Strategic planning has become essential for architecture and design firms navigating a rapidly changing industry landscape. A well-defined strategy helps firms align their operations, HR, and business development efforts to create a resilient, forward-focused organization.

Let’s look at a strategic planning process broken down into four essential phases.

Phase 1: Practice Review and Information Gathering

The strategic planning journey begins with a thorough assessment of the firm’s current state. This is achieved through anonymous online surveys and in-person interviews to capture insights across operations, HR, and business development. Key elements include:

• Marketing and Business Development (BD) Review: This includes an audit of current marketing tactics, brand positioning, client feedback, and competitor analysis. The firm’s market positioning, growth targets, and long-term marketing strategy are central to this component.

• Operational Review: This looks at project management systems, financial health, budget controls, client communications, and other essential management areas. The goal is to identify the firm’s operational strengths, weaknesses, and growth opportunities.

• HR Review: The human resources component assesses employee satisfaction, recruitment, work-life balance, and overall company culture. This review provides a vision for strengthening HR processes and fostering a positive workplace.

The outcome of Phase 1 is a comprehensive understanding of the firm's current landscape, setting the stage for the next phase.

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Phase 2: Assessment and Discussion Retreat

Phase 2 is an intensive, interactive assessment phase that can take place over two days at a retreat or through virtual sessions. Here, key stakeholders engage in in-depth discussions to evaluate findings, discuss the firm’s direction, and define its mission and vision.

• Day 1: Focuses on presenting findings from the information-gathering phase, including SWOT analysis, industry trends, and a discussion of the firm’s mission and vision. This day is about understanding the firm’s current standing and what it hopes to achieve.

• Day 2: Concentrates on specific areas such as marketing and BD, HR, and financial health. Through facilitated discussions and break-out sessions, the team collaborates to identify key areas for improvement, explore opportunities, and set the groundwork for strategy development.

By the end of Phase 2, the firm has a clearer understanding of its internal strengths, market position, and potential strategic priorities.

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Phase 3: Strategy and Measurement Development

In Phase 3, the focus shifts to defining the firm’s strategic direction and establishing measurable goals. This stage involves intensive work on three primary areas— marketing/BD, financial health, and HR,—and consists of two main days:

• Day 1: Teams refine strategy in specific areas, establishing focus points and defining activities that support growth and resilience. This includes setting objectives for each area based on the insights gathered in Phase 1 and Phase 2.

• Day 2: Accountability and measurement take center stage, with discussions on budget allocations, responsibilities, and scheduling for each strategic initiative. Participants collaborate on setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress.

By the end of Phase 3, the firm has a detailed action plan with assigned responsibilities, budgets, and KPIs for tracking success.

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Phase 4: Implementation Support

The final phase of the strategic planning process provides the firm with hands-on implementation support to ensure the plan becomes an active part of daily operations. Over six months, the firm participates in regular check-ins to assess progress, address challenges, and make necessary adjustments.

• Months 1-2: Bi-weekly meetings focus on key areas—financial health, HR, and marketing/BD—to maintain momentum.

• Months 3-6: Monthly progress meetings continue to support the implementation process, adjusting strategies as needed.

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Conclusion

This structured, multi-phase strategic planning process equips architecture and design firms with the tools to proactively address industry changes, improve operational efficiency, and enhance long-term competitiveness. Through careful analysis, targeted strategy development, and consistent support, firms can navigate the complexities of today’s market while setting a clear path toward growth and resilience.

To help firms unlock new opportunities, Oomph has partnered with WORKBENCH, a consultancy specializing in design firm operations and people management, to develop a strategic planning program.

Ready to shape the future of your design practice?  Contact us for a consultation and discover how our strategic planning services can drive your success.

info[at]oomphgroup.com

Design firms have traditionally focused on delivering exceptional work and outstanding client service. However, the emphasis on revenue-generating work, coupled with tight deadlines, proposal preparation, and daily management focused on minimizing overhead often overshadows the development of effective practice management systems, targeted growth strategies, and long-term planning.

This traditional approach to practice management is now under pressure. Rising demand for faster, more cost-effective construction, improved risk management, advancements in AI, new materials, and industrial methods are disrupting the AEC sector. Coupled with an increasingly competitive landscape and demographic shifts, these changes are accelerating the need for design firms to rethink their operations and market strategies, reshaping traditional practice models into innovative and unexpected formats.

To remain competitive in this rapidly changing environment, it is now crucial for AEC firms to have a roadmap for adapting to change and seizing future opportunities. A strategy outlining steps to improve financial, human resources, and operational management systems, along with a plan to differentiate, grow, communicate and promote the practice are now needed to remain competitive and resilient in the face of change.

“You wouldn’t design a building without a programme. Why would you run your firm without a plan?”

What is strategic planning?

Strategic planning is a firm’s roadmap for the future. It’s a process that helps a firm define its direction, set long-term goals, determine the best strategies to achieve them, and decide on the needed resources.  

The process begins with a comprehensive 360° evaluation of the firm, creating an up-to-date inventory of essential practice management systems and processes to identify any gaps or areas needing improvement. Next, it includes an in-depth analysis of the firm’s financial health, covering revenue streams, cost structures, and profitability metrics. Human resources are also thoroughly assessed, focusing on organizational structure, staffing levels, and employee performance. The evaluation then extends to marketing and business development systems, examining current strategies, market positioning, mission and vision alignment, client acquisition processes, and growth opportunities.

Beyond evaluating management systems and procedures, a strategic plan offers a detailed analysis of the firm's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats—both internal and external—relative to competitors, current market conditions, and emerging industry trends.

Following a comprehensive inventory and evaluation, the strategic plan provides a platform for discussing and aligning on the next steps. This process builds consensus on priority areas, action steps, and implementation strategies, resulting in a clear action plan to drive improvements in financial management, people and project management, and marketing and business development for sustainable growth.

What are the benefits? Why should you consider strategic planning?

First and foremost, a strategic plan offers a clear vision and direction by outlining a roadmap for the firm’s future. It serves as the firm’s ‘programme’—the north star that aligns all team members with the firm’s goals and objectives, ensuring everyone is working towards the same vision.

For smaller firms, it identifies missing or insufficient practice systems and provides a plan to address these gaps. For larger firms with more robust leadership teams, it offers an opportunity to align senior and emerging leaders, facilitating the adoption of new perspectives and ideas, and ensuring a smooth transition of responsibilities with a unified plan that everyone agrees on.

The thorough analysis of a firm’s management systems, cost structures, profitability metrics, organizational hierarchy and staffing levels, helps pinpoint key financial goals and strategies. This enables more effective resource management, boosting profitability and supporting sustainable growth. Plus, the strategic planning process prioritizes initiatives, directing time, funding, and personnel to the most important areas to maximize value and ensure efficient resource allocation.

In a fast-changing practice environment, a strategic plan is crucial for enhancing risk management by identifying potential threats and challenges. This enables the firm to develop contingency plans and strategies to mitigate risks, ensuring greater stability and resilience. Additionally, it encourages ongoing improvement and innovation by assessing internal performance and industry trends, helping the firm adapt to changes and seize new opportunities.

The process also helps define the firm’s market positioning and identify the right types of work to pursue, keeping the firm competitive in a price-sensitive market and ready to respond effectively to new competitors in areas like pre-design or project management. Strategic planning also addresses shifts in client needs—such as the move from new builds to retrofits—by identifying the most effective service, marketing, and business development strategies.

Lastly, for firms facing ownership transitions, the process creates a plan for transferring practice management, client relationships, and business development responsibilities to younger partners. In essence, strategic planning aligns the firm’s goals with market demands, preparing it for sustainable growth and resilience in the face of change.

Ready to take your firm to the next level?

Oomph has partnered with WORKBENCH, a consultancy specializing in design firm operations and people management, to develop a strategic planning program that helps architecture, engineering, and interior design firms navigate rapid change and shape their future.

Visit our strategic program page to learn how we can help you define a clear vision and direction to move your firm forward!

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction [AEC] industry is now being disrupted.

The way buildings are financed, designed, and constructed has remained relatively unchanged for decades. As the largest contributor to global GDP (13%), the AEC sector is critical to the world economy, yet it remains one of the least efficient, with a mere 1% annual growth in productivity. The sector faces challenges in managing risks, controlling costs, and meeting time deadlines. 1.

Today, the industry is at a tipping point. The demand for faster, more affordable construction, the need for risk management, and the push toward sustainability are driving the adoption of novel technologies, materials, and methods.

These changes are prompting forward-thinking firms to reconsider their operational methods and market approaches, transforming traditional practice models into new and unexpected formats. A roadmap for responding to change and capitalizing on evolving opportunities is now critical.

In the coming months, we will focus on various aspects of the industry’s ongoing disruption and the essential steps firms need to implement to remain competitive. From formulating strategies for differentiation or new market entry, to methods for enhancing communications, business development, and promotion, we will explore the reasons, explain methods, and offer insights, guidance, and information to help firms navigate this novel and complex landscape.

1. Source: The Next Normal in Construction - McKinsey & Company

After two years in quarantine, going Banff to present a workshop at the Alberta Association of Architects’ annual conference, was truly the best way to ‘rejoin the world’, and I couldn’t have chosen a more spectacular place to do it.

We always tailor our programs for each specific event and location. To understand market conditions in Alberta, we polled AAA members and interviewed leaders at several firms. What we found was both distressing - and very encouranging. The 2015 drop in oil prices greatly affected the Alberta economy, particularly the commercial real estate sector in Calgary, where a flight of oil companies left the downtown core with more than 14 million sqare feet of empty office space, and many towers up to 90% empty.

To stay afloat, Alberta architects have become extremely effective at identifying the best opportunties and markets for work, and at finding prospects and pursuing work. They prove that strategic, focused and linked marketing and business development drive results.

We showed how to build on the marketinb and business development foundation they have established with strategies for differentiating their firm and positionoing against competitors.

Canadian Interiors interviews Johanna Hoffmann for its Bevel Podcast:

Although we have been in the COVID trenches for what seems like an incessantly long period of time, there now appears to be light at the end of this tunnel. With vaccination rates on a speedy incline and phased re-openings across the provinces, things are slowly returning to normal.

But we’re not out of the woods yet, and even when the pandemic is officially declared over its effects will be long-lasting. Canadian Interiors invited us to discuss the pandemic’s effects on design firms , and designers’ space planning, project management and procurement skills are urgently needed now.

Tune in to hear steps you can take to get your firm through the crisis by finding creative ways to generate revenue and other stop-gap solutions that while not necessarily permanent, will help you not only stay on your feet but continue marching on even after normalcy returns.

Listen to the episode on Canadian Interiors’ website here: https://www.canadianinteriors.com/podcast/episode-10-why-designers-must-pivot-w-johanna-hoffmann/

Or, on your favourite streaming service:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/66UmyDYHyhXCbjSAezS2Db

• Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/bevel-canadian-interiors-conversations

• Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xYzg5M2I3NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bevel-canadian-interiors-conversations/id1542303870?uo=4

• Anchor: https://anchor.fm/peter-sobchak

• Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/h42zufoz

• RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/bevel-canadian-interiors-conversa-Woxryy