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By Chad Coldiron | In today’s AEC market, retention isn’t just about culture – it’s about whether employees can afford to stay. 

By Sara Parkman | AEC firms that fail to invest in young professionals today will struggle to find leaders tomorrow.

By Michael Makris & Laura Terrebonne | When promotions become the goal, firms miss the real work of building leaders, influence, and long-term engagement.

By Isabel Rickaby | The most effective internships don’t just prepare students for the workforce, they inspire them to envision their role in their chosen career.

By Nam Douglass | Businesses across the U.S. face increased federal scrutiny, making proactive workforce compliance essential to mitigate risk and avoid costly penalties.

By Jon Hanlon | AEC careers are built on continual learning, where mistakes, questions, and collaboration shape lasting skills and professional growth.

By Mark Zweig | Is your firm one that commands top fees and thrives, or one that will struggle to compete and keep up?

By Dan Schwartz | Successful M&A communication is achieved through strategy, storytelling, and staying human in the face of complexity.

By Mark Zweig | Practical career advice for new AEC graduates on landing a great job and accelerating early career success.

By Adam White | Meaningful employee growth goes beyond trainings and workshops – it takes time, trust, feedback, and a clear path forward.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of No. 1 Hot Firm Verdantas (Tampa, FL), an integrated environmental science, engineering, and consulting firm.

By Sara Parkman | Zweig Group’s 2025 Rising Stars share what inspires purpose, loyalty, and change in the AEC workplace.

By Mark Zweig | Leaders should set clear expectations around vacation planning, approval, and communication to avoid disruption and disengagement.

By Kraig Kern | Packed calendars hurt productivity, but smarter meeting habits can help AEC professionals reclaim focus time and boost meaningful work.

By Anna Kendall | Effective internal communication plays a crucial role in shaping employee morale during times of significant change.

By Kathy Nanowski | A strong employee experience leads to a stronger client experience, ensuring sustainable success and differentiation in the market.

By Sarah R. Adams-Slominski | Step back and check in on how your employees are doing, learn what they care about, and discover what helps them stay engaged in their work.

By Duane Gaugler | It’s true that mentor relationships aren’t easy to find time for, however, the potential they offer is enormous.

By Mark Zweig | Flexible job descriptions with clear responsibilities, single reporting lines, and adaptable salary ranges foster employee satisfaction and avoid rigidity.

By Eric Lannen | Internships provide real-world experience, mentorship, brand recognition, and foster long-term relationships, benefiting both students and organizations.

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

By Victoria Verlezza | Supportive leaders who prioritize communication and psychological safety can foster a positive work environment where employees feel valued and motivated.

By Eduardo Smith | For any COO to be successful in the AEC industry today, they must embrace the soft side of leadership, focusing on the people and culture as much as the numbers.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of WithersRavenel (Cary, NC), a multidisciplinary consulting firm serving both the private and public sectors.

By Kevin Brown | To become an employer of choice in AEC, you must prioritize getting the fundamentals right before investing in advanced employee programs.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Davis & Floyd, a firm with more than six decades of experience solving complex engineering, planning, and landscape architecture challenges.

By Luci Hogue | Whether you love your job and want to get to the next level or if you’re feeling unsatisfied in your current position, these tips may help gain perspective.

By Adam Bugielski | Burnout is a serious condition that can lead to decreased job satisfaction, productivity, and overall well-being – but there are steps you can take to prevent it.

By Matt Hoying | It’s time to give up employee evaluations and instead commit your focus to the enjoyment and fulfillment employees have with their roles in your company.

By Julia DeFrances | The more you make interns feel like a valued part of the team, the more likely they are to stay with your firm long after graduation.

By Tom Godin | An org chart can be an invaluable tool for your business because it provides clarity and communicate roles.

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 Liisa Andreassen | President of NTM Engineering (Dillsburg, PA), a civil engineering firm that specializes in water resources design, bridge design, and engineering instruction.

By David Harvey | When well-trained staff are equipped with the skills needed to do their jobs well, everyone will reap the benefits.

By Amber Milot | Creating a recruiting culture and focusing on retention are business savvy strategies to help your organization continue to thrive in today’s job market.

By Mark | If your project managers did these six things consistently, your projects and your firm would be more successful.

By Danielle Eisenstock | Highlighting your commitment to career growth, flexible work options, and open communication will show staff your firm has an employee-first approach.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Cushing Terrell, a multidisciplinary firm that empowers creative designers to discover imaginative, responsible first-of-their-kind environments.

By Leo MacLeod | Email is a great tool, but if it’s not managed efficiently, it can dominate our day and rob precious time from getting work done.

By Mike Nunley | We have a responsibility to take the lessons we learned from older generations and refine them to prepare a new generation for success.

By Tom Godin | People don’t leave companies, they leave managers – so make sure your managers have the skills they need to succeed.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of GAI Consultants, an employee-owned planning, engineering, and environmental consulting firm that provides local expertise to worldwide clients.

By RLG Consulting Engineers | Principal at RLG Consulting Engineers (Dallas, TX), a firm that specializes in civil, structural, survey, and forensic engineering.

By Katie Batill-Bigler | Set a tone firmwide to recognize the valuable work that’s done by people in every role at your firm – not just your technical staff.

By Rob Hughes | Many design firms that adjusted their workplace to address COVID-19 face heightened exposures to employment-related litigation and related negative consequences.

By Kenneth Fulmer | AEC firm leaders must actively support and empower female employees so their visibility does not vanish in the remote workplace.

By Mark Zweig | There are some things you can do to “tune up” your organization structure, even if you don’t completely overhaul it.

Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team here. Domestic Transactions...

By Liisa Andreassen | President of KSA (Longview, TX), an industry leader that provides a broad range of engineering, architecture, planning, surveying, and construction management services.

By Callum Roxborough | Five ways to develop company culture and how taking these steps can improve your firm’s work environment and your business.

Knowing who does what, who needs to weigh in, and who makes the final decision is critical to success.

President of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (Houston, TX), a civil engineering firm that delivers exceptional quality and measurable value for the nation’s infrastructure.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Haley Ward (Bangor, ME), a 100 percent employee-owned technical consulting firm, offering a range of engineering, environmental, and surveying services.

By Liisa Andreassen | Co-owner of UMA Geotechnical Construction (Colfax, NC), an experienced design-build, geotechnical contractor with a proven record of performance in diverse soil conditions.

By Peter Atherton | Playing to win requires a real investment in organizational redesign, and the creation of both a vision and a culture that’s worth the work.

President and CEO of Blueline (Kirkland, WA), a firm that’s committed to building relationships, enhancing communities, and improving lives.

By Mark Zweig | Remote workers are not going to go away as soon as this pandemic is over. Make sure they still feel connected to your firm.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Fuss & O’Neill (Manchester, CT), a company that – since its founding in 1924 – has grown to include 10 regional offices, one LLC, and more than...

By Mark Zweig | There are many ways to show courage, and Jerry Allen showed real courage in his willingness to confront every single obstacle in his life.

CEO and president of SEH (St. Paul, MN), a firm that’s simplifying the world’s complex challenges by designing better places, engineering clean water, and renewing infrastructure.

Chairman and CEO of Salas O’Brien, an employee-owned firm with no corporate headquarters that provides building and facility solutions to clients across the United States.

CEO of Olsson (Lincoln, NE), an employee owned 1,300-person firm that is working to leave the world better than they found it.

Through collaboration, mentoring, and continued professional development, we can continue to grow and support each other, no matter what the pandemic throws at us.

To manage time effectively, you need to know – not just believe – you are spending time productively.

It comes down to respect and providing for your employees. If you do these two things, your people will quickly become your biggest cheerleaders.

President and CEO of CORE Consultants, Inc. (Littleton, CO), a professional services firm with a unique culture that empowers its people to thrive at home, at work, and in their community.

President and CEO of Ramey Kemp & Assoc. (Raleigh, NC), a transportation engineering, planning, and design firm founded in 1992.

Chairman and CEO of Mabbett & Associates, Inc. (Bedford, MA), a verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.

President and CEO of Westwood (Minneapolis, MN), a firm that’s been focused on enhancing communities with smart engineering for almost 50 years.

Why is work today so unfulfilling and how can we change that? Let’s set our sights on having an impact and figure out a way to get there.

Trust your judgement, speak up, and keep learning. Your efforts will pay dividends down the road.

President and CEO of Parametrix, a 100 percent employee-owned engineering, planning, and environmental sciences firm based in Seattle, Washington.

President and principal-in-charge at Taylor Design, an architecture and interior design firm headquartered in Irvine, California.

Your peoples’ top priority is development. If you want to keep them, you need to identify the ideal learning and development strategy for you and your firm.

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

In terms of feedback, there’s a big difference between what millennials want and what you’ve been told they want.

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

The word growth is often associated with the bald pursuit of profits, but it’s really about the health of your firm and your staff.

“A lot of managers in AEC firms – design and technical people who have become managers – need to learn a few supervisory basics.”

By Jamie Claire Kiser | At what should be an incredibly productive and exciting time in the lives of young professionals, the AEC industry is failing to engage.

President and CEO of Kleinschmidt (Best Firm #34 Multi-Discipline for 2018), a 140-person environmental consulting firm.

While management plays an obvious role in this process, employees must also do their part by knowing their roles and doing their jobs.

Strong emotional intelligence, empathy, and the ability and capacity to engage the ‘whole person’ move teams and projects forward.

President and CEO of CME (Hot Firm #36 for 2018), an engineering firm headquartered in Connecticut that refuses to be affordable and mediocre. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “If we cannot grow fast enough to provide...

As an industry, we generally leave a lot of money on the table and drive up costs with our lack of effectiveness in management and training. When we think of improving, we often turn to...

If your firm makes a sincere effort to learn, teach, develop, innovate, and improve, old and new hires alike will notice. As president of a 400-person design firm, one of my favorite activities is one-on-one...

The well-being of your staff cannot be sacrificed for other priorities such as production, profitability, and convenience. As the director of health and safety for an AEC firm, I often find myself asking, “What is...

The more you ask, the more you learn, and that knowledge can be driven back into your firm for the benefit of clients and employees. Maintaining a leading position in the AEC industry requires that...

Honoring your clients’ business success above all else will enhance your firm’s reputation and bottom line – without compromising design. This is the third installment of a three-part discussion on the topic of job success,...

Chairman and CEO of David Evans and Associates, Inc. (Hot Firm #93 for 2016), a 1,000-person engineering firm based in Portland, Oregon. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Barkouli joined DEA in 1988 as an engineer-in-training. He...

Chairman and CEO of David Evans and Associates, Inc. (Hot Firm #93 for 2016), a 1,000-person engineering firm based in Portland, Oregon. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Barkouli joined DEA in 1988 as an engineer-in-training. He...

CEO of Sullivan Engineering (Hot Firm #89 for 2017), a 20-person building envelope consulting firm based in New York, New York. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We strongly reward autonomy and encourage each other to make...

President and CEO of VHB (Best Firm Civil #23 and Hot Firm #46 for 2017), a 1,400-person firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Bottom line, when it’s the right move, and when...

So many companies have done it but there are many more that still haven’t – morphing from a geographically-based to a market-based firm. Why is this so crucial? There are many reasons, but first and...

CEO and chairman of Mead & Hunt (#82 Hot Firm for 2017), a 592-person national firm offering services in planning, design, architecture, and engineering. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There is something to be said for...

Assignments, attitudes, and acknowledgment – if you take care of the Big Three, your marketing people will do great things. I have been an A/E industry marketer since the early 1980s. In those 30-plus years,...

Senior employees are outperformed by their subordinates all the time. Use metrics to reward the doers and identify the dead weight. The subject of compensation is a challenging and emotionally-charged issue. It affects all of...

When you have an AEC or environmental firm – or any business, for that matter – there is always a question about how strict your policies can or should be. Generally speaking, I am not...

People always laugh over here at Zweig Group when I launch into a tirade about a guy who worked for us long ago. This fellow was a consultant – an engineer with an MBA –...

President and CEO of Ghafari, a big Michigan firm, has broadened its services, allowing it to weather tough times and maintain an era of growth. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent As president and CEO of Ghafari...

Casual leader of engineering firm is doing what he wants to do, surrounding himself with smart people, and getting the job done. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent After 20 years of working for someone else, David...

The annual employee evaluation is outdated and might just do more harm than good. Try something new. Try something better. A few years ago I read an article about how employees hate evaluations and supervisors...

Mentorships are supposed to be two-way streets, so when you consider your program, make sure you make the right connections. The mentoring partnership is an agreement between two people to share experiences and expertise to...

“John,” the president, CEO, and co-founder of a 250-person midwestern E/A firm, was frustrated. After so many years of success, it seemed to him that all he was doing now was de-fusing irate clients, talking...

Blame is a form of punishment that rarely works, and removing it from a firm’s environment will increase productivity and collaboration. Would you rather have an employee change her behavior, become more motivated, or make...

Architectural colleague shares new scale for assessing employees’ impact on the firm, community, world in areas of attitude, capability, performance. I’ve always been skeptical of the “performance review” style of evaluating. I believe in a...

Four items of political savviness can help ensure organizational newcomers are accepted and successful. A/E/P and environmental firms are in hiring-mode nationwide. This industry is booming, and we’re bringing on new people – some of...

A test of your staff’s commitment to you so you know what to fix. Architects and engineers are seeing increased activity in the marketplace and firms are hiring. This is not news to most of...

It’s your employees; Mark Zweig offers five solutions to help deal with them better. I got a call from an old friend of mine from Boston the other day. He wanted to tell me how...

As the year starts to wrap up, most A/E and environmental firms begin to rethink their incentive compensation plans: “Is our plan right for our company?”; “Does it reward the behavior we want to reward?”;...

If you have a firm of any size and have been in business for any length of time, you will at some point discover one of your key people is interviewing with a competitor. You...

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 &...

  It seems like hardly a week goes by that I don’t hear from a reader with a question or two about organizational structure. I thought perhaps I should put together a list of some...

How many times have you heard it? Someone turns in their notice to leave and the response of his or her immediate supervisor is: “We didn’t need Bob (or Sue), anyway,” or, “We were going...

Just about anything you read nowadays for our business mentions the top concern of firm owners everywhere is finding and keeping good people. Finding good people is never easy. Nor is it the topic of...

There are many experts on time management that I see used periodically by A/E and environmental firms. These people are brought in from the outside to help train our principals, PMs, and technical and design...

I was at a management seminar recently where I am convinced that fully 15 or 20% of the attendees were there only because their firms told them to go. And my guess is that a...

Years ago, I maintained that I would never go to a party for an employee who’s leaving the firm. Sure, there could be exceptions. Someone’s spouse gets transferred, the employee retires, or the employee is...

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...

It is a sad day as I write this. I am at Boston’s Logan International Airport waiting for a flight to Dallas-Fort Worth so I can attend the funeral of my long-time friend and mentor,...

What a difference one year makes, huh? Things have gone from an employee-driven job market to an employer-driven one. Nevertheless, if you get out there and talk with the folks in the trenches, you may...

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...

I ran into a building contractor friend of mine in front of our office complex the other day. He is currently working on a project to convert a 16,000 square foot former women’s clothing store...

He’s a really nice person, a “people person.” He’s someone who deeply cares about other people. He’s a really good listener. He’s someone the employees will confide in. Does this sound like the ideal human...

Did you ever notice how some companies muddle along while others seem to keep advancing? What allows some firms to make so much more progress and to get so much more accomplished than others? It’s...

I’ve received several calls asking me if I had seen a recent article that appeared in The Wall Street Journal (November 21, 1996) on performance appraisals. Evidently, it is causing quite an uproar in the...

I’ve been thinking a lot about change lately, probably because I have been experiencing so much of it so fast. Moves are one type of change that most people find stressful. I know— I have...

This is the time of the year that the majority of firms in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry decide who gets how much in the way of pay increases and/or bonuses— in other words,...

“Leadership development” for our industry too often translates into another boring all-day seminar on liability reduction, or a weekend retreat with a soft-spoken consultant who walks us through “team building” exercises. We say we want...

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not the sentimental type. But I must say— I love the people who work here. I love them because they work so hard, they never complain,...

If you talked with as many people in A/E/P and environmental consulting firms as I have over the years, you would soon discover that “office politics” is a dirty term in our industry. Engineers, architects,...

There has been a lot of talk in our industry the last few years about the need for more firms to adopt a client-driven organization structure. Firms of all types and sizes are trying to...

Practically any firm that makes money in the A/E/P or environmental business does so by getting a superhuman effort out of its staff. You just can’t do it with everyone working only 40 hours a...

If you are like a lot of our clients, 1994 was a really great year. For many firms, all indicators were up— including sales, backlog, revenues, and profitability. Our ZWEIG 100 index (based on 100...

Management people are usually critical of technical people for their lack of business knowledge. But having a business degree is no assurance you know any more than the average design or environmental consultant about how...

On Monday, December 20, 1993, William Edwards Deming, the 93-year-old management guru of Total Quality Management (TQM) died in his sleep. A statistician with a doctorate in Physics from Yale, Deming was credited with engineering...

Reflecting back on all of the A/E and environmental consulting firms that we came in contact with during 1992, one thought comes to mind. By and large, our industry’s management expertise has significantly improved. The...