1 00:00:03,280 --> 00:00:06,899 Welcome to the Zweig letter podcast. Putting 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,500 architectural engineering, planning, and environmental 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,639 consulting advice and guidance in your ear. Zweig 4 00:00:14,639 --> 00:00:17,875 group's team of experts have spent more than three decades 5 00:00:18,255 --> 00:00:22,095 elevating the industry by helping AEP and 6 00:00:22,095 --> 00:00:25,455 environmental consulting firms thrive. And these 7 00:00:25,455 --> 00:00:28,195 podcasts deliver invaluable management, 8 00:00:28,814 --> 00:00:32,439 industry, client, marketing, and 9 00:00:32,439 --> 00:00:35,960 HR advice directly to you free of 10 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,420 charge. The Zweig letter podcasts, 11 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,480 elevating the design industry one episode at a 12 00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:46,985 time. Welcome to 13 00:00:47,204 --> 00:00:50,965 the Zweig letter podcast, your go to source for 14 00:00:50,965 --> 00:00:54,324 insights and inspiration from the best minds in the 15 00:00:54,324 --> 00:00:57,684 AEC industry. I'm your host, Randy Wilburn. And 16 00:00:57,684 --> 00:01:01,399 today, we're talking about research and data with 17 00:01:01,399 --> 00:01:04,700 two of the AEC industry's top experts 18 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,520 and friends of mine. Each year, Zweig Group collects and 19 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:12,299 manages millions of data points from different areas of the AEC 20 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,115 industry, creating reports that help firms navigate an 21 00:01:16,115 --> 00:01:19,955 ever changing landscape. With us today are two of 22 00:01:19,955 --> 00:01:23,015 the team members who helped make it all possible, 23 00:01:23,715 --> 00:01:27,555 Kyle Ahearn and Keith Sequera. We're excited to 24 00:01:27,555 --> 00:01:30,939 hear about their work and how they are elevating the 25 00:01:30,939 --> 00:01:34,619 research game. Joining me in this conversation is my 26 00:01:34,619 --> 00:01:38,299 colleague and new cohost, compadre, my 27 00:01:38,299 --> 00:01:41,500 Robin to the Batman that I am, I guess. I don't know. I don't I 28 00:01:41,500 --> 00:01:44,805 don't know where I'm going. Anyway, Luke Carothers. Go on, Drew. 29 00:01:45,185 --> 00:01:48,325 Yeah. And together, we're going to dive into changing 30 00:01:48,865 --> 00:01:52,384 research needs, employee sentiment data, and 31 00:01:52,384 --> 00:01:56,110 research participation, and so much more. So whether you're a 32 00:01:56,110 --> 00:01:59,410 long time user of Zweig Group Research products 33 00:01:59,470 --> 00:02:02,830 or you're new to their offerings, this is the 34 00:02:02,830 --> 00:02:06,610 episode for you. So let's jump right in. Alright. 35 00:02:07,085 --> 00:02:10,845 Kyle, Keith, how are you guys doing today? Doing well. Thank you, 36 00:02:10,845 --> 00:02:14,465 Randy. Doing well. Doing well. Thanks, Randy. Absolutely, 37 00:02:14,605 --> 00:02:18,285 man. I'm so honored to have you both on this podcast, and it's 38 00:02:18,285 --> 00:02:21,980 just it's really you know, we I've had you both on at 39 00:02:21,980 --> 00:02:25,740 different times by yourselves. And so now this is the first time that 40 00:02:25,740 --> 00:02:29,520 we're all kind of on here together, which I I'm really excited about. 41 00:02:29,660 --> 00:02:32,945 And, you know, this is a conversation that sometimes 42 00:02:33,085 --> 00:02:36,865 doesn't get, I guess, the weight or the exposure 43 00:02:36,925 --> 00:02:40,465 that it deserves. And and speaking of and what I'm speaking of specifically 44 00:02:40,605 --> 00:02:44,445 is just, you know, the data and the information in the 45 00:02:44,445 --> 00:02:47,905 design industry and how it's collected, how it's 46 00:02:48,450 --> 00:02:52,210 assembled, how it's looked at and parsed, and then how 47 00:02:52,210 --> 00:02:56,050 it is presented to the world. Right? But more importantly, how it's 48 00:02:56,050 --> 00:02:59,490 presented to our colleagues in the design industry space 49 00:02:59,490 --> 00:03:03,030 and why the information matters in the first place. And so 50 00:03:03,125 --> 00:03:06,724 I definitely want to, we're gonna have a a good conversation about 51 00:03:06,724 --> 00:03:10,485 this today. Keith, for the audience, for those that don't know you, I would 52 00:03:10,485 --> 00:03:14,325 love for you just to just share a little bit about your background and your 53 00:03:14,325 --> 00:03:18,165 specific role at Zwai Group. Thanks, Randy. And as 54 00:03:18,165 --> 00:03:21,840 much as I I like being in the in the spotlight, this is always 55 00:03:21,900 --> 00:03:25,040 awkward to get started with these You got this, man. 56 00:03:25,260 --> 00:03:29,040 But I am now the senior director of analytics 57 00:03:29,180 --> 00:03:32,720 and technology at Zweig Group. That's my new role since 58 00:03:32,940 --> 00:03:36,674 December of twenty twenty four. It's been quite the ride really 59 00:03:36,674 --> 00:03:40,355 since 2022, which is when I started with Zwagroup. And 60 00:03:40,355 --> 00:03:43,555 Randy, I was just looking up when we last had this conversation was November of 61 00:03:43,555 --> 00:03:46,754 twenty twenty three. I think I was still getting my feet under me trying to 62 00:03:46,754 --> 00:03:50,200 figure out what we're doing. It was on the heels of the Zweig 63 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,880 insights transition, maybe. Yeah. It's It's 64 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:57,180 been a year. No. My feet are not under me yet. 65 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,700 But my role mixture of roles now. Yeah. 66 00:04:02,905 --> 00:04:06,205 The focus really is to lead the research and analytics 67 00:04:06,265 --> 00:04:10,105 department. Kyle obviously has he's he's new to the group as well. He's 68 00:04:10,105 --> 00:04:13,885 been part of the research group as the awards and employee experience 69 00:04:13,944 --> 00:04:17,370 manager for years. Look, Kyle's been with the Zweig Group for ten years now. 70 00:04:17,690 --> 00:04:20,430 But, he's new to the larger analytics 71 00:04:21,610 --> 00:04:25,290 team and we have Sue Dang and 72 00:04:25,290 --> 00:04:28,729 and, Gerard Wigmer who are also on this team. Our 73 00:04:28,729 --> 00:04:32,444 focus really is to collect, analyze 74 00:04:32,824 --> 00:04:36,425 and report on the data from the 75 00:04:36,425 --> 00:04:40,025 industry. Right? We have about 10 to 15 different 76 00:04:40,025 --> 00:04:43,705 publications. We try to publish one every month. We 77 00:04:43,705 --> 00:04:47,379 have this wide insights platform, which has a couple 78 00:04:47,439 --> 00:04:50,819 products in there. Yeah. It's a broad 79 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,960 range of the type of data, I guess, that we provide back, in 80 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:58,639 our benchmark reports to the industry. My new 81 00:04:58,639 --> 00:05:02,435 role also includes managing the technology stack at at Zweig 82 00:05:02,435 --> 00:05:05,974 Group. The focus really is to lead innovation 83 00:05:06,675 --> 00:05:10,115 through technology at at Zweig Group. And that's we're trying to think of ways to 84 00:05:10,115 --> 00:05:13,875 use AI. We're trying to think of ways to use automation and, you know, 85 00:05:13,875 --> 00:05:17,540 streamline and improve. That's that's the goal. Yeah. I well, I 86 00:05:17,540 --> 00:05:21,380 appreciate it. I mean, you you did an amazing job helping us move our 87 00:05:21,380 --> 00:05:24,980 tech stack over to the Microsoft universe, if you 88 00:05:24,980 --> 00:05:28,820 will. And, there were little little hiccups here or there, but 89 00:05:28,820 --> 00:05:32,194 every time I looked up, you had an answer for everything. So I 90 00:05:32,194 --> 00:05:36,034 appreciate that as I know the rest of these guys do. So even 91 00:05:36,034 --> 00:05:39,875 though I'm not fully engaged all the time with everything Zweig Group, but, 92 00:05:39,875 --> 00:05:43,395 certainly, I know this this next gentleman gets is coming to the stage and sharing 93 00:05:43,395 --> 00:05:47,199 a little bit about himself is, and I remember him when. But, Kyle, 94 00:05:47,340 --> 00:05:50,940 certainly, I can't believe it's been ten years, but you've been on this podcast a 95 00:05:50,940 --> 00:05:54,539 couple of times, and I wanna welcome you back again. Just for the 96 00:05:54,539 --> 00:05:57,919 audience's edification, just introduce yourself because most 97 00:05:57,979 --> 00:06:01,685 firms that we deal with at Zwai Group know you or have 98 00:06:01,685 --> 00:06:05,285 received an email from you or a phone call. I mean, you are the 99 00:06:05,285 --> 00:06:09,125 eponymous individual at Zwai Group because everybody gets 100 00:06:09,125 --> 00:06:12,565 to interact with you. But for those that don't know you, for those that have 101 00:06:12,565 --> 00:06:16,310 been in a cave for the last couple of years, just introduce yourself again, 102 00:06:16,310 --> 00:06:19,990 Kyle. Yeah. Thanks, Randy. I I appreciate it. And, yeah, 103 00:06:19,990 --> 00:06:23,750 ten years already. Right? No. And and it's 104 00:06:23,750 --> 00:06:27,365 been good. I've been able to work in a lot of different 105 00:06:27,365 --> 00:06:31,205 areas within the the Zweig group environment and all that we 106 00:06:31,205 --> 00:06:34,965 do. You know, Randy, you were a a mentor of mine 107 00:06:34,965 --> 00:06:38,585 really when I first started and how we worked together in executive 108 00:06:38,645 --> 00:06:42,100 search and all that you taught me there. And then I moved over to the 109 00:06:42,100 --> 00:06:45,860 awards area and ran that and still run 110 00:06:45,860 --> 00:06:49,700 that program to this day, and and so been doing that for about the 111 00:06:49,700 --> 00:06:53,365 last nine years. And then, just 112 00:06:53,365 --> 00:06:57,064 through that, there's been a kind of a natural evolution of 113 00:06:57,205 --> 00:07:00,745 bringing the data that we get through the awards program 114 00:07:01,044 --> 00:07:04,405 and integrating it more and more into our 115 00:07:04,405 --> 00:07:07,860 wider research base, our our 116 00:07:07,860 --> 00:07:11,460 our stack of research that we have in trying to you know, 117 00:07:11,460 --> 00:07:15,300 especially the the vast amounts of employee survey data. You know, last year, 118 00:07:15,300 --> 00:07:19,140 we had over 20,000 responses to the best firms to work for 119 00:07:19,140 --> 00:07:22,775 employee survey. So it's it's getting that data integrated to the 120 00:07:22,775 --> 00:07:26,375 rest of the data that we have. And that's just kind of been a 121 00:07:26,375 --> 00:07:29,975 natural progression for me over the last, you know, year or 122 00:07:29,975 --> 00:07:33,675 so of working closer with our research team 123 00:07:34,009 --> 00:07:37,610 and then moving officially into a a manager of 124 00:07:37,610 --> 00:07:41,310 awards and analytics in October of last year 125 00:07:41,530 --> 00:07:45,130 and just getting more and more ingrained in all of the research that we 126 00:07:45,130 --> 00:07:48,854 do beyond just the how we integrate the awards data, but all 127 00:07:48,854 --> 00:07:52,294 the research that we do. So Keith has been a a huge help for me 128 00:07:52,294 --> 00:07:55,814 there, as well as Sue and Gerardo, who are both rock 129 00:07:55,814 --> 00:07:59,370 stars on our team as well. So my role now is 130 00:07:59,610 --> 00:08:03,150 taking a you know, helping with the big picture view of of everything's 131 00:08:03,370 --> 00:08:07,130 white group research related, but still still holding down the fort on 132 00:08:07,130 --> 00:08:10,729 the awards. And, you know, hopefully, everybody who's who's 133 00:08:10,729 --> 00:08:14,185 interacting with me on the through the awards program will be able 134 00:08:14,185 --> 00:08:17,465 to, start to get a little bit of an understanding of what we're doing on 135 00:08:17,465 --> 00:08:21,225 on the research side as a whole here as well. Yeah. 136 00:08:21,225 --> 00:08:25,005 And then I wanna add to that, Randy. We say everybody 137 00:08:25,225 --> 00:08:28,750 has heard or seen an email from Kyle. But for the folks that 138 00:08:28,750 --> 00:08:32,429 haven't, especially the ones that are at Elevate AEC, Kyle runs a 139 00:08:32,429 --> 00:08:36,270 lot behind the scenes at at Elevate. Let's not forget. So 140 00:08:36,270 --> 00:08:40,110 if you have not interacted with him, you have seen 141 00:08:40,110 --> 00:08:43,585 his products for sure. Yeah. He he he is 142 00:08:43,585 --> 00:08:47,105 both behind the scenes and on the stage. He does 143 00:08:47,105 --> 00:08:50,565 everything for Elevate AEC. Well, I tell him, you know, 144 00:08:50,705 --> 00:08:54,145 it's why he's got a really nice tuxedo, and and it gets a lot of 145 00:08:54,145 --> 00:08:57,949 use. So and and I love I just love hearing that and just seeing 146 00:08:57,949 --> 00:09:01,790 the evolution specifically for Kyle, but we can fanboy over 147 00:09:01,790 --> 00:09:05,550 him later. I want to I wanna ask you both, and I'll 148 00:09:05,550 --> 00:09:09,070 start with you, Keith, because I think this is the reason why we wanted to 149 00:09:09,070 --> 00:09:12,785 have this conversation in the first place. The needs and wants of 150 00:09:12,785 --> 00:09:16,305 design firms have surely changed when it comes to 151 00:09:16,305 --> 00:09:19,905 research. I'm just curious to know what are you hearing 152 00:09:19,905 --> 00:09:23,265 from firms? What are they asking for in terms of 153 00:09:23,265 --> 00:09:27,100 research? And even in your three years here at Zweig Group, I'm sure 154 00:09:27,100 --> 00:09:30,800 you've seen a change in those requests. Just through the awards, 155 00:09:30,860 --> 00:09:34,459 I mean, this is from a best firms to work for perspective. I think, 156 00:09:34,459 --> 00:09:38,115 really, when I first started with the awards program, it was 157 00:09:38,115 --> 00:09:41,875 that. It was an award, and, you know, that was great 158 00:09:41,875 --> 00:09:45,475 week one. We're best firms to work for. We're a hot firm. We're we're marketing 159 00:09:45,475 --> 00:09:49,155 excellence award winner. Whereas now and this shift 160 00:09:49,155 --> 00:09:52,695 has really taken place over about the last five years or so because 161 00:09:53,019 --> 00:09:56,860 we are presenting this data back to them. It's it's more than just 162 00:09:56,860 --> 00:10:00,540 an award for especially for best firms to work for anymore. They 163 00:10:00,540 --> 00:10:03,899 get the the employee sentiment data presented back to them 164 00:10:03,899 --> 00:10:07,595 alongside the industry averages and benchmarking 165 00:10:07,735 --> 00:10:11,495 data through Zwag Insights. They have that presented back to them, 166 00:10:11,495 --> 00:10:15,015 and and they can start to formulate, you know, internal team 167 00:10:15,015 --> 00:10:18,775 strategy off that data. And now I hear more from people 168 00:10:18,775 --> 00:10:22,400 saying, we are in this for the data. The 169 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:26,240 award is kind of the carry on top, and that's an evolution in 170 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:30,000 what firms are looking for in that area, you know, that 171 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,460 specific area. You know? And and as it pertains to data 172 00:10:34,025 --> 00:10:37,625 in a wider sense, you know, I think the almost the 173 00:10:37,625 --> 00:10:41,465 instant feedback, we've built these benchmarking tools, Keith, and and I'd love for 174 00:10:41,465 --> 00:10:45,065 you to touch on those a little bit more because these benchmarking tools that allow 175 00:10:45,065 --> 00:10:48,839 firms to input their data and then see it, you know, 176 00:10:48,839 --> 00:10:52,519 right up next against those benchmarking data rather than, 177 00:10:52,519 --> 00:10:56,360 you know, the traditional PDF where you're looking at the data. And 178 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,040 maybe maybe you've got some of your own data pulled up on another screen. Having 179 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:02,675 it all right there together is an evolution I've seen. 180 00:11:03,695 --> 00:11:06,655 Yeah. And I I would that's where I was going. That that's where I was 181 00:11:06,655 --> 00:11:10,175 thinking about, you know, the PDFs are tradition of how we delivered all of 182 00:11:10,175 --> 00:11:13,860 our reports and PDFs. Obviously, you can search, but 183 00:11:13,940 --> 00:11:17,779 there's much efficient ways to view that data. There's much efficient ways to slice and 184 00:11:17,779 --> 00:11:21,459 dice through it. There are tools out there specifically that, you know, that help you 185 00:11:21,459 --> 00:11:24,500 do that if you had access to the raw data. What we're trying to do 186 00:11:24,500 --> 00:11:27,925 is trying to make that easier, and that's through tools like Zuag Insights. Right? We 187 00:11:27,925 --> 00:11:31,525 have all these Excel tools that we have always delivered as an add on or 188 00:11:31,525 --> 00:11:35,365 as part of your package when you purchase a report from us, but 189 00:11:35,365 --> 00:11:38,885 those Excel tools are static. What Zwag Insight gives you is direct 190 00:11:38,885 --> 00:11:42,690 access. It's connected to our database, connected to our our data warehouse. 191 00:11:42,690 --> 00:11:46,370 You you will progressively get fresher data. 192 00:11:46,370 --> 00:11:49,649 Right? And we currently only have best ones to work for and and comp data 193 00:11:49,649 --> 00:11:53,250 platform in that within Zwag Insights, and comp data platform is moving to 194 00:11:53,250 --> 00:11:56,709 a a regular cadence to provide you with more real time 195 00:11:56,955 --> 00:12:00,635 compensation data. But that's where I see that's the transition that I see. And I 196 00:12:00,635 --> 00:12:03,995 think as an industry, we are a little late to this game. A lot of 197 00:12:04,075 --> 00:12:07,755 like most other industries have already done this. You know, we moved away from physical 198 00:12:07,755 --> 00:12:11,470 PDFs and paper printed reports, 199 00:12:11,769 --> 00:12:15,290 but we still do some of that at Zweig Group too. There's still a few 200 00:12:15,290 --> 00:12:19,050 people that want those printed reports. Yeah. This industry has always 201 00:12:19,050 --> 00:12:22,765 been slow on the uptick when it comes to, new technology, 202 00:12:22,825 --> 00:12:26,425 but they're getting there slowly but surely. So You know, I don't think that's the 203 00:12:26,425 --> 00:12:29,945 industry's fault, though. I think as we develop 204 00:12:29,945 --> 00:12:33,785 tools, we need to develop tools that have the answers. Right? Not tools where 205 00:12:33,785 --> 00:12:37,550 people have to dig for the answers. And I think that's the key differentiator here. 206 00:12:37,610 --> 00:12:41,070 Where we're going to or trying to provide that within, like, actionable 207 00:12:41,130 --> 00:12:44,970 insight from our data. Let's not beat around the bush. Why you 208 00:12:44,970 --> 00:12:48,650 have to go through 50 different chapters to find what you need? AI is making 209 00:12:48,650 --> 00:12:52,465 it much easier for us to search for results. So why don't our tools support 210 00:12:52,465 --> 00:12:55,505 that as well? And I think Zawag Insights is where we can do that. Yeah. 211 00:12:55,505 --> 00:12:59,205 Absolutely. I mean and, you know, again, I think of the evolution 212 00:12:59,585 --> 00:13:03,425 of best firms to work for the whole platform. Right? And, you know, 213 00:13:03,425 --> 00:13:07,029 it functions as both an award and, like you said, 214 00:13:07,029 --> 00:13:10,570 Kyle, earlier, one of the largest collections of employee sentiment 215 00:13:10,950 --> 00:13:14,790 data in the AEC industry space. And I think also one 216 00:13:14,790 --> 00:13:18,470 of the things that reasons why the best firms to work 217 00:13:18,470 --> 00:13:22,245 for platform is so important is because when you think 218 00:13:22,245 --> 00:13:26,024 of the information that it provides to a firm 219 00:13:26,404 --> 00:13:30,084 to create the best environment possible for 220 00:13:30,084 --> 00:13:33,720 recruitment, retention, for growth, I mean, 221 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,160 all of those things play a factor, and I'm and I'm sure I'm missing some 222 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,140 categories, but there's so much that goes into 223 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:44,140 making a best firm in terms of what these firms do themselves. 224 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:48,475 That's why the data is so valuable, and that's why, you know, we're 225 00:13:48,475 --> 00:13:52,095 constantly encouraging firms to participate in this program. 226 00:13:52,315 --> 00:13:56,154 And whether they are at the top of the heap or somewhere in the middle 227 00:13:56,154 --> 00:13:59,970 or even at the bottom, you only get what you inspect. If 228 00:13:59,970 --> 00:14:03,750 you don't take the time to benchmark your your performance 229 00:14:03,810 --> 00:14:07,490 and your your organization to other peer firms out 230 00:14:07,490 --> 00:14:11,029 there, you're gonna miss out on opportunities for you 231 00:14:11,250 --> 00:14:14,954 to shore up areas of shortcomings, to figure 232 00:14:14,954 --> 00:14:18,574 out how you can put yourselves out there in a better light 233 00:14:18,795 --> 00:14:22,634 and really be able to compete with the rest of the firms out there that 234 00:14:22,634 --> 00:14:26,394 are using Zweig's data on a regular basis to just make 235 00:14:26,394 --> 00:14:30,180 themselves better. Yeah. I think when we talk about just the evolution 236 00:14:30,399 --> 00:14:34,079 of Zweig Group research and data, in general, it makes 237 00:14:34,079 --> 00:14:37,920 sense that we this innovation would come through best firms to work 238 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:41,699 for. Right? All this data, all the the millions and millions of points, 239 00:14:41,885 --> 00:14:45,665 they all add up to a snapshot of how we operate as an industry. 240 00:14:46,045 --> 00:14:49,885 And if people are using that as a way to navigate forward, then 241 00:14:49,885 --> 00:14:53,325 it makes sense that we take that snapshot from the best firms to work 242 00:14:53,325 --> 00:14:57,100 for. Yeah. I mean and certainly and I appreciate you adding 243 00:14:57,100 --> 00:15:00,140 to that because, really, I did I did have a question there. I promise you 244 00:15:00,140 --> 00:15:03,500 guys. How has best firms to work for 245 00:15:03,500 --> 00:15:07,260 developed over the years? I mean, we talk about the technology that's now 246 00:15:07,260 --> 00:15:11,085 there, but what else in your own words have made 247 00:15:11,225 --> 00:15:14,745 best firms to work for so important and something that people should pay 248 00:15:14,745 --> 00:15:18,125 attention to? Yeah. I think the employee 249 00:15:18,265 --> 00:15:21,960 experience and we've seen over the last five years 250 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:25,480 how important the employee experience has been with how tight the 251 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:29,100 labor market has been and how everybody is competing 252 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:33,240 for the same people. You know? You you're competing for people 253 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:36,685 straight out of college and universities, but then you're also 254 00:15:36,685 --> 00:15:40,045 competing with firms who are trying to poach your 255 00:15:40,045 --> 00:15:43,405 employees. And so a way to help 256 00:15:43,405 --> 00:15:47,185 ensure, you know, good retention is to assess 257 00:15:47,485 --> 00:15:51,139 what your employees are thinking about your firm, and you've gotta do 258 00:15:51,139 --> 00:15:54,899 that through surveys. And and people, you know, they worry about, well, survey 259 00:15:54,899 --> 00:15:58,660 fatigue. Are we over surveying our our employees? Well, I mean, 260 00:15:58,660 --> 00:16:02,040 the nice thing about best firms to work for, it's it's once a year. And 261 00:16:02,100 --> 00:16:05,945 it's an extensive survey, but it's also very important. I think 262 00:16:05,945 --> 00:16:09,565 firm leaders need to relay why 263 00:16:09,785 --> 00:16:13,145 they're doing it, not to win the award, but to get an 264 00:16:13,145 --> 00:16:16,985 understanding from their employees on how you're feeling about what we're doing at 265 00:16:16,985 --> 00:16:20,560 this firm. Are are we doing things that are working and that you like? Or 266 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:24,240 where are we falling short in your eyes? And and the best runners to workforce 267 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,600 survey covers culture and compensation benefits, 268 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:30,980 recruitment retention, performance management, and professional 269 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,514 development, wide range of topics. And so it 270 00:16:34,514 --> 00:16:38,134 gives this high level view, and then Zwiegen 271 00:16:38,355 --> 00:16:41,795 sites brings that high level view. The more you click 272 00:16:41,795 --> 00:16:45,634 through Zwiegen sites, the the further you can focus that high level 273 00:16:45,634 --> 00:16:49,360 view. You can get an understanding of how employees feel about the 274 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,980 firm's management and what the firm's managers are doing and 275 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:57,040 about the compensation and and where they may be falling short or what 276 00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:00,605 people like. But then that data needs to be turned 277 00:17:00,605 --> 00:17:04,365 into actionable insights. You you don't wanna be survey you know, 278 00:17:04,365 --> 00:17:07,905 asking people to take this survey year after year and not provide 279 00:17:08,044 --> 00:17:11,484 any plan of action for the data that comes back. So Or 280 00:17:11,484 --> 00:17:15,230 improvements. Yeah. Right. Right. So it's really important that 281 00:17:15,230 --> 00:17:18,909 firms then, you know, take the data, assess where they 282 00:17:18,909 --> 00:17:22,750 are, and come up with action items or, you know, an 283 00:17:22,750 --> 00:17:26,425 updated strategic plan or refresh to address 284 00:17:26,425 --> 00:17:30,105 some of the areas that need to be addressed within the data that 285 00:17:30,105 --> 00:17:33,705 comes out of the best firms to work for employees survey. I've 286 00:17:33,865 --> 00:17:37,645 one thing that I would thought about adding to that, Kyle, was the text responses. 287 00:17:38,010 --> 00:17:41,770 I mean, that's huge because Right. It's not just data points 288 00:17:41,770 --> 00:17:45,610 that you're viewing your ad. You're actually viewing what somebody typed about how 289 00:17:45,610 --> 00:17:49,370 they felt in that moment, about how they're feeling at their firm. They're writing out 290 00:17:49,370 --> 00:17:53,115 what exactly this could be this actionable insight. Right? That's just it. It 291 00:17:53,115 --> 00:17:56,795 gives you exactly and you can pinpoint it. You can aggregate it. I know 292 00:17:56,795 --> 00:18:00,475 firms do that already to get that data from us and then have somebody aggregate, 293 00:18:00,475 --> 00:18:04,155 kind of figure out what the general sentiment is. And Kyle, I know I'm 294 00:18:04,155 --> 00:18:07,750 leading into what we're getting ready to talk about, but, That's right. I won't throw 295 00:18:07,750 --> 00:18:11,509 it out yet. No. I I was just yeah. That's 296 00:18:11,509 --> 00:18:15,269 something that, our team has been working diligently on 297 00:18:15,269 --> 00:18:19,110 for really the last several months is, coming up with a 298 00:18:19,110 --> 00:18:22,885 way to bring some of that commentary sentiment 299 00:18:23,025 --> 00:18:26,785 analysis into Zwag Insights and and be able to provide those 300 00:18:26,785 --> 00:18:30,385 summaries. So I'll just say stay tuned for some special 301 00:18:30,385 --> 00:18:34,210 announcements coming out. Hopefully, once best firms to work for 302 00:18:34,210 --> 00:18:38,049 results are are ready to be published. I love that. You know, as I 303 00:18:38,049 --> 00:18:41,490 was listening to both of you talk about this and just, you know, 304 00:18:41,490 --> 00:18:45,010 the the way that firms have to go about getting these 305 00:18:45,010 --> 00:18:48,585 surveys filled out and, you know, there is a certain amount of 306 00:18:48,745 --> 00:18:52,424 survey fatigue that I think anybody could have. What are some of the 307 00:18:52,424 --> 00:18:56,125 most unique ways that you have seen firms encourage 308 00:18:56,424 --> 00:19:00,024 participation in these? Because this might be a place where firm 309 00:19:00,024 --> 00:19:03,809 leaders who are probably thinking in the back of their minds, like, alright. You 310 00:19:03,809 --> 00:19:07,649 know, Keith, Kyle, this is all great, but my people already 311 00:19:07,649 --> 00:19:11,330 stretched to the gills in terms of work and everything else, and now you want 312 00:19:11,330 --> 00:19:15,090 me to give them a fill in the blank number of questions and a 313 00:19:15,090 --> 00:19:18,755 survey. What are some of the unique ways that you have seen firms 314 00:19:19,054 --> 00:19:22,815 overcome those obstacles to get these filled out? Because we 315 00:19:22,815 --> 00:19:26,655 know the greater participation, the greater the feedback, 316 00:19:26,655 --> 00:19:29,929 and the greater the feedback, the greater the reporting 317 00:19:30,070 --> 00:19:33,590 results. Yeah. I think first and foremost, it it just comes 318 00:19:33,590 --> 00:19:36,950 down to the messaging, and it has to be clear 319 00:19:36,950 --> 00:19:40,549 that we're doing this, hopefully, for your 320 00:19:40,549 --> 00:19:43,690 benefit. You know? We're doing this to 321 00:19:44,175 --> 00:19:47,855 make our firm a better place to work. You know? We would love to be 322 00:19:47,855 --> 00:19:51,455 considered a best firm to work for, but we wanna do this to better 323 00:19:51,455 --> 00:19:55,075 ourselves. We wanna understand what you like, what you don't like, 324 00:19:55,295 --> 00:19:59,059 where we can improve. And this is your opportunity to 325 00:19:59,059 --> 00:20:02,580 have your say in that. You know? This isn't just, you know, the 326 00:20:02,580 --> 00:20:06,419 top 10 managers getting together and coming up with a plan. This is your 327 00:20:06,419 --> 00:20:10,215 words with there's plenty of open commentary sections, but then, you 328 00:20:10,215 --> 00:20:13,735 know, being able to to show how much you you agree or how 329 00:20:13,735 --> 00:20:17,495 satisfied you are through quantitative data as well. And 330 00:20:17,495 --> 00:20:21,255 so getting that messaging that, hey. This is your opportunity to 331 00:20:21,255 --> 00:20:24,660 have your say in potentially the future of our 332 00:20:24,660 --> 00:20:28,340 internal strategy. So that's one way. Another way you know? 333 00:20:28,340 --> 00:20:31,940 And we we definitely do not encourage people 334 00:20:31,940 --> 00:20:35,695 to say, hey. You know, we want you to give us positive responses. We 335 00:20:35,695 --> 00:20:39,535 encourage to say, you know, hey. If we get to 90% 336 00:20:39,535 --> 00:20:43,295 participation, we're gonna do x y you know, we're gonna have a a 337 00:20:43,295 --> 00:20:47,055 happy hour, a company sponsored happy hour. But that's 338 00:20:47,310 --> 00:20:50,050 you know, we we wanna base that on participation, 339 00:20:50,910 --> 00:20:54,430 not necessarily results. And so that's creative 340 00:20:54,430 --> 00:20:58,110 ways firms have have encouraged participation as well in the 341 00:20:58,110 --> 00:21:01,894 past. Yeah. I mean, I think, obviously, there's a million different carrots that you 342 00:21:01,894 --> 00:21:05,414 can dangle out there in front of people, but you want people to 343 00:21:05,414 --> 00:21:09,095 actually want to do the survey. Right. And and to see the value, 344 00:21:09,095 --> 00:21:12,855 not just kinda be performative or just be, you know, 345 00:21:12,855 --> 00:21:16,615 filling out you know, just you utilizing time to do it because then you're 346 00:21:16,615 --> 00:21:20,419 not getting the quality data that you you really want. And 347 00:21:20,419 --> 00:21:24,120 that's that's where the follow-up really comes into play too, Randy, 348 00:21:24,179 --> 00:21:27,940 is is if employees feel like they're just doing this 349 00:21:27,940 --> 00:21:31,515 survey every year, but they don't see anything come out of it, 350 00:21:31,515 --> 00:21:34,875 then they really are gonna be you know, if if someone's done it for four 351 00:21:34,875 --> 00:21:38,495 years and they've never really seen 352 00:21:38,715 --> 00:21:42,495 any results come out of it, then they're not gonna be very encouraged to, 353 00:21:42,795 --> 00:21:46,600 one, give quality responses or even respond at all. So 354 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,700 Mhmm. You know, having a plan to follow-up, like, okay. This 355 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:54,440 we appreciate your input through this employee 356 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,900 survey. You know, we've got a team that's gonna take this data, 357 00:21:58,195 --> 00:22:02,035 assess it, and put together a plan, and then we will present that back 358 00:22:02,035 --> 00:22:05,795 to you. And we have firms that will go on, you know, what 359 00:22:05,795 --> 00:22:09,475 they call talent hall tours. If they've got multiple offices, they'll go 360 00:22:09,475 --> 00:22:13,090 visit each office. You know, Maybe the HR managers are gonna go 361 00:22:13,090 --> 00:22:16,550 around to each office and and go over the results and the corresponding 362 00:22:16,930 --> 00:22:20,770 plan to those results. So Mhmm. The follow-up really is 363 00:22:20,770 --> 00:22:23,990 very important as well, especially for firms that 364 00:22:24,130 --> 00:22:27,785 participate year after year. Yeah. And and, Randy, to to your 365 00:22:27,785 --> 00:22:31,465 question, I think incentivizing might 366 00:22:31,465 --> 00:22:34,985 just be the wrong method or thought process there. I think 367 00:22:34,985 --> 00:22:38,665 it's culture. Right? Leadership has to have this culture of where 368 00:22:38,665 --> 00:22:42,279 they truly care about their folks at their firm. And if they do 369 00:22:42,279 --> 00:22:45,960 that, then asking your firm to take another survey or take 370 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,720 a survey every year about, hey. We're doing well. Let's figure 371 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,385 out how we can do better. Right? That should be easy. That's 372 00:22:53,385 --> 00:22:56,745 my take on it, and I think I mean, Zwai Group is a perfect example. 373 00:22:56,745 --> 00:23:00,525 When we get a survey to take for internal sentiment, I think 374 00:23:00,665 --> 00:23:04,425 everybody's game or at least everybody's open to give that feedback. 375 00:23:04,425 --> 00:23:07,545 Right? And I think that comes from the top down. Our leadership makes it to 376 00:23:07,545 --> 00:23:11,260 where we can. And I think that's the key part there. Yeah. Yeah. That 377 00:23:11,380 --> 00:23:14,900 that's a I'm glad you made that clarification too because, I mean, yeah, when you 378 00:23:14,900 --> 00:23:18,580 think of incentivize, you're thinking, oh, well, you know, you gotta give 379 00:23:18,580 --> 00:23:22,039 something to get something. And you're right. I mean, culture 380 00:23:22,500 --> 00:23:26,155 is an important aspect of it. And if I really care about the 381 00:23:26,155 --> 00:23:29,915 place that I work in the environment that I'm in, I wanna promote it, and 382 00:23:29,915 --> 00:23:33,595 I wanna tell the world about it. And one way that you tell the world 383 00:23:33,595 --> 00:23:36,575 about it is by participating in these surveys. 384 00:23:37,275 --> 00:23:40,920 Yeah. And I think that's where the we talk about incentive. 385 00:23:41,299 --> 00:23:44,980 I think that's the the uniqueness of best firms to work for is 386 00:23:44,980 --> 00:23:48,760 there's that incentive of being on the list and then 387 00:23:48,900 --> 00:23:52,635 remaining on the list. So if you're on it one year and you're 388 00:23:52,635 --> 00:23:56,315 on it the next year, that means you responded to your employees, essentially. They still 389 00:23:56,315 --> 00:23:59,995 think they're you're doing a good job. So I think it's a very good 390 00:23:59,995 --> 00:24:03,355 incentive because if you make the list, you won't remain on the list if you're 391 00:24:03,355 --> 00:24:07,000 not making the changes. Yeah. That's a fair point. I think I I hadn't thought 392 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,600 about it that way, Luke, because that is the incentive. Right? It's the 393 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,040 incentive for the firm to do better. Yeah. Do better by your employees, and your 394 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:17,420 employees will return that favor in your sir in your survey responses. 395 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:21,405 Yeah. No. I love that. So listen. I do wanna talk about this because one 396 00:24:21,405 --> 00:24:24,785 of the coolest new features to the Zwai Group website 397 00:24:25,405 --> 00:24:29,245 is the research calendar. Can you guys talk a little bit about 398 00:24:29,245 --> 00:24:33,005 how you develop this calendar and really what it means for firms 399 00:24:33,005 --> 00:24:36,300 who want to participate in Zweig group research 400 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:40,280 moving forward. Right? And then also, I know that you have kinda 401 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,900 in mixed into that whole new calendar approach an updated 402 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:47,575 discount program for participation. This is always 403 00:24:47,575 --> 00:24:50,615 nice to have something to grease the wheels, right, to get folks to get We 404 00:24:50,615 --> 00:24:54,295 were talking about incentives. We were talking about it? Yeah. This is a different kind 405 00:24:54,295 --> 00:24:58,075 of incentive, though. So yes. Yeah. It's not for not for your employees. 406 00:24:58,455 --> 00:25:01,915 So in the past, and I say in the past, up until December, 407 00:25:02,380 --> 00:25:06,220 Zweig Group would offer 50% off discounts for 408 00:25:06,220 --> 00:25:09,919 participation in our surveys. Right? The surveys were open for participation 409 00:25:10,059 --> 00:25:13,740 all year round. Data collection was a it was 410 00:25:13,740 --> 00:25:17,455 less timely. Reports could have been delayed. I feel like the data 411 00:25:17,455 --> 00:25:20,835 wasn't as accurate as what I'm about to say with the new process. 412 00:25:21,294 --> 00:25:24,815 And really, it didn't create this sense of urgency for 413 00:25:24,815 --> 00:25:28,654 participation in our surveys. Right? So we brainstormed this idea 414 00:25:28,654 --> 00:25:32,000 for a couple years now. And finally, in January, 415 00:25:32,700 --> 00:25:36,480 we have released our new discounted tiered 416 00:25:36,780 --> 00:25:40,460 discount strategy. What the new process is, 417 00:25:40,460 --> 00:25:44,060 we have a participation window for every survey. And 418 00:25:44,060 --> 00:25:47,585 within that participation window, if you participate within that participation 419 00:25:47,725 --> 00:25:51,405 window, you are eligible for 75% off on 420 00:25:51,405 --> 00:25:54,525 that report that we published from that survey. There's also a 421 00:25:54,525 --> 00:25:58,205 25% off window at the end if you don't participate within the first 422 00:25:58,205 --> 00:26:01,570 three weeks. But typically, this participation window is 423 00:26:01,870 --> 00:26:05,309 two months to one and a half months before the 424 00:26:05,309 --> 00:26:09,149 publication date of the the report. I know that's all over 425 00:26:09,149 --> 00:26:12,830 the place. We we have images on our website that make it very clear. This 426 00:26:12,830 --> 00:26:16,425 is why we didn't release it. We keep speaking about it. We released it with 427 00:26:16,565 --> 00:26:20,325 with the with the calendar. The calendar makes 428 00:26:20,325 --> 00:26:24,105 it very clear. It's month by month. It tells you what the participation 429 00:26:24,645 --> 00:26:28,370 time frame is, when the report will be released, when the 430 00:26:28,370 --> 00:26:31,890 75% discount eligibility ends, when the 431 00:26:31,890 --> 00:26:35,490 25% discount eligibility ends. And really the 432 00:26:35,490 --> 00:26:39,110 benefit here is, aside from the 75% discount, 433 00:26:39,335 --> 00:26:43,115 the reports are going to be more up to date. Their participation 434 00:26:43,335 --> 00:26:47,175 early allows us to have more bandwidth 435 00:26:47,175 --> 00:26:50,935 and time to work through, you know, all the details I 436 00:26:50,935 --> 00:26:54,710 go into publishing these reports. Accuracy is gonna be better, and 437 00:26:54,710 --> 00:26:58,169 it's it's just gonna be more timely. Kyle, did I miss anything on that? 438 00:26:58,389 --> 00:27:01,750 No. No. I think I just I added you like you said, 439 00:27:01,750 --> 00:27:05,509 accuracy in that, you know, the results of 440 00:27:05,509 --> 00:27:09,335 of a survey that took place a month ago are gonna be 441 00:27:09,395 --> 00:27:13,235 more accurate to when we're publishing it rather than, you know, someone took 442 00:27:13,235 --> 00:27:16,915 the survey ten months ago. You know, that in that time, you 443 00:27:16,915 --> 00:27:20,755 know, things could potentially shift quite a bit. So having that 444 00:27:20,755 --> 00:27:24,330 participation window open a lot closer to 445 00:27:24,330 --> 00:27:28,170 the release of the report is a way to for for us to 446 00:27:28,170 --> 00:27:31,790 ensure that we're giving the industry the best data that we can. 447 00:27:32,250 --> 00:27:35,770 And, you know, having that that 75% off is is just an 448 00:27:35,770 --> 00:27:39,425 extra driver in that that we want to give back to 449 00:27:39,425 --> 00:27:42,865 those who do participate because, you know, we we we wanna 450 00:27:42,865 --> 00:27:46,165 acknowledge that taking the time to participate in an industry 451 00:27:46,385 --> 00:27:50,165 survey is is a big ask. And so we wanna appreciate 452 00:27:50,225 --> 00:27:54,029 the people that do that for us. And so I'm just I've got it actually 453 00:27:54,029 --> 00:27:57,470 pulled up right here in front of me and also wanna give a special shout 454 00:27:57,470 --> 00:28:01,070 out to Caitlin Dover Sherrick on our team. Sorry. 455 00:28:01,070 --> 00:28:04,529 Caitlin Sherrick. She recently got married, so I wanna get that right, 456 00:28:04,909 --> 00:28:08,685 who created this flipping book for us, and it's a great 457 00:28:08,685 --> 00:28:12,465 resource. It it lays out, you know, those participation windows 458 00:28:12,765 --> 00:28:16,605 when we anticipate releasing reports, and it 459 00:28:16,605 --> 00:28:20,125 gives a good idea of what that research calendar looks 460 00:28:20,125 --> 00:28:23,600 like. So definitely would encourage people to go check that out on our 461 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:27,360 website. Yeah. And add to that. It also adds, you 462 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:30,720 know, number of questions, level of effort, how long will it take to complete the 463 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:34,160 survey so you can all be prepared to go do it. You can preview the 464 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:37,595 survey there. When when the report's ready, you can even download it from that. Just 465 00:28:37,595 --> 00:28:40,715 go find find it, search for it on our website. If we don't add it 466 00:28:40,715 --> 00:28:44,315 to this, podcast, search for it, save it. You're going to need 467 00:28:44,315 --> 00:28:47,970 it. It's very useful. Yeah. Well and I love that 468 00:28:48,049 --> 00:28:51,409 point that, you know, that it's sometimes it's a little things that matter. Right, Keith? 469 00:28:51,409 --> 00:28:55,250 Because I don't know about you, but ever since, like, even in news articles when 470 00:28:55,250 --> 00:28:59,090 they put, like, this article takes three minutes to read, this article takes seven 471 00:28:59,090 --> 00:29:02,625 minutes to read, I can then be like, oh, do I have the time to 472 00:29:02,625 --> 00:29:06,385 read this? Can I do that? Those those little things make a big difference, 473 00:29:06,385 --> 00:29:10,225 but I do wanna let I list out for those that are listening or if 474 00:29:10,225 --> 00:29:13,745 you're watching this video, if you're not familiar with all of the 475 00:29:13,745 --> 00:29:17,400 Zweig reports, we've got salary and compensation, valuation, 476 00:29:18,100 --> 00:29:21,880 principals, partners, and owners, fee and billing, financial 477 00:29:21,940 --> 00:29:25,780 performance, recruitment and retention, which has always been my baby, the 478 00:29:25,780 --> 00:29:28,410 one that I've I think one year actually was the author of recruitment and retention 479 00:29:28,410 --> 00:29:29,055 or maybe two I don't know. I've lost track, but that to me, 480 00:29:33,375 --> 00:29:36,735 given the very nature of this industry and the 481 00:29:36,735 --> 00:29:40,415 challenges that this industry faces finding and keeping 482 00:29:40,415 --> 00:29:44,050 great talent, I would imagine that every firm 483 00:29:44,050 --> 00:29:47,110 would want to participate in the recruitment and retention 484 00:29:47,570 --> 00:29:51,090 survey because that report provides so much 485 00:29:51,090 --> 00:29:54,610 updated information, and it changes every year. 486 00:29:54,610 --> 00:29:58,435 So, you know, I I would encourage anybody listening to this. If you 487 00:29:58,435 --> 00:30:01,875 have never participated, if you're looking to say, well, where should I 488 00:30:01,875 --> 00:30:05,635 start? Obviously, best firms to work for is is the first place that I would 489 00:30:05,635 --> 00:30:09,315 start. But the neck the next one right after that would be recruitment and retention. 490 00:30:09,315 --> 00:30:13,050 And then other things that are important to you as a principal 491 00:30:13,050 --> 00:30:16,730 owner, if you're thinking about ownership transition and what that looks like, 492 00:30:16,730 --> 00:30:20,090 you know, there's information for everybody there. And I'd 493 00:30:20,330 --> 00:30:24,090 so going down the list after recruitment and retention is policies, procedures, and 494 00:30:24,090 --> 00:30:27,835 benefits, business operations, a guide for success. 495 00:30:27,835 --> 00:30:31,515 There are a number of amazing reports that the insights 496 00:30:31,515 --> 00:30:34,875 group puts out that I think you really want to 497 00:30:34,875 --> 00:30:38,715 participate in and take advantage of. And, again, you know, like they say, 498 00:30:38,715 --> 00:30:42,290 knowledge equals power. Right? So just having that knowledge and 499 00:30:42,290 --> 00:30:45,890 information and sharing it with other people can be really 500 00:30:45,890 --> 00:30:49,110 valuable and can come back and give you an a tremendous 501 00:30:49,250 --> 00:30:53,085 return on your investment of time to participate in those 502 00:30:53,245 --> 00:30:57,005 reports. Yeah. And just to give a little insight on those 503 00:30:57,005 --> 00:31:00,605 reports and and what happens with our team and corresponds with 504 00:31:00,605 --> 00:31:04,125 this research calendar. So we just 505 00:31:04,125 --> 00:31:07,265 released the principal partners and owners survey 506 00:31:07,485 --> 00:31:10,920 on Friday. That was about the exact 507 00:31:10,980 --> 00:31:14,600 time that we closed participation in the 508 00:31:14,660 --> 00:31:18,500 fee and billing survey, which will be released hopefully 509 00:31:18,500 --> 00:31:21,640 later this month or early May and 510 00:31:22,020 --> 00:31:25,555 then opened up our 75% off participation 511 00:31:25,775 --> 00:31:29,135 window in policies, procedures, and benefits. So a 512 00:31:29,135 --> 00:31:32,815 constant stream of releasing a product, closing the 513 00:31:32,815 --> 00:31:36,175 survey for the next product, and opening the survey for the 514 00:31:36,175 --> 00:31:39,770 following product. So and there's never a dull moment. That's for 515 00:31:39,770 --> 00:31:43,610 sure. And though Randy said, first, you focus on best friends you work for and 516 00:31:43,610 --> 00:31:47,450 second on recruitment and retention, if you're new to us, first you focus 517 00:31:47,450 --> 00:31:51,195 on policies, procedures, and benefits because that opened up today. No. No. 518 00:31:51,415 --> 00:31:55,175 No. This is gonna be, where this podcast is gonna be shared, but 519 00:31:55,175 --> 00:31:58,535 just go look at the can calendar. The calendar hasn't been listed out. Yeah. And 520 00:31:58,535 --> 00:32:02,375 I wanna iterate for reiterate for everybody listening to this, you know, we try 521 00:32:02,375 --> 00:32:04,710 to make these podcasts as evergreen as possible. 522 00:32:06,309 --> 00:32:09,429 This calendar comes around every year. Right? So, you know, every year there's Christmas, every 523 00:32:09,429 --> 00:32:12,890 year there's a policy, procedures, and benefits survey. So 524 00:32:13,110 --> 00:32:16,950 there's an opportunity to participate. If you don't get it this go around, you can 525 00:32:16,950 --> 00:32:20,545 do it next year. So and that's why I think is the calendar 526 00:32:20,545 --> 00:32:23,985 itself is so valuable because then you can dial in and pick and 527 00:32:23,985 --> 00:32:27,825 choose the things that you wanna participate in. And then that way, you 528 00:32:27,825 --> 00:32:31,285 know when it's coming up, when it opens, when it closes, 529 00:32:31,585 --> 00:32:35,260 and just to make sure that you get the folks in in your 530 00:32:35,260 --> 00:32:39,100 organization involved and so that they're aware and they can do what 531 00:32:39,100 --> 00:32:42,780 needs to be done. That's right. Yeah. That's great. So so listen. I 532 00:32:42,780 --> 00:32:46,160 know if you're watching this video, some of our viewers probably 533 00:32:46,220 --> 00:32:49,955 recognize these two guys from the Elevate AEC gala, which we 534 00:32:49,955 --> 00:32:53,475 talked about earlier. But both of you guys have had a major hand in 535 00:32:53,475 --> 00:32:56,914 getting firms recognized on stage through the Zuai Group 536 00:32:56,914 --> 00:33:00,755 Awards. And then, like, for both of you, I'm just curious. Preparing for that moment 537 00:33:00,755 --> 00:33:04,520 on stage kinda starts right now. Right? And so what is 538 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:08,040 the process like going from tons and tons of 539 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,720 award entries to recognizing the 540 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:15,160 best of the best on the stage? And and for those that aren't aware, we're 541 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:19,005 actually recording this in the month of April, but we've still got 542 00:33:19,005 --> 00:33:22,845 several months to go before the actual Elevate event, which is gonna be an 543 00:33:22,845 --> 00:33:26,544 amazing event. And this year, it happens to be in San Antonio, Texas. 544 00:33:26,845 --> 00:33:30,445 I can't wait. But, the bottom line is what for you guys, as 545 00:33:30,445 --> 00:33:34,040 you are slowly transitioning to that award season, 546 00:33:34,180 --> 00:33:37,860 what is that like for you both? I'll let I'll let Kyle speak to this, 547 00:33:37,860 --> 00:33:41,540 but I will say it already started in December. Quite literally, it 548 00:33:41,540 --> 00:33:45,240 probably started in September when we when we ended last elevate 549 00:33:45,380 --> 00:33:49,165 AEC. Right? But, yeah, Kyle, this is this is you. I saw the look 550 00:33:49,165 --> 00:33:52,865 in his eyes. I I wish it was slowly transitioning. 551 00:33:53,085 --> 00:33:56,684 I really do. No. Like like Keith said, I mean, we 552 00:33:56,684 --> 00:34:00,304 we celebrate the firms and give them the amazing 553 00:34:00,365 --> 00:34:04,020 recognition they deserve at the conference and at the 554 00:34:04,020 --> 00:34:07,700 awards gala. It's something that we need to do a better 555 00:34:07,700 --> 00:34:11,219 job of in the industry of of celebrating ourselves and all that we 556 00:34:11,219 --> 00:34:14,755 accomplished, and we definitely celebrate our 557 00:34:14,755 --> 00:34:18,435 award winners at at the gala. So would would love to you know, if your 558 00:34:18,435 --> 00:34:22,195 firm is a is a Zuai group award winner or or you received a Zuai 559 00:34:22,195 --> 00:34:25,635 group award, definitely get to the gala and celebrate with us. But but 560 00:34:25,635 --> 00:34:28,935 then, you know, typically, by that point, we've already got 561 00:34:28,994 --> 00:34:32,410 registrations open for the next year. While 562 00:34:32,410 --> 00:34:36,170 people have, you know, words on their mind, we we've got them open for the 563 00:34:36,170 --> 00:34:39,850 next year. We're fine tuning, you know, our different 564 00:34:39,850 --> 00:34:43,625 surveys during that time, different processes. And then it, you know, 565 00:34:43,625 --> 00:34:47,385 opens up, and and a lot of participation starts going on after the 566 00:34:47,385 --> 00:34:50,744 first of the year. And then about this time so we just 567 00:34:50,744 --> 00:34:54,125 closed our rising stars in the AEC 568 00:34:54,264 --> 00:34:57,950 industry award this past Friday as well. So a lot of 569 00:34:57,950 --> 00:35:01,550 deadlines on Friday. It was a busy day. So we just 570 00:35:01,550 --> 00:35:05,250 closed that award, and and we're getting our panel of team 571 00:35:05,630 --> 00:35:09,345 our panelists ready to go to read what might 572 00:35:09,345 --> 00:35:13,105 end up being a record number of rising star nominations. I have to go 573 00:35:13,105 --> 00:35:16,865 back and get the exact numbers of previous years because they're gonna have their 574 00:35:16,865 --> 00:35:20,705 work cut out for them this year. So, you know, we we go 575 00:35:20,705 --> 00:35:24,400 from collection you know, rising stars collection, it 576 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:28,000 it'll be reading every single one of those nominations and and 577 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:31,840 picking as as hard as it's gonna be, but picking our our list of 578 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:35,455 rising stars for the year. You know, best firms to work for will 579 00:35:35,455 --> 00:35:38,975 close that in a little over a month from today. Today is 580 00:35:38,975 --> 00:35:42,575 April 1. The registration closes May 2. And 581 00:35:42,575 --> 00:35:46,275 then it just gets to collecting all of the data, 582 00:35:46,575 --> 00:35:50,420 organizing it all together, building out our 583 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:54,560 rating functionality, and then getting the results plugged 584 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:58,400 in and getting our winners established, getting 585 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:01,380 the data published back to Zweig insights. 586 00:36:03,095 --> 00:36:06,855 Keith and Sue and Garda are a big part of that. And then, you know, 587 00:36:06,855 --> 00:36:10,535 informing all of our winners and and then this, you know, same process, we we've 588 00:36:10,535 --> 00:36:14,214 got about a two week difference between best firms to work for 589 00:36:14,214 --> 00:36:17,595 deadline, hot firm deadline, and and marketing excellence deadline 590 00:36:17,930 --> 00:36:21,610 to allow our team a little bit of a buffer to get all those results 591 00:36:21,610 --> 00:36:25,450 tabulated, announce the winner. So we we try to make 592 00:36:25,450 --> 00:36:28,970 sure every single one of our winners receives a a phone call 593 00:36:28,970 --> 00:36:32,705 congratulation as well as a big email. They get 594 00:36:32,705 --> 00:36:36,465 all this marketing material, press release, the logos 595 00:36:36,465 --> 00:36:40,305 they can use to do their own marketing. You know? And then we're 596 00:36:40,305 --> 00:36:44,065 sending all of our winners packets in the mail for 597 00:36:44,065 --> 00:36:47,760 extra collateral and, you know, inviting them to the 598 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:51,600 Elevate AEC conference, and then we jump into prep to 599 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:55,120 celebrate everybody down there at the conference. So, yeah, right 600 00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:58,720 now, we are we're getting towards the end, I 601 00:36:58,720 --> 00:37:02,425 would say, of the registration period. Still a 602 00:37:02,425 --> 00:37:05,785 month ago, still plenty of time, but getting closer to the, 603 00:37:06,105 --> 00:37:09,945 transition of alright. It's time to start figuring out who these winners are and 604 00:37:09,945 --> 00:37:13,700 and letting them know. Yeah. Well and I think, you know, I think it 605 00:37:13,700 --> 00:37:17,460 goes without saying, and I've heard Mark, and I've heard Chad, and so many others 606 00:37:17,460 --> 00:37:20,980 talk about the importance of celebrating our industry. And that's 607 00:37:20,980 --> 00:37:24,599 another reason why the work that you guys do is so important because 608 00:37:24,895 --> 00:37:28,495 too often, we kinda get into our our little caves and 609 00:37:28,495 --> 00:37:32,255 just put our heads down and do our work. And then, you know, we need 610 00:37:32,255 --> 00:37:36,095 to sometimes look up from the desk, look up from the computer screen or 611 00:37:36,095 --> 00:37:39,880 from our phone and acknowledge what's going on around us. And I think 612 00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:43,640 that, you know, participating in these awards is one way to do 613 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:47,480 that, and I certainly am excited. We just recently Luke and I just 614 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:51,240 recently interviewed several of the rising star previous awardees, 615 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:54,944 and they just talked about how much of a difference that award made for 616 00:37:54,944 --> 00:37:58,704 them just in terms of how they feel about themselves, not just 617 00:37:58,704 --> 00:38:02,545 as human beings, but as design professionals. And I think it 618 00:38:02,545 --> 00:38:06,145 shouldn't be lost on you guys that what you're doing, the work that that 619 00:38:06,145 --> 00:38:09,890 Zweig is doing in this space is really important, and it does 620 00:38:09,890 --> 00:38:13,670 have some profound implications and impacts to 621 00:38:13,970 --> 00:38:17,650 the next generation of design professionals that are coming up through the ranks. 622 00:38:17,650 --> 00:38:21,089 So my only encouragement is to continue to do what you're 623 00:38:21,089 --> 00:38:24,825 doing. I know it's a lot of work. Rest when you can, 624 00:38:25,045 --> 00:38:28,565 but, you know, the rest of the time, just, you know, get in there and 625 00:38:28,565 --> 00:38:32,245 grind it out, man, because, you know, the industry is really counting on you 626 00:38:32,245 --> 00:38:36,085 guys. And, again, I want to encourage everybody listening to this, 627 00:38:36,085 --> 00:38:39,720 whether you're watching the video or listening to this, is to, you know, at some 628 00:38:39,720 --> 00:38:43,480 point in time, just go visit zweiggroup.com and go 629 00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:47,320 bookmark, you know, some of the different opportunities and options that you have. And even 630 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:50,860 if you go to the main website and you click on the menu 631 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:54,119 section on the in the right hand corner, it'll take you down to all the 632 00:38:54,119 --> 00:38:57,955 different options. The second option is insights, and that's where you can go to get 633 00:38:57,955 --> 00:39:01,795 a lot of different information and participate in a lot of these programs. The 634 00:39:01,795 --> 00:39:05,555 fourth option is awards, and that's where you can go to learn more about the 635 00:39:05,555 --> 00:39:08,995 best firm to work for and all the other awards that we've talked about on 636 00:39:08,995 --> 00:39:12,710 this particular podcast. And there's so much that we could elaborate on, 637 00:39:12,710 --> 00:39:16,550 and this isn't an infomercial for Zweig Group because we do the podcast. Right? 638 00:39:16,550 --> 00:39:19,849 Because that's just it. So we have to talk about the things that we're doing 639 00:39:19,910 --> 00:39:23,670 on a regular basis. But as I've said many times and and just as 640 00:39:23,670 --> 00:39:27,405 what you guys alluded to, this knowledge and information is very 641 00:39:27,405 --> 00:39:30,925 important. You have to share it. You have to put it out there, and it 642 00:39:30,925 --> 00:39:34,765 bears repeating because sometimes we need reminders. We need 643 00:39:34,765 --> 00:39:38,605 to hear things multiple times before it actually takes hold. Right? You 644 00:39:38,605 --> 00:39:41,980 know, back in the day, they said, you know, you you have to repeat something 645 00:39:41,980 --> 00:39:45,660 seven times in a sales process for it to cement itself in the minds 646 00:39:45,660 --> 00:39:49,339 of the potential person that you are trying to sell to. Now they're saying from 647 00:39:49,339 --> 00:39:53,145 a marketing perspective, it's like 13 plus times. You have to make that 648 00:39:53,145 --> 00:39:56,905 many more impressions on people just because of technology, because of 649 00:39:56,905 --> 00:40:00,185 what these phones are doing to us. And I'm holding up for those who are 650 00:40:00,185 --> 00:40:03,465 listening to the podcast, I'm just holding up my iPhone, but, you know, it's a 651 00:40:03,465 --> 00:40:07,305 blessing and a curse. Right? Because it sometimes takes us out of the element of 652 00:40:07,305 --> 00:40:11,109 focus. And I think what you guys are doing is 653 00:40:11,329 --> 00:40:15,170 simply incredible. You've got an amazing team, and, Keith, 654 00:40:15,170 --> 00:40:18,450 we're gonna get some of those young people that I got to hang out with 655 00:40:18,450 --> 00:40:22,125 down in Tampa at the last Elevate conference on this podcast because 656 00:40:22,285 --> 00:40:26,045 they are super bright, super intelligent. I mean, you guys 657 00:40:26,045 --> 00:40:29,725 have an amazing team. And, I mean, just a collection of you two alone, just 658 00:40:29,725 --> 00:40:33,485 Keith and Kyle, the k and the k, I think that makes it even 659 00:40:33,485 --> 00:40:37,140 more special. So, Luke, do you have anything you wanna add before we close out? 660 00:40:37,299 --> 00:40:40,980 No. I was just gonna also, just encourage people to reach 661 00:40:40,980 --> 00:40:44,740 out to Keith and Kyle with questions. These are two 662 00:40:44,740 --> 00:40:48,339 of the most responsive people that I've had the pleasure with of working 663 00:40:48,339 --> 00:40:51,859 with, and I've referred Kyle at 664 00:40:51,859 --> 00:40:55,605 least a thousand emails, in the six years that 665 00:40:55,605 --> 00:40:59,285 we've worked together. No exaggeration. Not no. Not even 666 00:40:59,285 --> 00:41:02,885 close because we're kind of the midpoint between awards together. Yeah. 667 00:41:02,885 --> 00:41:06,665 Yeah. And Kyle and Keith are both incredibly responsive. 668 00:41:06,725 --> 00:41:10,450 And most importantly, they want to talk to you. Keith and I have 669 00:41:10,450 --> 00:41:14,290 had the conversation many times where we want people to ask us questions 670 00:41:14,290 --> 00:41:18,049 about what we do, and we put ourselves forward in that position. 671 00:41:18,049 --> 00:41:21,670 So I would encourage people to just reach out to these two. I mean, 672 00:41:21,835 --> 00:41:25,195 they're incredibly responsive and incredibly insightful. Yeah. 673 00:41:25,195 --> 00:41:28,955 Absolutely. Well, with that said, Keith, what's your email address? We'll 674 00:41:28,955 --> 00:41:32,715 give it to people. All the information that we mentioned that every one of 675 00:41:32,715 --> 00:41:36,250 us has mentioned on this episode will also be in the show notes. But for 676 00:41:36,250 --> 00:41:39,369 anybody that just wants to get it down quickly, Keith, what's your email address for 677 00:41:39,369 --> 00:41:41,770 people to reach out to you? K sequueira. So 678 00:41:41,770 --> 00:41:45,975 ksequeira@zweigroup.com. 679 00:41:46,295 --> 00:41:50,055 And if you hit research@zweigroup.com, Kyle and I have to see that. That goes 680 00:41:50,055 --> 00:41:53,415 directly to our mailboxes. That's right. And and Kyle, yours 681 00:41:53,415 --> 00:41:55,255 is? K a hern. So 682 00:41:55,255 --> 00:41:59,640 kahern@zweigroup.com. 683 00:41:59,799 --> 00:42:03,240 Perfect. Well, that that works out great. Gentlemen, we appreciate you 684 00:42:03,240 --> 00:42:06,920 guys letting us steal you away from a busy day and 685 00:42:06,920 --> 00:42:10,119 just chatting with us a little bit about the work that you're doing. Again, it 686 00:42:10,119 --> 00:42:13,559 it is important work, and both Luke and I and the rest of the zwei 687 00:42:13,559 --> 00:42:17,015 team applaud and continue to encourage you to do this great 688 00:42:17,015 --> 00:42:20,694 work because the industry is depending on you guys. 689 00:42:20,694 --> 00:42:24,454 And so no pressure, but No pressure. Get out there and 690 00:42:24,454 --> 00:42:28,055 make it happen. We appreciate you guys both so very much. Thank you. Thank you, 691 00:42:28,055 --> 00:42:31,870 Randy. Well, thank you for the opportunity. Randy. Absolutely. Well, there you have 692 00:42:31,870 --> 00:42:35,230 it, folks. Another episode of the Zweig Letter 693 00:42:35,230 --> 00:42:38,850 podcast. We hope you enjoyed it here with my compatriot, 694 00:42:38,990 --> 00:42:42,450 Luke Carruthers and Kyle Ahearn and Keith Sequera. 695 00:42:42,845 --> 00:42:46,385 We hope you enjoyed this episode of the Zweig letter podcast 696 00:42:46,525 --> 00:42:50,224 and that you've been encouraged to get out there and, either 697 00:42:50,285 --> 00:42:54,125 apply and for one of the upcoming awards for the Elevate 698 00:42:54,125 --> 00:42:57,760 conference or you wanna participate in a survey. It's all there for 699 00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:01,440 the taking. So I really wanna encourage you to get involved and get 700 00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:05,200 that calendar on your calendar so you know what's coming next, 701 00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:08,400 and that way you can participate in it. So but that's all I have for 702 00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:11,995 you. Remember, this Y Glitter podcast can be found on every major 703 00:43:11,995 --> 00:43:15,755 podcasting platform, including YouTube. We've always got something 704 00:43:15,755 --> 00:43:19,375 for you there. And as always, you can find us on the Zweig 705 00:43:19,435 --> 00:43:23,215 group website, which is just zweiggroup.com. 706 00:43:23,410 --> 00:43:27,010 You can find show notes. You can find all of our back catalog of 707 00:43:27,010 --> 00:43:30,770 podcast. We've been podcasting since 2016, so we're kinda like the 708 00:43:30,770 --> 00:43:34,290 OGs in the design industry when it comes to podcasting, more than 709 00:43:34,290 --> 00:43:38,075 250 plus episodes. So there's something there 710 00:43:38,075 --> 00:43:41,515 for everyone, and I would encourage you to check it out when you get a 711 00:43:41,515 --> 00:43:45,035 chance. I'm your host, Randy Wilburn, and we'll see you back here 712 00:43:45,035 --> 00:43:48,795 very soon for another new episode of the 713 00:43:48,795 --> 00:43:52,450 Zweig Letter podcast. Peace. Thanks 714 00:43:52,450 --> 00:43:56,210 for tuning in to the Zweig Letter Podcast. We 715 00:43:56,210 --> 00:44:00,050 hope that you can be part of elevating the industry and that you can 716 00:44:00,050 --> 00:44:03,750 apply our advice and information to your daily 717 00:44:03,810 --> 00:44:07,495 professional life. For a free digital subscription to the 718 00:44:07,495 --> 00:44:11,115 Zweig letter, please visit the zweigletter.com 719 00:44:11,255 --> 00:44:15,095 slash subscribe to gain more wisdom and inspiration in 720 00:44:15,095 --> 00:44:18,290 addition to information about leadership, finance, 721 00:44:18,510 --> 00:44:22,050 HR, and marketing your firm. Subscribe 722 00:44:22,350 --> 00:44:22,850 today.