As a 20 year member of SDA, and a member of the AEC industry for almost 25 years, I have been witness to a fundamental change in our industry and the professional responsibilities of our members.  I have held operations positions ranging from secretary to administrative assistant, office manager, associate and vice president. 

For all of those years, the SDA has been the catalyst to highlight the incredible value of administration and operations.  I never believed my position should be limited, since I felt I needed to understand the full picture of my company and its functional departments in order to best provide value.   But never have I felt the reality of our power than in this year’s convention, EDSymposium24 in Colorado Springs.

I felt a powerful focus this year by many of our speakers on the limitless abilities of operations staff in our firms.  Several speakers in particular delivered this message very clearly:

·      FMI Consulting presented a “Strategic Value Blueprint” (attached) which had a chart showing the functions of a firm.  They asked us to look at the chart of 24 areas and answer the following questions:  Where do I fit in?  Who do I impact?  What company processes support me?  How does my role impact other processes?

The chart listed functions and processes, not departments, such as Reputable Brand; System, Security & Innovation; Payment and Collection; Managing Teams; Project Coordination; Local Expertise; and Legacy Relationships.  Looking at the big picture of expertise rather than segregation into departments made it obvious that operations has a vital impact on the major functions of our companies.

·      NCARB provided a 2 ½ page list of specific competencies where administrators can provide essential services to our firm, such as helping develop leadership skills within the firm, contract administration, staffing planning, reviewing legal documents related to the site, developing tracking systems, and managing project closeout procedures.

·      Deborah Gill, CPA FSDA of Profit by Design, focused on Firm Succession Planning and made a powerful case that operations can play a fundamental role in both recognizing the need for a firm to create an exit strategy for firm principals and adding value to the process as the company begins that journey through merger/acquisition of the firm, either external or internal, and principal retirement/exit options. 

·      The CDFO inaugural Accreditation Process, which was announced at EDS24, is a revitalization of the CDFA certification, which will change the Certified Design Firm Administrator (CDFA) program to a Certificate in Design Firm Operations (CDFO).  The CDFO adds leadership as a dimension to the CDFA and transforms the administration section of the resource guide to a broader Operations expertise.  The Operations knowledge will be expanded to include areas such as strategic planning, firm governance, firm transition, team communication and management, and IT apps and systems used for collaboration.

Beyond the presentations described above, I felt the energy of our members as they spoke of the reality of their experience and transformed careers.  I believe SDA is on the brink of a new era which will create concrete value in the Operations arena.  Join us in remaking and enriching our career responsibilities! 

We visited with Pat about her EDS24 experience. Click here to listen to the interview.