One of the oldest professions in the world is architecture. In certain aspects, architecture practice itself hasn’t changed in decades. But there is one bastion that is being dismantled by some practitioners. And they are (deservedly) reaping the rewards to their atypical approach.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The secret is out. Part-time architecture staff are Value-for-Money.
The recently conducted “How to Flex“ discussion, the first such CPD initiative from the National Committee for Gender Equity (NCGE) within the AIA, was a resounding success. It was very well attended, in particular by many practice directors / principles, but also by employees wondering how to negotiate such a role.
The evening began with a talk by Misty Waters, who gave a fantastic over-view from a practice manager’s point of view.
“….most part-time architects work more efficiently and waste less time on Facebook and personal admin than full-time equivalents. It is often more effective to have a slightly more senior person working a three-or-four-day week than it is to have a full-time junior for the same salary.” – Misty Waters, Bespoke Careers
I have witnessed first-hand many principals moan about the financial strain that staff salaries place on an architecture practice. Sticking to the traditional way of engaging full-time, junior staff and then not assessing their ‘real’ performance for long periods of time is what puts many in this position in the first place.
The math is pretty simple too.
Experienced staff member : Full time @ 72k + super
Same staff member : 3 days a week @43k + super
Comparable to a graduate at full-time capacity!
However the experienced staff member will already be much better trained and able to work more efficiently/ independently, as previously mentioned.
Aside from new roles, the fact is that staff turnover is also expensive. The time (and hence cost) required to train someone to the level of expertise that they can operate relatively or semi-independently within your practice is substantial. It makes more sense to offer existing staff part-time roles than to decline their request and risk losing them permanently.
The emergence of more part-time roles within Architectural practice is fast proving to be the solution that many small to medium-sized firms are turning to. Particularly now that early adopters like Lee Hillam (from Dunn Hillam in Sydney) and Patrick Kennedy (of Kennedy Nolan in Melbourne) are proofs of the rich dividends that this approach has given their practices.
“Get staff to put forward their own proposal. Part-time hours change all the time. Accept that. ” – Patrick Kennedy, Kennedy Nolan
A common excuse put forward by many principals is that demanding clients may call on the day the part-time employee is off. Lee Hillam laid that concern to rest by pointing out that most residential clients were wrapped in their own work/life to be calling every single day of the week. So long as there are clear processes in place for all staff to take notes or questions from the client for the part-time person whilst they are away, there are minimal conflicts. Patrick Kennedy also observed that for such processes to work smoothly requires a collegiate office culture not a rivalry-based one. And finally Lee spoke about the ‘practice float’ that is available with an office that has part-time roles. When a big project or major deadline suddenly emerges, instead of frantically scrambling for new staff it is easy to have a conversation with staff to temporarily step-up full time in order to cope.
We need to rid ourselves of the collective illusion that the flexibility that employers give employees is a one-way street. It is instead rewarded manifold by grateful staff that returns the favour in multiple ways.
It is high time we all stopped putting part-time roles into the ‘too-hard’ basket and embrace it as simply good business sense that bolsters the longevity of individual careers as well of practice itself.
Written by: Sonia Sarangi of Atelier Red + Black (Victorian Event Correspondent for AWS)
Sonia Sarangi is co-director of Atelier Red+Black, an emerging architecture practice in Melbourne. She has a Masters in Architecture from the University of Melbourne and has previously worked for a small practice (Melbourne) and large international practice (Singapore). She is a proud supporter of Parlour and firmly believes that good design enriches life. She can be found on Instagram: @thesarangi
This blog has been co-published on the Parlour website
