Comment

Comment by Amy Verel on February 6, 2011 at 12:41pm

Great idea for a group, Jennifer. I've been thinking a lot lately about where I can find positive examples of design company policies/experiences and I'm eager to hear them, as well as creative, constructive discussion about ways to improve the bad ones. 

I'd like to offer a positive story so I'll have to reach beyond my design office experience, but it's a policy that would be extraordinarily easy (and free) for design offices to incorporate.  To the issue of sick time, which Jennifer you mention, a large insurance company that I worked for briefly had the perfect solution. No such thing as "sick time." No such thing as "vacation time." What, you ask? Simple: all paid time off was accrued in ONE BUCKET and it was called Paid Time Off, or PTO.  Annual roll-over policies were typical for vacation time policies, and any planned time off required adequate notice. 

 

However, in the case of personal or family illness, personal business, mental health day, WHATEVER you need because you're, you know, AN ADULT, PTO hours could be taken without notice, as sick time is traditionally taken.  Obviously you can't have people running around taking PTO whenever they want all the time so you have controls against abuse, but the on-the-ground result of this policy is the (a) "sick time" was eliminated as a fraught benefit that encourages grown men and women to fake sickness in order to cash in the time they actually earned, (b) employees were treated like adults capable of determining when they need occasional paid hours off work to attend to illness/personal needs, (c) employees were more judicious in their use of PTO because, if you wanted, you could use it all as vacation, rather than having to blow it on "calling out" and feeling like you're letting down your team.

It was a win-win that didn't cost anyone anything and probably saved the company money in terms of productivity and morale. Wondering if anyone has had this type of progressive policy at a design firm, and if so how it worked out on the ground?

Comment by BZ Girl on February 4, 2011 at 11:03am

so, since we're sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly here's my contribution.

 

Last summer we had a pretty significant weather event. EVERYTHING in the city government shut down, schools closed, highways closed, the mayor declared a weather emergency. On the news they kept telling people STAY OFF THE ROADS; it's not safe. On the morning of the event i called my boss to inquire whether the office would be open and i needed to come in to work, since the mayor kept advocating that only critical employees should be reporting to work. Thinking that landscape architecture is not at the top of the list of critical functions in society, I expected that my boss would do the decent thing and close the office. Not so. I was told to come in to work. 

 

When i got to work i discovered that my other boss was not there. She never came in. She was too worried about the dangerous road conditions. So pretty much she was in esscence saying, 'i need to stay home b/c it's just too dangerous, but all you peon employees are expected to risk your very lives and show up for work.'

 

Glad to know that 8 billable hours is worth more than my safety and well being to them. I find it highly ironic that as landscape architects, they are charged to protect the health safety and welfare of the general public, but they won't even protect the safety of their own employees.

Comment by Jennifer de Graaf on May 29, 2009 at 11:09am

I remembered another company policy I heard about. There is a company that has a pre-review meeting about 3 months before the employee's annual review. Someone who is a superior (but not everyone involved in the formal review process) discusses the employee's strengths and weaknesses with him/her and offers suggestions for improvement. Three months later, at the official annual review, that employee has had the past three months to demonstrate whatever it was that they needed to learn and they get the benefit of that in their earnings increase. Guess what? employees get the chance to know what is wrong before being financially punished! This particular incentive is good for morale, good for productivity, and good for better trained employees to me!

To any employer that says they can't be bothered to invest 30-60 minutes in each employee in this fashion is sending the message that their employees aren't valuable. That is not an appropriate message to send the people who work for you.

Comment by Jennifer de Graaf on May 29, 2009 at 10:56am

I do think that certain comments in this group could be dangerous - I suggest that if someone has a story to tell that could get them in trouble that they ask a friend to post it for them or post it as though they heard it somewhere else. My intent is to illuminate both sides for the benefit of all.

On that note, I will share a few company policies that I really think are positive and beneficial to everyone in those companies. When I am in a position of company policy making, I intend to implement these.

1. Welcome lunch and goodbye lunches! When someone joins (or leaves) the firm, inviting anyone from the office who wants to go have lunch together costs a couple of hours and a few dollars. This investment goes a LONG way toward everyone getting to know each other better, having a moment to relax, and making the new person feel welcome = big dividends in team building, morale, and a good start for that new person. If someone is leaving the company of their own volition, it sends the message that they are respected and will be missed. I know from experience that this, too, can go a long way towards past employees having a good feeling about a company that will stay with them....believe me! I wouldn't be writing it right now if I hadn't encountered that practice only twice and I remembered it.

2. paid sick time off - if not taken at the end of the year, most companies revoke that time off benefit and the employee loses out on an earned benefit and often has to begin accrual from zero at the beginning of the year. Instead of losing the time off, I worked for a company that would give the employee about 75% of their hourly rate for that time that they worked instead of calling in sick. I know there have been times that I didn't use every moment of sick leave by the end of the year and felt compelled to fake a sick day in order to not lose my hard-earned benefit. I would appreciate the cash instead and just keep working. Good for the company's productivity and basic good will and respect on both sides.

3. Holiday bonuses - a deli sandwich and 1/2 a day off does not qualify. Sorry.

Comment by Christopher Patzke on May 29, 2009 at 6:51am

This could be dangerous but I'll have a go....LOL
The first thing that comes to mind is very general but I think it affects every studio: the technology generation gap. From an employee point of view I am disheartened that I see my career path suffer because of the gap. All members of a studio should know the the basic tools of our trade including AutoCAD and any other software used in an office. In small offices the "I am a principal...it is beneath me to do these things" does not work. I find myself doing far less design work than I am capable of, talented in, and experienced in because my time is consumed by computer file management, printing pdf's and other basic professional skills. I am not a secretary. At this stage in my career I should be refining my design skills. Insert cry-baby sound here...LOL

Comment by Andrew Spiering on May 28, 2009 at 4:45pm

Awesome idea, Jennifer!