Mentoring & Professional Development

The people of AMD are our most valuable asset.

Before the 1800’s any person could become an architect through study and apprenticeship. Learning from one-another remains a foundational part of any architect’s training. Mentoring, as used in this document, refers to the transfer of knowledge, and also the role of coaching to support the confidence and initiative of the individual to be actively engaged in their own growth and knowledge. Our ability to engage mentoring relies upon relationships, proximity, and clarity of agency and expectations.

The importance of day-to-day interaction is essential to our collaborative and iterative process. Team meetings, design reviews, and group pin-ups are important to the studio environment and are some of the richest opportunities for professional growth and mentoring. The most personal and often meaningful mentoring takes place through one-onone relationships, where colleagues get to know one another personally, and that insight often leads to more effective ways of working together or offering insightful advice.

Evaluate & Enhance Mentoring Process

By improving the mentoring process at AMD, we provide staff with the ability to learn faster, access the experience of others, and connect with leaders in the firm.

GOAL Update AMD’s framework for mentoring and incorporate values of equity and inclusion.

1. Organizational chart specific to mentoring.

2. Formalize the role and responsibility of mentors and integrate the role of sponsor.

3. Provide training for mentors.

4. Develop training programs based on annual review form competencies.

5. Provide mentoring resources to support staff growth at all levels.

6. Young staff retreat: design around professional development & invite speakers.

Revamp the Feedback Process

Hindsight is 20-20 and offers us one of our best opportunities to improve together. It is a useful tool to explore ways equity and inclusion can be improved.

GOAL Review

1. Revisit annual review process within broader context of feedback.

2. Review mentor/sponsor growth/feedback processes to ensure they are appropriate & sufficient for all levels.

3. Integrate & normalize the de-brief.

Licensing Support

Licensing is at the core of the professional goals for architectural staff. Support for this effort is central to our mission and values.

Promote Deeper Engagement on Projects for Younger Staff

Early career roles are naturally more likely to jump from project to project due to staffing needs. While every task is an opportunity to learn, by engaging young architects in project teams over longer stretches, opportunities for learning and investment are increased.

Goal

All employees feel fully supported by the firm in achieving licensure.

1. Provide each employee working towards licensure with a mentor.

2. Firm-provided resources for licensure study materials

3. Ask Emerging Professionals Group for annual recommendations on additional ways licensure can be supported.

Goal

1. Invite emerging professionals to meetings, copy on emails.

2. Host full-team charrettes and pin ups throughout design.

3. Assign a role to emerging professionals in the projects vs. tasks.

Revamp the Onboarding Process

An employee’s first experience in the office is linked to long-term retention. It is one of the most important ways to establish a sense of inclusion.

GOAL Review onboarding process to improve experience of new employees.

1. Welcome lunch with team principal and peer staff.

2. Prepare for new employee’s arrival in advance; welcome package, welcome plan.

3. Craft shadowing process that engages ‘experts’ in the firm; building connections and informing new staff of available resources.

4. Assign a mentor prior to first day, establish welcome protocol for mentors.