The dark side of architectural firms

Anon's comments from a recent post have given me much food for thought. S/He shined a spotlight on some of the not-so-awesome aspects of our profession. Below is from his/her comments (the completion of point 1):

...This time I went to work for a large firm about a year before the recession started. Guess who was first to be laid off. Me. This was a terrible career move. I should have stayed at the small firm.

At the large firm, I had the unfortunate situation where I found myself working under a manager who was not an architect and never did IDP. This person was one of those short-sighted managers you are talking about.

This large firm did not support my goals of completing the IDP requirements at all. In fact, I mentioned at a performance review that one of my goals was to complete the IDP. The vice president, the short-sighted manager I was working under, and the human resource manager of the company all told me that finishing the IDP was not a legitimate goal to have. (I had 630 training units complete at this time and 11/16 training areas complete.) When I asked for opportunities for experience in the IDP training areas that I had not completed up to that point they yelled NO!! at me. This was even after I worked about 12 weekends for that firm that year and the forth of July. The firm as a whole saw NO value in helping me find experience in the few training areas that I was lacking.

It is the latter part of Anon's first point here that saddens me because it reveals the dark, horrible, ugly side of the architectural profession: there are firms out there that don't support IDP, don't support interns (and other employees), and run like sweatshops more than actual design firms. There are firms out there that so furiously scrutinize the bottom line that they won't look towards the long term--they treat interns like the proverbial "CAD monkeys" and make them draw without ever really teaching and mentoring them. (And by the way, it's not just this profession--investment companies, dentistry practices, spas and salons, construction firms, publishing houses...there are companies in every field that refuse to mentor and teach properly.) For these firms, it's about the profit for this quarter or next quarter. Business is about money and not about relationships (with employees or clients) or even about good service--people (especially interns) are replaceable to them, and it's profit first. I know these places exist, even if I haven't worked for them. Colleagues of mine have been laid off, or they leave for what they think are greener pastures, and they find that the firm to which they've migrated has pulled bait-and-switch at best or is full of clinical liars and sociopaths at worst.

First off, it's unconscionable that Anon's supervisor wasn't even licensed--that means no hours s/he earns can be counted for IDP, since you have to work under the supervision of a licensed architect. (There may be some loophole for that, maybe someone else would sign his/her IDP forms, but that's unethical in my book.) And that to me tells me something immediately--when the person I'm answering to as an intern isn't even licensed, is this company really serious about whether I get licensed? They obviously didn't care if my boss is, so who cares if I am? Anon, I'm curious if they told you what was a "legitimate" goal to have, if finishing IDP wasn't one? What could be better than having a high-functioning employee in your organization?

Firms are not required to support IDP (more on that in the next post), but they are required to obey the labor laws (no unpaid work, etc.). But laws only provide for minimum treatment. For example, the law requires that you provide basic care for an animal in your custody (feed and water it, prevent it from being exposed to extreme weather conditions, provide basic medical care, etc.), but the law does not require that you pet or play with the animal. But for heaven's sake, why wouldn't you? Why would you only do the basic minimum that's required? And that's how I look at firms that don't support IDP and intern training/mentorship--why would you only provide the basic level of concern for your employees and not further develop them in ways that benefit you and them? (I realize that the animal welfare thing is an inelegant analogy, but I hope the intent of the comparison is clear--complying with the minimum requirements is hardly satisfactory and isn't really in the spirit of what it is to be part of a civilization.)

Firms that don't support IDP and interns should die. Not the people, mind you--the firm. If a firm treats its newest and youngest employees like crap, then employees of all levels should leave that firm until words gets around that this is a bad firm that treats people poorly. Then it's either too understaffed to do good work, or potential clients hear the scuttlebutt about the firm as well, and then the firm goes out of business. Finis. Kaput. That's what deserves to happen to bad companies in any field, not just architecture. Why? First of all, because people and companies that just do the basics and what's required is hardly worthy of salutation. Second of all, it's like how we're told as teenagers to judge a first date based on how they treat the waiter at a restaurant--if you treat someone who is of little consequence to you as a disposable thing instead of a human being, then that attitude may get directed towards you further down the relationship road. Related to that, and most importantly, in an information economy, people are the most important resource.

I can teach nearly anyone to run Revit decently in a month and really well in three months, but the skills that truly make a good architect--thinking in three and even four dimensions, being able to solve a problem in multiple ways, following a small change all the way through a building or project the way a ripple spreads across a pond--those skills are fewer and farther between. Furthermore, finding people that mesh well together as a team and also mesh well with your clients and consultants is a blessing. These people are not easily replaced; conversely, if you teach them well, they can replace you, the firm manager/owner, which will either give you the free time needed to go after more work or to relax, take a few days off, and enjoy the fruits of your labors.

I know that the crappy economy is likely keeping a lot of you at bad firms, but once things turn, I want you to run. Run like the wind, and find another firm. And when you get a new firm, tell your intern colleagues to stay far, far away from the place from whence you came.

In the next post, more discussion of how IDP is applied in firms. In the meantime, let me know either in the comments of via email in the sidebar if you have a question you'd like answered or a topic you'd like to see discussed. This site works best when you contribute topics, questions, etc. Thanks!