Parts I and II of AEC team building in tough times spoke to 1. productive, practical team building alternatives; 2. a leader’s attitude to keep team building on the forefront day to day.
This final entry on the topic is about how team building can be solidified side-to-side…meaning: connect your internal teams with one another. Often, we look at strengthening our teams on a micro level, with the folks that work directly with one another on a regular basis. But for big and small firms alike, there’s also the bigger ‘team’ – the entire firm. What do you do to make sure that your teams jive with one another, for the greater good of the firm’s vision and mission?
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My favorite ‘solution’ to intertwining multiple teams and creating empathy along with a solitary all-for-one attitude is a technique that Gilbane, Inc. employs.
Several years ago, I consulted on-site with Gilbane’s Chicago office for three months. At that time, I discovered that the firm offers an amazing Gilbane University where continuing education is strongly encouraged for every single staff member. This is not uncommon for larger companies, yet Gilbane’s is one of the best (ok, THE best) program that I have ever seen in the AEC industry. By the way, these classes are also offered to the firm’s clients and subcontractors. Wow, talk about sticking power with their external relationships!
But there’s more. Gilbane also has a process for which they would create empathy, respect, and a keen familiarity between departments. When a new professional is hired (any level: field superintendent, project manager, etc), their training process involves ‘living’ within the various departments of the firm before commencing with their ‘actual’ position. So, for example, there was a woman {Julie} who was helping the marketing department for a full time two week period during my consulting engagement. (Incidentally, my role was a unique one; I was responsible for guiding/coaching two brand new marketing coordinators during the Senior Marketing Director’s maternity leave. Again, wow! A company that wanted to ensure proper orientation and career development for their marketing staff decides to hire an outside consultant rather than just ‘make do’).
So Julie helped with all things marketing — from proposal assemblies, to manning a table at an industry conference, to graphics and copy relating to direct mail and presentation pieces. Yes, it was just two weeks, but that’s 10 business days of more connection, empathy, and relationship-building than she would have had otherwise with the firm’s ever-so-important marketing team. Julie was also exposed/trained for two weeks in accounting, human resources, and IT. Am I allowed to say wow for a third time in this blog entry?
Why not consider something similar (perhaps on a smaller scale, but don’t reduce it down to something meaningless) in your own firm? Even if you are a small boutique of just 20 people, there’s no reason why you can’t have technical folks shadow core-back-of-house roles and vice versa. It’s good stuff, and it will indeed serve as a productive team building tool, side-to-side.
