Use the Small Firm Survey to...
- Benchmark your firm against other small firms in the design and environmental industry to see how you stack up
- See what kind of financial performance and growth is possible for a firm of your size so you can set goals for 2008 and beyond
- Find out how much firms are spending on marketing, information technology, human resources, and more
- Learn how your peers operate in every area of firm management— from project management to ownership to compensation
Are
you a leader of an architecture, engineering, or environmental firm
with fewer than 50 employees? Or are you responsible for a business
area in a firm of this size and type? If you answered "yes" to either
of these questions, then read on!
ZweigWhite's Small Firm Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning & Environmental Consulting Firms covers every area of business you're responsible for, and more! Exclusively for firms with fewer than 50 employees, the Small Firm Survey
is devoted to leaders and managers just like you who have
responsibilities in everything from finance to marketing to human
resources and information technology. And, because we know that you're
often forced to keep your firm's research budget to a minimum, we've
combined data on 11 different major business areas (financial
performance; billing practices; project management; marketing;
information technology; principals, partners & owners; policies,
procedures & benefits; training & development; recruiting &
retention; incentive compensation; and management compensation) into
one report. Furthermore, data are broken out by firms with 1 to 24
employees and those with 25 to 49 employees, so you can get the
specific details on firms that really are just like yours.
Topics covered include:
Financial performance: How does your firm stand up
to your peers? Get hard data on revenue per employee, profit margins,
multipliers, average collection period, and more. You'll find out where
you're ahead, and where you're behind. Small firms constantly face
issues of growth versus profitability— these survey results will tell
you if it's really possible to have both.
Marketing: How much do small firms spend on
marketing? What kind of hit rates do they get on their proposals? How
do they use web sites, press releases, and other marketing tools? Find
out how small firms manage the marketing process, and see what's
possible for your firm.
Billing practices: How much should you be charging
for your employees' time? Compare billing rates for every level of
employee— from clerks and design/technical staff to project managers,
associates, and principals— to your firm's rates. Should you be
charging more?
Information technology: IT can be a costly expense
for any firm, but can take an especially large bite out of the bottom
line for small firms. How much of an investment is really necessary?
Where's the boundary between investments that will improve productivity
down the line and those that just break the bank? See how much firms of
your size are spending on every area of IT— from hardware and software
to data telecommunications costs and Internet access.
Training & development: Employee training and
development offerings can be one of a firm's most important benefits
when it comes to attracting, hiring, and retaining staff. Find out
which types of training small firms are offering and how much to budget
firm-wide and per training type.
Compensation: Are you paying your top managers
enough? Too much? Find out how much small firm financial managers, IT
managers, marketing directors, project managers, and principals are
earning. Make sure you're paying enough to attract the best people—
people that will help your firm reach its goals!
Incentive compensation: How does your bonus and
incentive compensation plan compare to your peers'? What's the most
effective way to spend your incentive compensation dollars? From
performance bonuses to profit sharing, find out what small firms like
yours are doing regarding incentive compensation.
NEW! Recruiting & retention: Finding and
retaining top talent remains one of A/E firms' biggest challenges.
Compare what your firms is doing to toher small firms, and find out
what the competition is doing to locate the best candidates.
Financial performance, ownership, marketing, information technology,
human resources, project management, training, billing practices,
compensation— it's all here! Finally, all the data you need is
available in one place, and at one low, affordable price. You won't
find another book that covers every area of design and environmental
firm management exclusively for small firms like yours. If you're on a
tight research budget, get the one book that has it all!
