Design Firms Lack Plan for Hiring

ZweigWhite's 2013-2014 Operating Expenses Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning & Environmental Consulting Firms found a lack of planning for spending in key employee development and compensation areas.

According to the survey, only 32 percent of industry firms have a recruiting/HR budget, with large firms being more likely than small firms to have such a budget.  Thirty-nine percent of firms have an overall firm-wide budget for incentive compensation, and almost half of all firms predict an increase in spending in this area for 2013.  Per employee, pension, profit sharing, and 401(k) plan costs were found to have increased this year, and a quarter of firms spend at least 7.5 percent of their total costs on bonuses.

Detailed benchmarking statistics are available on every area of operation in the survey, including how much the average firm spends on professional liability insurance and how much it spends on hardware and software.

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Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.