Engineering Management Institute

Organization/Productivity/Time Management

Discovering and Implementing New Technology in Your Civil Engineering Firm

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This is a guest post by Nick Heim, PE

New TechnologyCivil engineers are designers and builders of everything related to infrastructure: roads, bridges, dams, ports, and many others. While construction and maintenance of any asset happens in the physical world, there is a lot of work in the digital world that accompanies it. 

Today, I would like to talk about a few tips to discover and ultimately implement technology in your civil engineering firm. 

Note: For more information and insights related to this blog post, please refer to Episode #1 of the AEC Engineering and Technology (AECTECH) Podcast. 

1. Identifying Technology That Can Make a Difference

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How Engineering Firms Can Prevent Client Churn

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Client ChurnClients are arguably the most important aspect of running a successful and healthy engineering firm. What’s even more important is retaining them. Did you know it can be anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive to gain a new customer than to retain an existing one? So, how are you preventing client churn at your firm? On the surface, it can feel like there’s little control a firm can have over what its clients do, but in reality, improving retention starts internally.  

Keep on reading to learn our tips for improving your internal operations to boost client retention at your firm. 
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The Five-Day Week Is a Construct, so Why Not a Four-Day Week?

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This is a guest post by Dr. Rae Taylor

Four-Day WeekMaybe I should start by saying that I am all for the four-day workweek/three-day weekend. If that makes it sound like I’m trying to get out of work, I’d like to point out that I have been called a workaholic by three different bosses. In fact, one of those bosses refused my request to go part time because “part time would mean I start working 40 hours a week. And that’s still not right.”

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “Isn’t this the person who just reminded us about the shortage of engineers? And now she wants to let them work less?” Yes, I did just do that, and thank you for reading and remembering, but maybe this new topic could be one step in helping solve that problem. If engineers are retiring early, leaving to change careers, or not entering the workforce at all, then maybe we need to rethink fundamental things like the standard workload.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about this, and it’s a real concern that I think keeps getting overlooked. And frankly, this highlights the relatively shortsighted nature of business. Engineering, no matter the subdiscipline, requires a lengthy training process. I remember sitting through talks at university on how to gain chartership and being a little crushed to think that after all these years of school and exams, I would finally get to go out into the world of work, but would still have to do school and exams for yet another three to … infinity years. If we can’t get engineers trained faster (which we can’t), then we have to try our best to keep the ones we have. We need ways to keep people motivated and productive, and ways to reduce the burnout rate.

four-day week

So from the woman who brought you “Networking Is Hard, but Chatting Is Easy”, we now get “The five-day week is a construct, so why not a four-day week?”

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Not Enough Hours in the Day? These Tips Can Help You Out

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This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

enough hoursTime. It seems no one has enough of it, even though we all have the same 24/7.

Here I sit on a Friday morning with — get ready for it — free time!

This email came in late yesterday afternoon. “Pam, I hate to do this, but I’ve got to reschedule our call.” I’m glad that client couldn’t hear me cheering. Yes! Scheduled time has been freed! Now what?

If I had my druthers, I’d be out in the sunroom, immersed in a novel I’m reading. Instead, I’m writing this blog because it’s due next week, and I want to get it done now.

If you wrestle to get control of how you spend your time, check out these resources.

50 Questions That Focus on Your Relationship With Time

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3 Ways to Use Your Calendar to Make the Most Out of Your Workweek

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This is a guest post by Jacob Valentien, PE 

Your CalendarDo you feel like you have too much work and a too little week? Does your work sometimes spill into late nights or even weekends? Know that you are not alone and that throughout your career, you will often have to recalibrate your approach to optimize your workload. Obtaining a healthy balance is a very hard thing to obtain.

In one of my previous blog posts, I wrote about different ways to trigger flow state and to enhance productivity in the moment. Triggering the flow state is one thing, but knowing the best times to try to trigger it is probably the most important. Are you most productive in the mornings, after lunch, at the end of the day? It takes some self-awareness along with trial and error to figure this out, but it is important that you do.

This post provides three simple tips to organize your calendar around those flow state moments so that you can get the most out of your workweek.

Tip 1 – Block off Time on Your Calendar to Accomplish Tasks

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Trends & Predictions for Professional Services Firms in 2022 (From a CEO)

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This is a guest blog by Leanna Michniuk from BigTime Software

Professional ServicesWhether we can believe it or not, 2022 is here. What does this mean for people and firms in the professional services industry? If it’s anything like the past two years, we can expect … well, the unexpected.

Using what he’s learned and experienced firsthand throughout his career and leading a company through a pandemic, Brian Saunders, CEO of BigTime Software, sat down to share his predictions for the new year with one key theme in mind — preparation.

Keep on reading to get an inside look into what Brian foresees in the upcoming year and his advice for making it a successful one.

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The Ways Technology Maintains Productivity of Teams That Work Remotely

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This is a guest blog by Brian T.

TechnologyWondering how advanced technology can assist businesses in making their teams productive? In this article, I will discuss several ways how technology has already optimized the work of remote employees! 

Last year, businesses witnessed a fundamental transformation of the traditional office due to the havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in a kind of “remote-work economy,” which is presumably to be a foundation even after the pandemic is long since passed. 

The above-mentioned became a new issue for businesses as well as staff because remote work has become a common practice. However, the growing access of super-fast internet, side-by-side with the development of cloud computing, has enriched present businesses with the infrastructure that is necessary to promptly adjust to multiple remote work challenges. 

As a result, according to Statista, small and medium-sized enterprises are expected to invest more than $100 billion on teamwork tools, cloud-based apps, cybersecurity platforms, and many other remote digital services during 2021-2023. Online business-to-business (B2B) marketplaces like Engre are also gaining momentum. This innovative technology has turned out to be an integral part of business daily routines. Offices, educational establishments, and even hospitals count on contemporary tech to guarantee that business processes function as usual. 

Nowadays, people are free to work from anywhere, partner with each other seamlessly, optimize client care, and gain new skills and competencies online. Let’s explore how technology maintains the productivity of employees who work remotely. 

Technology Reconsiders Remote Work Culture 

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How To Write SMART Goals, Courtesy of a Moose

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This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

SMART GoalsSeveral years ago, we took a family vacation to Maine. Being a savvy professional, I set official goals for the trip. I wrote them down, of course. Goals aren’t real unless you write them down.

I shared my written goals with a peer group. I even wrote them down in the visitors’ registration book at a Maine information center.

“Goals for Maine trip: to get a green tourmaline ring and to see a moose.”

Before I tell you what happened, let’s look at how to set goals using the SMART method, a tried-and-true model for goal setting. And very fitting for this time of year.

SMART goals

Identify Your SMART Goals

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How to Discover Your Work Style and Personal Value

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This is a guest blog by Kyle K. Cheerangie, P.E.

work styleEngineering requires deep and focused thought. There are two primary engineering positions: the Engineer and the Engineering Manager. Each requires a unique work style.

The main performance environment of the Engineer is at their desk in solitude. Engineers, the technical staff, typically require silence in order to focus on their work. The main performance environment of the Engineering Manager is in the group. Engineering Managers, the group leaders, must thrive in leading a group to accomplish the work.

Although their working environments and work types are different, each professional must understand their personal work style.

There Are Several Factors That Make up Your Personal Work Style:

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