While Gensler may be the largest architecture firm in the U.S. by revenue ($657 million in 2010, according to BD+C's Giants 300 rankings), the firm doesn't let its size get in the way of its relationship with each of its more than 3,000 employees in 40 offices globally-or, for that matter, its relationship with its clients around the world.
Just the opposite. Gensler leverages its resources to create career development programs that few design firms could hope to duplicate. More than 300 volunteer "learning coordinators" oversee extensive technical and leadership training in such topics as Revit, construction administration, and "TechKnow," a series that highlights new technology developments in the AEC field. The firm even employs a full-time "instructional designer" to make sure its training programs provide real ROI.
All this is part of Gensler's Talent Development Studio, which it describes as "a human capital think tank that advances and aligns the company's greatest asset-its people-with the organization's business goals." The Talent Development program has been a key factor in the firm's remarkable growth since 2003 (and, remarkably, even in the last few years of economic recession), in both revenue and new employees.
BEST AEC FIRMS TO WORK FOR 2011 WINNERS
Chapman Construction/Design
EYP Architecture & Engineering
Gensler
HMC Architects
MHTN Architects
Look for a more extensive report on Gensler in the January 2012 issue of BD+C.
Related Stories
| Aug 8, 2012
Giants 300 Science & Technology Report
BD+C's Giants 300 Top 25 AEC Firms in the Science & Technology sector.
| Aug 7, 2012
Pioneering revival
Financial setbacks didn’t stop this Building Team from transforming the country’s first women’s medical school into a new home for college students.
| Aug 7, 2012
Shedding light on the arts
Renovating Pietro Belluschi’s Juilliard School opens the once-cloistered institution to its Upper West Side community.
| Aug 7, 2012
How to win more state and local government projects
With a huge building stock at their disposal, state and local governments can be attractive clients, especially in these difficult economic times.
| Aug 7, 2012
McCarthy tops out LEED Platinum-designed UCSD Health Sciences Biomedical Research Facility
New laboratory will enable UCSD to recruit and accommodate preeminent faculty.
| Aug 7, 2012
Pankow names Lum new CEO
Lum joined Pankow in 1980 in Hawaii and has held leadership roles in Pankow’s Honolulu and Northern California regional offices and was appointed president of the firm in 2009.
| Aug 7, 2012
Suffolk Construction builds new Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
Construction management firm links history with the future by building museum using state-of-the-art virtual models and BIM technologies.
| Aug 7, 2012
Essex Builders to build church in Somerville, Mass.
The project’s design documents were prepared by Boston Bay Architects and reflect the church’s mission to serve the broader community as well as worship.
| Aug 6, 2012
Johnson Controls GWS appoints Genemaras as COO
Genemaras brings a wealth of experience in international business operations.
| Aug 6, 2012
Welton promoted to principal in Thornton Tomasetti’s Denver office
Welton serves as the manager of the firm’s Denver office and has more than 30 years of structural engineering experience across a range of project types including sports, commercial and residential.