COVID-19 disruption and fallout—from distanced, isolated staff and no-touch business development to lost revenue and lingering market uncertainty—have many in the construction sector longing for their pre-pandemic existence.

预防措施和疫苗正在加快公司，所有者和其他AEC参与者的一定程度的回报，但是人们越来越多地认为，冠状病毒强迫的工作场所适应性是创新的，这是长期以来需要的，并且要留在这里。虚拟设计顾问Viatechnik的首席执行官Danielle Dy Buncio在2月在Enr的顶级年轻专业人士会议上告诉与会者。新利luck

“COVID was the light switch, and overnight, the game has changed and we need new ways to play it," she said. "There’s no going back to the pre-COVID workplace.”

Recent business surveys show the emerging transformation but also uncertainty and debate over changes ahead. In a March Prudential survey of 2,000 self-identified workers in all business sectors, only 13% said would opt for full-time on-site work, and one-third would not work for an employer requiring that presence. The respondents said 34% of job seekers want to work remotely and 42% graded their employer’s culture focus a “C” or lower. But two-thirds of respondents also see in-person interactions as key to career advancement.

In an April survey by tax consultant Marcum of 251 middle market CEOs, including those in construction, 82% expect to allow a partially remote workforce post pandemic. But in a CEO survey last month, management firm KPMG said just 17% of 500 responding chiefs in large corporations in 11 business sectors will downsize physical footprints and only 30% will commit to a majority of employees working remotely between two and three days per week.

格雷格Schoppman行业负责人管理consultant FMI Corp., says the pandemic forced AEC companies to rethink policies, practices and procedures that have been the norm for years, and many benefited from that reflective exercise. While profits rose last year for many firms as costs dropped, “people had to really think about how to make money and how to be very deliberate about the execution,” he says.

Competitive Advantage

设计and construction firms, owners and others now are weighing options in accommodating staff and business needs.

“We will not have a firm-wide mandatory return to the office,” says Mark Edwards, CEO of Texas designer Halff Associates. “The percentage who return will vary depending on job description, individual independence and office and team requirements.” But the firm won’t cut its office space. “We are maintaining or increasing it so every employee has their own space to preserve our culture. This will be a competitive advantage in the future. What’s good for our people is good for business, that’s the bottom line.”

建筑师Gensler联合首席执行官安迪·科恩（Andy Cohen）说：“办公室是合作发生的，对我们的文化至关重要。Designer STV首席执行官Greg Kelly呼应了这一点，他强调说：“当我们在一起时，我们总是最好的。”他说，该公司预计劳动节后会返回办公室。凯利说：“我们仍在制定一个计划，以如何最好地实现这一目标。”

“All staff learns from the shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders and colleagues and immersion into the processes, policies, culture and collaborative work environment,” says Gerald Salontai, CEO of engineer Hull & Associates. “The quicker this happens, the more they can be effective and bring value.” About 25% of Hull staff prefers to work remotely, with office trips for “occasional” team, project, client or company meetings. “This will cause changes in our real estate portfolios, office space and workspace layout,” he says. Quality control is at higher risk from a remote workforce, he contends. “Not having teams in close proximity can lead to things falling through the cracks on a given project,” Salontai says.

TRC Cos。首席人物劳拉·拉米（Laura Ramey）表示，该公司“是[工作 - 家庭]模型的早期采用者，并在大流行前建立了数字基础”，允许TRC快速过渡办公室的员工“生产力或员工访问权限没有大失误。”

Employee polls indicate most want to continue with a hybrid work from home and office setup post-pandemic, “and these numbers have remained consistent over the past 12 months,” she says.

AECOM's workforce voiced similar sentiments, CFO Gaurav Kappor said April 22 on a forum sponsored by consultant AEC Advisors. He said two surveys of its 50,000+ global workforce over the past eight months showed that 78% prefer a "flexible flex work arrangement." He also said space "reductions" are planned, with 65% of company leases expiring in the next four years, noting that infuture workspace planning, "we are insuring teams have the right technologies and WFH kits."

Priya Kapila, FMI compensation practice leader, said in a recent article, “It’s no surprise that many engineering and construction executives are asking, ‘How do we continue to monitor productivity, measure performance and reward employees who used to be in the office but aren’t anymore?’” Long-term solutions “are largely unknown, particularly given the uncertainty as to whether wide-ranging remote work will continue,” she says. One concern Kapila notes is that, in some cases, employees are missing important team engagement and communication developments, “so remote work is actually playing to their weakness.” FMI has more research underway among contractor CEOs, she says.

"There are challenges in development of staff now, especially those in their 30s who seek career advancement and ... underlie a lot of capability and billability are not feeling 'invested in' ... nearly as fully, if at all, as when in the office," says Ted Lower, CEO of industry management firm LVNV and an HR practice consultant to AEC advisory company EFCG.

According to Lower, firms intend to have "essentially all offices open for partial/rotating occupancy by 50% of employees by summer, with most having 25% to 35% occupancy by June." Many firms with offices in smaller, non urban locations "are well past that already," he says.

由于第四季度的互联波迫在眉睫取决于疫苗的强度和变体，“使混合环境携带2q，3q和4q进入4Q，被视为最佳行动方案，因为年终可能会涉及重大的办公室关闭要求，“较低的争论。

多达40％的设计公司Stantec工作人员可以看到混合工作安排，因此该公司转向虚拟现实摄像机和Internet远程进行现场评论。首席项目官史蒂夫·弗莱克（Steve Fleck）表示，这并不是万无一失的，公司依靠承包商不故意跳过物品。从钢筋到土方检查，“没有任何您不能那样做，”他说。“您可以看到每个角落。”

Fleck acknowledges that “getting people to remobilize in the office is actually a much more difficult exercise.”

Pay, Career Risks?

Some research sees pay cuts as a looming option for remote employees, with historical evidence “suggesting a negative connotation attached to telecommuting and a belief that remote employees do not work as hard,” says Kapila. She says the pandemic’s work from home boom “has helped dissuade this mind-set.”

哈佛商业评论研究人员在三月份的一篇文章中引用了一项调查，其中约有44％的员工愿意将薪水削减10％“永远远程工作”。但是他们敦促雇主采用“领导者支持与远程工作有关的组织期望的宣言”。

Michael McKelvy, President and CEO of Gilbane Building Co., says the company has learned this last year to revise past notions that work from home employees “are probably not doing a really good job.” He says the firm “still would like people to be in the office, but our understanding of that difference is much greater now than before.”

Even so, there is growing statistical and anecdotal evidence that remote work poses risks for women’s careers. Management consultant McKinsey last summer found in all sectors that women represented 39% of global employment but 54% of job losses. The consultant said its studies dating to 2015 had never recorded more women opting out of the workforce than men, until last year.

The U.K.’s latest annual mandated salary gap survey for all employers of 250 or more, released in April, revealed pandemic effects for women at some construction sector firms. COVID furloughs and added child care duties may “set some careers back by years,” according to industry experts. Andra Kidd, named Hull chief operating officer last year, notes efforts by the firm, not unlike others, to boost time flexibility and mental health support “to create work-life balance that, where possible, will continue beyond the pandemic.”

Face-to-face collaboration remains critical, but virtual options won’t disappear, says Scott Sass, national leader of DPR’s special services group, noting an uptick in workforce engagement. “Employees now feel really connected to the pulse of the company and to our strategies,” he says.

That link extends to college campuses, where distance learning has generally been the norm this past year, and Zoom the connector. “Students are much more willing to meet in Zoom than in person,” says David Gunderson, associate CM professor at Washington State University. “I’m not sure if it’s a convenience factor or if there is some intimidation removed.” He says he’s “basically given up on official hours. We’ll meet whenever we’re both available now.” Use of virtual platforms to host industry experts has also boosted learning options at the school, hampered in the past by its five-hour drive from Seattle.

Zoom will remain a go-to platform, but a recent American Council of Engineering Cos. (ACEC) member survey said nearly 63% of respondents have found or seek alternatives for remote interaction. “Architects and designers are visual thinkers, and working entirely in the digital space has expanded our arsenal of, and fluency with, digital collaboration tools,” says Gensler co-CEO Diane Hoskins.

从大流行的早期开始，DPR Construction倾向于其技术和创新团队，以使工作成功，特别是专门关注安全，生产力和协作的方法。DPR公司公司创新国家领导人Kaushal Diwan说：“我们提出了200多种解决方案，这是我们历史上有史以来最多的解决方案。”尽管许多人快速解决了与病毒有关的问题，但他希望看到一些问题继续存在。该公司驾驶了增强现实耳机的使用，当锁定限制旅行时，将检查员与现场的项目团队联系起来。

“I think that you’re going to see us continue to use wearable technology to help people be cognizant of where they are in relation to each other,” says Gilbane’s McKelvy. The Nevada Dept. of Transportation ramped up technology in its public-facing events. With open meetings barred, NDOT used web-based streaming services for virtual meetings, creating a higher standard for gathering public input and generating community support, says spokesman Tony Illia. “The pandemic has forced us to evaluate and reconsider best practices.” The agency also has developed a long-term telecommute policy for most of its administrative and management staff.

Major Pivot

AEC sector participants and observers also see key COVID-19 changes in business development. An ACEC survey in March said nine out of 10 respondents would allow travel for client meetings in the next six months, but only 50% will OK it for events, which must not exceed 20 attendees. Jennifer Newman, principal of Elevate Marketing Advisors, an industry consultant, notes two client design firms that “had to do a major pivot in 2020, implementing a digital strategy and new websites and brands to fit the new virtual environment.”

虽然削减旅行和其他业务发展t and staff support pumped up some company profits, “at the same time, firms have scrambled—and often spent unbudgeted funds—to ensure their workforce is equipped to work remotely,” says Elevate founder and principal Doug Parker, who also is current president of the Society for Marketing Professional Services. He says “accessibility to decision makers has been better than I can remember in my career” and that AEC firms used “any available time over the last year” to reexamine business development strategies.

哈尔夫（Halff）的爱德华兹（Edwards）援引了公司使用“在客户面前保持创造性的方式，例如在主题上提供虚拟学习机会，以使他们变得更加有效。”弗莱克说，为了在“面对面的基础上建立在面对面的基础上”的公司中，斯坦特克有效地借鉴了银行的商誉。他说，但是该公司还知道，将需要开始进行实时“存款”以维持这些关系。

Alexander L’Heureux, CEO of design giant WSP Global, terms the pandemic “a global tragedy, but … also an opportunity” to change and improve. “It’s no longer an agile workplace we need to design but an agile working environment, which is very different. We need to decide why we want workers to come back and what we want them to do,” says the executive.