this year of upheaval and change, the most important component of any successful firm remains the same.

Educating yourself about these biases as well as potential strategies for mitigation can help you avoid prejudice in your decision-making.

As an accomplished speaker, consultant, trainer, and business coach, Wilburn helps professionals become better leaders, better communicators, and better people.

Ownership transition can be an eight to 10 year process, so start early, educate yourself, define your goals, and keep an open dialogue with your employees.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Despite the challenging environment, there are tremendous opportunities to be had.

Engineers of the future will solve problems and meet challenges in a different way and through technology that will continue to be dynamic.

Finding and hiring good engineers is critically important, but difficult to accomplish. Don’t be afraid to seek outside help or use assessment tools to help you along the way.

For firm leadership, marketing may not always be top of mind. For your marketing staff, it is. Make sure they have a seat at the table.

“Top management is largely responsible for HR’s ineffectiveness on many levels in the typical A/E firm.”

By John Bray | The value you will add and the time you will save is worth the cost almost every single time.

Before you pass the torch, you need to make sure that your next generation of leaders is up to the task.

“For those of you running A/E firms – if I were you, I’d focus on recruiting in 2020.”

As Zweig Group’s director of executive search, Chad Coldiron’s passion is connecting top talent with AEC firms.

President and CEO of ARM Group (Hershey, PA), a science and engineering consulting firm where the entrepreneurial spirit thrives.

Successful leaders have to be able to deliver tough messages. Use these six strategies to navigate difficult conversations.

Founders of HILGARTWILSON (Phoenix, AZ), an exemplary multidisciplinary firm that was formed in the middle of the Great Recession.

Just by doing what comes naturally for cutting-edge AEC firms, they are likely eligible for a refundable tax credit.

These days the recruiting game is tough. The good news is that your best talent scouts might already work in your firm.

When new partners buy out old ones, you have to outline specific duties before assigning leadership roles, among other considerations.

By John Bray | With a low unemployment rate, more firms are relying on a national approach for recruiting.

CEO of TLC Engineering Solutions, an Orlando, Florida-based firm pushing its way into the future.

Being cautious and reasonable about your growth plans is a smarter move than filling seats just for the sake of beefing up the org chart.

CEO of ATI (Hot Firm #43 for 2018), a California firm rooted in philanthropy, and with a bright future on the horizon.

Find your ‘why’ and ‘how,’ make a plan, and – with the help of a few strong mergers – achieve astronomical growth.

President and CEO of LACO (Best Firm Multi-discipline #46 for 2018), a California firm with a famously branded shirt.

“This was the fourth or fifth time since 1997 that Zweig Group has done one of these events coupled with a racing school. They always get me thinking.”

Is your firm an investment value candidate? If you’re looking to sell, this is the level of value at which you have the most opportunity to maximize your exit.

“Even if you don’t apply it to your business, knowing probabilities of success will at least keep you from buying scratch tickets or blowing your cash in a slot machine at a casino somewhere!”

Having the ability to offer candidates participation in the ESOP may provide your company a benefit your competition cannot offer.

Diversity and inclusion are good for your bottom line. To get the right people, you have to cast your net in the right places, and jettison the bias. It’s alarming. According to 100 percent of...

It’s not always flattering, but hearing from those you work for and with, and acting on it, is key to improving your products and services. We’ve all become accustomed to, and maybe a little weary...

Randy sits down with Chad Clinehens, Zweig Group's president and CEO, to talk about Chad's first year as president and CEO, Zweig Group's new mission to elevate the industry, and some of Zweig Group's upcoming...

A failed leadership transition can destroy a brand. Take plenty of time, focus on the company, and beware of politics and interpersonal conflict. Several years ago I visited the church I grew up in and...

Shared values among staff are certainly important, but if a good fit is all you’re looking for, your firm could go stale. Editor’s note: This post first appeared on the Perkins + Will blog at...

Managing principal and president of HED, Inc. (Hot Firm #34 for 2017), a 350-person design firm with offices in Illinois, Michigan, and California. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Small changes often lead to significant results,” says...

Surround yourself with people who will speak their truth, even when it’s hard. And then listen. You’ll see a positive impact on you and your team. There are a lot of compelling reasons to build...

Now is a good time to make good on your 2018 work resolution to improve your team by turning the saboteurs into loyalists. The new year brings with it the opportunity for change, growth, and...

We all like and need profits, but there’s more to doing business than the bottom line, and the A/E industry should take heed. I’ve previously written about a group I’ve become active with here in...

Talent and skill are essential, but keep a close eye on cultural fit if you want to avoid the mistake of bringing the wrong person on board. I was recently talking with a client who...

In this episode of the podcast, Randy Wilburn sits down with an M&A consultant with Zweig Group. Zweig Group is the industry leader in helping your firm grow or transition ownership through mergers and acquisitions....

Do you have a job interview on the near horizon? If so, do your research, stay on topic, and don’t forget to wear a nice pair of shoes. A close architect friend of mine recently...

Randy Wilburn talks with Mark Zweig, founder and chairman of Zweig Group, about the process of making good offers to candidates that you want to hire. ("Making job offers that get accepted," Issue 1224, 11/13/17)...

There’s something to be said for looking and acting the part if you want to be recognized as a professional. I think sometimes people in our business forget that. Here are some examples: Vehicles. If...

You go to so much trouble to find the right person for your critical job opening. Sometimes, the process takes months. The higher level the job, the longer it takes to fill. Everyone is busy....

Depending on why they left – and what they did while they were gone – it might be a good idea to welcome them back into the fold. It’s not uncommon when sorting through a...

Company culture is about much more than the fun you have, the events you sponsor, time off, and cushy health benefits. Our personal core values are developed from an early age. For me, they were...

Ditch the lecture-and-listen style of training and replace it with something much more effective – the do-it-to-learn-it style. In the ultra-competitive AEC job market, professional growth is becoming the new perk. Employees and candidates –...

Success in recruiting is relational, not transactional, so keep those contacts warm and be prepared to wait for that all-star to join your team. Last year I had the privilege of watching the courting of...

Co-founder, president, and CEO of P2S Engineering, Inc. (Best Firms To Work For Multi-discipline #8 and Hot Firm #27 for 2017), a consulting engineering firm in Long Beach, CA. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “The belief...

Here is the full transcript of a great conversation that we had with Mark Zweig. He gave us a history lesson on AECWorkforce and the importance of an effective job board for the Design and...

Here is the full transcript of a great conversation that we had with Mark Zweig. He gave us a history lesson on AECWorkforce and the importance of an effective job board for the Design and...

AECWorkforce.com, a digital ecosystem where great firms can find great people. Transformative job site launches in November. For the past several months I’ve been working with a fantastic team. We’re figuring out just how many...

Employees can help attract, recruit, and retain great talent in a tight labor market, so look to them as an augment for HR. A steady stream of job postings for engineers, architects, and construction workers...

While the lure of them is understandable, there are probably better, more human ways of evaluating candidates before you hire them. Some people are enamored with personality tests. But despite their popularity in certain circles,...

In this episode of the podcast, Randy Wilburn and Sanjay Jenkins discuss the rise of AI in the job application process, referencing the Wall Street Journal article “In Unilever’s Radical Hiring Experiment, Resumes Are Out,...

We’ve all experienced it. It usually happens on a Monday but it could be Friday or any other day of the week. I’m talking about when one of your most senior people surprises you with...

PHILADELPHIA – Hill International (NYSE:HIL), the global leader in managing construction risk, announced the following changes to executive leadership, effective immediately. David L. Richter has resigned as Chief Executive Officer of the company. During his...

They count, and they need to be made across numerous fronts if you want to get your foot in the door with a new client. As the saying goes, first impressions count. Although much of...

Your firm’s reputation can be made, or broken, on the internet. Maintain a clean online image if you want to attract and keep top talent. I’m constantly fielding questions from clients and potential clients about...

The talent war is here. Building a bigger pipeline of leaders and doing it much earlier in their careers is critical if you want to win. We sometimes have too much tradition and are slow...

They wreck the recruiting process, and a lot of them want a great offer to use as leverage for a raise where they already work. Remember how recruiters used to sneak up and wow candidates...

Sell your firm to recruits, don’t overburden them with a marathon interview process, and cover yourself if a candidate pulls a fast one. I recently finished a webinar series called Becoming a Better Recruiter. It...

In spite of an incredibly healthy economy and high demand for AEC services throughout the land, there are still individual companies out there that are struggling financially for one reason or another. And inevitably, since...

In this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, Randy Wilburn talks to Mark Zweig, founder and chairman of Zweig Group, about what he learned about mergers and acquisitions in 2016. (“What I have learned about...

In this episode, Randy talks with Chris Catton, Zweig Group’s San Francisco office leader and executive search consultant. They had a chance to talk about all things recruiting and retention related. Chris recently spoke at...

Taking a cue from Spotify, the recruiting industry is poised to create tailored playlists of design professionals looking for the ideal job. I love listening to music. I think I have a fairly diverse palate....

Building a relocation program to recruit and retain talent in the design industry should be a primary focus of any sound HR program. You’ve been there before. You’ve spent time sourcing, researching, and recruiting the...

Hiring good people isn’t easy, and hanging onto them is just as difficult. When you find the right person, offer an excellent benefits package. By Gale Associates Inc. Best Firm #4 Multidiscipline for 2016 Recruitment...

If you think there’s too much recruiting, then you probably don’t realize there is no ‘season,’ but an unending grind. There is no preseason or final game for recruiting. A/E firms that don’t understand the...

While it is widely acknowledged that hiring people is probably the single greatest challenge faced by AEC firms today – and the problem WILL get worse and worse over the next 20 years – we...

In our brand new podcast format, we interview Mark Zweig, CEO of Zweig Group about an article he recently wrote in The Zweig Letter about the role of HR in the Recruitment process ( "The...

Recruiting top talent to small markets is an adventure, but with persistence, you can ride the horse all the way to the summit. As I was discussing the need for a lead architect with a...

When recruiting big talent, don’t let little details in the benefits package get in the way of making a winning offer. I’m amazed at the need that exists out there for great talent. Firms in...

My Dad, Fred Zweig, died on August 16. He was born in 1920 – lived a long and, for the most part, happy life. He grew up poor in St. Louis. His mom was married...

If the recent case of NBA superstar Kevin Durant can teach us anything, it’s that the recruitment of rare talent takes an equally rare effort. The NBA free agency period that recently unfolded was quite...

Demanding a resume is a good way to scare off potential hires, but your chances improve if you pick up the phone and sell your firm. One of the biggest challenges facing the AEC industry...

Demanding a resume is a good way to scare off potential hires, but your chances improve if you pick up the phone and sell your firm. One of the biggest challenges facing the AEC industry...

It happens to all of us at some point. Maybe we have even done it ourselves. What I am talking about‎ is when a key person quits unexpectedly – they jump ship. It could be...

When positioning your firm for a potential sale, you should be prepared to talk about all facets of the organization, not just the C-suite. As an M&A consultant, I come into contact with sellers of...

With college debt at an all-time high and expected to increase, now’s the time to think about adding loan reduction as a benefit. Recruiting great talent takes skill, a little bit of luck, and some...

Spotlight Survey Finds Firms most likely to promote, engage, communicate, spy via various networks Fayetteville, AR. — May 26, 2016 — Zweig Group, the leading source of management advice and industry data for architecture, engineering,...

New Recruitment and Retention Survey sheds light on key issues in finding, hiring, and keeping the best talent in the design industry. One thing I enjoy about working here at Zweig Group is that we...

Understanding the nuances of a Happily Employed Job Candidate can boost your ability to hire the best people. I recently received an email from a client who was in the middle of arranging an interview...

CMTA Inc. is increasing its presence in the Washington, D.C. Metro area via a merger with TMR Engineering (Arlington, Virginia). The transaction was facilitated by Zweig Group and closed on January 1, 2016. Zweig Group...

Here are a few tips on ensuring that potential employees accept your job offer, and have a back-up in case they don’t. It’s a big problem today. You go through a long search process, interviewing...

FAYETTEVILLE, AR (November 6, 2015) – Zweig Group, which publishes more than a dozen comprehensive surveys about the A/E/P and environmental consulting industries each year, is proud to announce the launch of its first Recruitment...

G2 Consulting Group (Troy, MI), a 50-person engineering firm, is taking home fourth place in the Integrated Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its integrated marketing strategy. In April 2013, G2...

Harris & Associates (Concord, CA), a 200-person engineering and construction management firm, is taking home second place in the Online Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its new and improved website....

Top ranking AEC firms have positive organizational cultures, provide employees with the tools they need to be successful, and foster open communication. How do you get your firm to a place where every one of...

There are plenty of consultants out there who offer M&A consulting services, but there’s only one Zweig Group. We are a small team of professionals dedicated to finding the best candidates for deals in the...

When it comes to generating opportunities for your firm, the more, the better. Entrepreneurial architects and engineers all do one thing well – they create lots and lots of possibilities. The more possibilities, the greater...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 1, 2015) – Zweig Group is excited to announce that Chris Catton has re-joined the firm to manage executive search consulting projects as well as help grow the executive search division. Catton,...

A/E/P and environmental firms have tons to juggle, but ensuring that your company is finding the best candidates to fill openings should top the list. Recruitment is important to the health of a company, and,...

Niche positions sometimes require out-of-the-box thinking, increased diligence, and willingness to pivot in order to fill them. Finding the best and brightest people to work at your firm may require you to think outside the...

Jamie Claire Kiser has been hired by Zweig Group as the new director of merger & acquisition services, a rapidly growing area of Zweig Group’s business. She is experienced in financial analysis, evaluating transactions, and...

Bad résumés, Skype, and doing favors Why flexibility is key when hiring your next top employee. By Randy Wilburn Recruiting Notes Image courtesy of Flanzingo https://www.flazingo.com/creativecommons One of the things that always stands out to...

Five things that differentiate entrepreneurs from the rest of the people in the world. I was watching a show on Netflix the other night with my eight-year-old daughter. It was all about humans with superhuman...

Three ideas to help you implement a successful HR recruiting program. I sit here writing this article the day after Super Bowl 49. I’m neither a Patriots nor Seahawks fan but it was an exciting...

Avoid dropping the ball with that perfect out-of-town candidate. I recently left a fairly comfortable existence in New England to relocate here to Fayetteville, Ark. the home office of the Zweig Group. I spent a...

Five ways to increase your digital footprint in branding and recruiting the best and brightest in 2015. As we approach the end of 2014, I’m amazed at how much has changed in such a short...

Five facts to consider during the recruiting process at your firm. Managing expectations in an executive search process can be a burdensome task. After all, you’re eager to quickly find that perfect new team member...

Is personality a window to culture when interviewing candidates? It’s amazing how often the word “culture” is used in the recruiting process. More often than not, a candidate’s fit with, or should I say into,...

And since they are, follow these eight tips to improve their effectiveness. What is a job posting? C’mon, think about it. It’s simply an advertisement. Aren’t you advertising an opening that you want to fill?...

Mark Zweig provides 10 tips how to treat potential new employees right. One of the things we do at ZweigWhite is a limited amount of executive search consulting. Most people don’t really understand that. They...

Recruiting may not be immediately seen as a great branding tool, but it is. I’ll bet you never imagined your recruiting process could be an important brand-building tool for your firm. How can that be?...

Need help identifying targets for potential recruiting? The answer is in the headline. Sometimes in the recruiting world, you’ll hear the term “sourcing.” It sounds like something you would hear in the buying/procurement business, right?...

Give recruiting the attention it deserves. Create a recruiting budget and follow these three tips from Mark Zweig. I have always wondered why recruiting is not a more prominent function in the majority of A/E/P...

Consider the unexpected in your next candidate search and you’ll be that much closer to winning the war for talent. Dwight Eisenhower made a statement once that bears repeating. He said: “Plans are nothing; planning...

Listen to your staff, have an appealing culture, hire selectively and keep your employees for the long-term. I’m hearing more and more about the market firming up and people being in demand. So, I think...

It needs to be relevant, user-friendly and affordable but is well-worth the investment. Recruiting is not so simple an enterprise anymore. Like it or not, recruiting has become increasingly sophisticated over the years – in...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 997 Originally published 3/4/2013 HR, recruiting and hiring teams also need to take a critical look at their operations, so make use of...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 997 Originally published 3/4/2013 More is within control than you think. Mark Zweig offers three ways to add to your ranks. As an...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 989 Originally published 1/7/2013 Employ these three tactics in your selection process and you’re likely to begin seeing significant improvements in talent acquisition...

By Jeremy Clarke Getting top talent is still a critical priority… even in this economic environment. How so? Well, because business needs are still evolving, and employee turnover is still an unavoidable reality. All of...

Press Release: October 04, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (October 4, 2011) – Tired of jumbled, jargon-laden “mission statements” that are filled with platitudes and megawords? A firm’s motto should embody what it is about and encapsulate...

By Jeremy Clarke Director, Executive Search Consulting ZweigWhite Recruiting and selection can be a meticulous and costly campaign. Those who recruit regularly know that an average management-level search can last 90 days or more. These...

Many firms in the A/E/P or environmental business today have some sort of designated market leaders. Usually, there’s a new business plan and part of it requires a “realignment” to a more market-driven structure. Then,...

I can’t believe the lack of creativity shown by creative companies with respect to their recruiting. Most firms place ads, post openings on job boards, and hire headhunter/recruiting firms. Some firms pay recruitment bonuses to...

It is not easy— finding enough leaders to fill all of the leadership needs inside your company. Some (many firm founders) might think one factor could be that most everyone in your firm probably did...

Human resources management has long been criticized and undervalued by top management in A/E/P and environmental firms. Evidence of this fact is pay. According to ZweigWhite’s 2007-2008 Management Compensation Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning &...

Over the years, in the pages of The Zweig Letter, we’ve spent a lot of time trying to help companies grow. But the fact is many of those running and operating A/E/P and environmental firms...

A recent article in The Zweig Letter where various A/E and environmental firm principals were asked about the best interview questions to ask prospective employees got me thinking. It got me thinking about what I...

I was sitting in a meeting of top managers in a fairly large A/E firm the other day when the topic of candidates for their vacant HR director’s position came up. The woman who had...

It is conventional wisdom that our companies are only “as good as the people we employ” and that “our greatest assets go home each night.” Over the years, I have heard literally thousands of owners...

On the whole, A/E/P and environmental firms seem to take themselves and their marketing too seriously. Sure— many of you DO have life-and-death responsibilities attached to much of what you do. You are serious people...

Mitchellene Terrence was the 42-year-old director of human resources for Wright, Skidmore, and Johnson, a top-line A/E/P firm in Los Angeles. She was proud to be there. Graduating with a BS degree in 1986 from...

You’ll hear it at any gathering of A/E/P and environmental consulting firm owners— hiring is at the top of the list of challenges they’re facing as we head into 2006. That said, there’s still too...

I just got another of the many announcements that come through the ZweigWhite e-mail system today— one of our clients just bought/merged with/sold to another firm. We see so much of this that I barely...

Hiring enough people— and the right ones— is where it’s at today. How well an A/E/P or environmental firm does this really is either an impediment (or stimulus) to growth. It impacts every area of...

Regardless of your opinion of Bill Clinton (and I am sure, for the majority of A/E firm principals, it’s negative— as a group, you are 48% Republicans and only 17% Democrats!), you cannot deny one...

Every so often, I have to remind our readers of the importance of their office environments. Our own recent office rehab here in Natick, along with a trip to New York and seeing some not-so-great...

If you listen to Tony Soprano talking to his therapist about his rage in recent episodes of “The Sopranos” on HBO, he complains about all the B.S. It just makes him mad. And when he...

Last week, I took my oldest daughter Christy (she’s a high school junior) and one of her friends on a day of college tours. We went to three schools and took the guided tour at...

As anyone who’s read any business books in the last decade can tell you, Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” is a classic that will be talked about for years to come. In the book, Collins...

It is so valuable… being THE place to work. What I mean by THE place is the firm that everyone wants to work at. It is the cool place, the desirable place to be, the...

As management consultants to the A/E/P and environmental industry for many years, we get up close and personal with literally hundreds of firms each and every year. Many of these are very successful companies that...

Everyone in our country seems to be worried about terrorists. Undoubtedly, there are some good reasons to be concerned. But maybe the trouble is even closer to home— like in your own firm. We find...

The utilization data of A/E/P and environmental firms over the last several years pretty much proves that if you keep everyone overloaded you can’t help but be profitable. That’s easily accomplished in a heated market...

Terry Mitchell, senior vice president and transportation division head for MonsterFirm, Inc., knew one thing: If the firm was going to make any real money, it was going to take a new level of top...

No! I refuse to let pop culture permeate this temple of good management! It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s Jerri, Mad Dog, Kel, or Edna who gets booted off of the island. What I...

With all of the employment-related pressures that firms face today, it’s getting harder and harder to figure out what you really need to pay somebody to do a given job. There are so many ways...

Everything I need to know was not taught in kindergarten! In growing our own business and working with hundreds of firms over the years to help them grow theirs, I feel like I have learned...

I just got back from a College of Business Advisory Board meeting at my alma mater, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. Thanks to the State of Illinois, I got my BS and MBA degrees...

We’ve talked about it for decades, but the labor shortage in the A/E/P and environmental industries is finally here. Our clients are telling us that it’s hard to hire just about anyone. Every job takes...

I don’t mind telling our readers that it’s a great feeling to have a vehicle such as The Zweig Letter to share my thoughts so widely. Along with that comes a certain responsibility not to...

Every single firm we deal with at Zweig White & Associates, Inc. could benefit from working on their hiring process. Everyone in the A/E/P and environmental business agrees that it’s hard to hire. Well here...

Summer’s here. Our local swimming hole— “Farm Pond”— in the town I live in (Sherborn, Mass., pop. 4,300) is also a social gathering spot. Late in the afternoon and on weekends you’ll see all of...

Believe it or not, some people don’t like the term “human resources management.” They think it diminishes individuals in some way, and by referring to “human resources” we might as well be talking about “natural...

These are the good old days for the A/E/P and environmental consulting business. Times are good. Firms are growing. Employment offers are going out weekly, daily, and in some cases, hourly. But did you ever...

Just ask anyone in this business— it’s damn difficult to hire good people today. And the situation doesn’t appear to be easing up. As long as this building boom continues, the competition for talent is...

From my experience, I’d say that most owners and managers of A/E/P and environmental firms have forgotten that recruiting is selling. Instead of trying to create the best impression they can on every person who...

Mention “human resources management,” and too many principals and managers working in A/E/P and environmental firms will turn their noses up. They immediately associate it with benefits administration or eight-page performance appraisal forms, instead of...

When it’s time to hire, most A/E and environmental consulting firms do a pretty good job defining their needs in terms of education, registrations, experience, and so forth. But they don’t do a good job...

The ability of an A/E or environmental consulting firm to quickly hire qualified people for any opening affects virtually every aspect of its management. I call it “supply-side human resources management.” If you think about...