One of the biggest problems faced by the architects is the lack of definition of the actual size of projects they execute – since a work can change direction at any time. The confusion this can generate is not limited to the expectation of what was agreed between the two parties. The very organization of services is compromised, and the perceived value of work performed. It takes organization and management for the entire project flow. To help you with that, we list five foolproof tips to better manage your architectural firm:
1. Know your costs
The first step you need to know the exact costs related to his role as an architect, whether you’re self-employed or an office manager. Put on paper all financial commitments that exist in their practice – fixed and variable.
2. Set the productivity of your staff
Discovering the cost of your office, the next step will be to define the minimum value of production of each of the directly involved in the preparation of projects, so close the month with a positive balance.
For this it is necessary to calculate how many hours each employee will be available for the project. Also calculate how much your time – and, from this, assess how many hours you have to devote to work. You can make these accounts through a spreadsheet or automatically using a task management software.
3. Determine the amount of hours devoted to the project
Determining working hours is possible to measure and manage the quality of their productivity. Finishing work ahead of time, productivity can be considered good. And if the work not be completed in time, you can discover where it’s coming trouble.
4. Calculate the value of the project
Who does cost management of a project should take care of basically three stages: planning, budget and cost control. But no matter which one you are, your mission is always the same – understand where the costs come from. The problem is when the project extends beyond the expected and the origin of the costs is increasingly hazy. And it has to be. Not even. Organize your expenses into categories to not have this headache, and use the help of technology to record the hours spent on each task of each project.
5. Always check your work and production
Look for a way to measure their productivity, is writing down on paper the hours worked or adopting a more automated technique. With this control, everyone wins and the customer is even more pleased when he realizes that the office works with clarity and, above all, honestly. Having this strategic awareness will certainly make its most capable staff, because the small everyday processes, added in the long run, can generate savings of resources and time.
If you want to use your time in a more intelligent way with your team, test the Runrun.it, the online team management tool that is now present in over 150 thousand companies from 130 countries, including architectural firms. Get started now: http://runrun.it
