5 in Five: Treat Your Candidates Like Clients

Here are my latest tips and tricks for improved AEC firm performance. See something that resonates? Make it happen at your firm! In so many cases, the difference between high performance and the rest of the crowd is simply a bias for doing and executing on good ideas...quickly!

See something here you want more info on or maybe even a tip that you just completely disagree with, let me know!

OWNERSHIP TRANSITION: Build value like an outside investor is watching.

Buyers of firm equity (internal or external) pay for predictability and transferability. Focus on consistent margins, diversified clients, and reducing dependence on a few rainmakers. If relationships and revenue walk out the door with one or two principals, your valuation will suffer. Learn more about planning for a smooth ownership transition at PSMJ’s Legacy by Design: AEC Ownership and Succession Strategies Workshop.

RECRUITING: Treat candidates like clients.

Your hiring process is a direct reflection of your brand. Slow feedback, disorganized interviews, or unclear expectations signal how you operate. Run recruiting like a business development process…responsive, personalized, and professional.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: Watch concentration and volatility risk.

Especially in turbulent economic times, high growth can mask fragile financials. Monitor top client concentration, market exposure, and revenue variability. If too much revenue is tied to a few clients or sectors, your risk profile takes a hit, and your revenue may take one, too.

RISK MANAGEMENT: Good risk management starts at Go/No-Go.

Most losses are “won” before the contract is signed. Enforce disciplined go/no-go criteria (e.g. client history, project type, delivery method, fee adequacy, and contract terms). Walking away from bad-fit work is one of the highest-return risk decisions you can make.

TECH AND INNOVATION: Tie every tech investment to a business outcome.

Stop chasing tools and start solving problems. Whether it’s reducing write-offs, accelerating proposals, or improving PM visibility, every initiative should map to a measurable KPI. If you can’t define the outcome, don’t fund the tool. Get more insight on where your next tech move may be at PSMJ’s AEC INNOVATE conference coming to Las Vegas in June.