Koontz-Bryant, PC – Client Feedback Journal, Part 1

Over the coming months, we follow Koontz-Bryant, P.C. as they begin using client feedback to improve their business, culture, and overall prosperity.  In this first installment, Martha Shotwell, Controller, shares their history, current situation, and the decision-making process to use feedback as an agent for change.

Part 1

Koontz-Bryant, P.C. was founded in 1990 to provide surveying and engineering services to the private development sector. We have since expanded clientele to include federal, state and local governments; public and private educators; and commercial, institutional, and industrial clients. Over the years, residential development has been our largest market segment.

Like so many other firms dependent on the building industry, the recession has hit us hard.  Most of our developer clients are not starting new projects; some projects have stalled out; and a few clients have gone out of business.  State and local governments have their own budget shortfalls.  Competition for new projects is fierce.  Our gross revenue and headcount are a third of what they were a few years ago.  We are glad that we have managed to hold on as we have watched some of our competitors disappear, but austerity measures are taking their toll.  Employees have endured pay cuts, reduced hours, and benefits cuts.  All of us feel hungry for good news and hopeful for a better year in 2011.

More than ever, we know that it is critical to retain the clients we have.

Koontz-Bryant has long recognized the need to treat clients well.  As part of a management study, an outside consultant conducted in-depth client surveys on our behalf.  We found that our clients by and large had good things to say about us, and that there were a few areas in which we could improve.  Our principals had some productive conversations with some of the respondents and followed up on areas that needed work.  We toyed with the idea of doing surveys ourselves and we even sent out about half a dozen, but we never established a sustainable program.

A few years ago we bought a few dozen copies of the book “Selling the Invisible,” and conducted a series of lunch meetings about our relationships with clients.  At staff meetings and board retreats, we continued to talk about client service and meeting client expectations.  However, we never really determined what those expectations were!

A couple of months ago, Axium (our accounting software provider) invited us to a webinar about collecting client feedback.  Within the first half hour, we were totally convinced that regular client feedback – and a constructive method to pass client feedback along to staff – had the potential to transform our client relationships.  A key take-away was the realization that we have exhorted staff to serve clients without asking clients what they thought, and that staff are too often shielded from client comments, good or bad.  We felt that a well-implemented system to improve communication could help us retain clients and engage staff, which would surely improve our bottom line.

Persuaded that regular client feedback could improve our business, we talked about creating surveys in-house and using internet-based survey services to collect feedback.  We brainstormed about the logistics, and debated when and how to share the feedback: who should receive the results, how and when to pass along to staff, and how to compile and track the results.  We knew that we could work all these things out ourselves, but we also felt that, short-staffed as we are, it would take a long time to get a self-administered program off the ground.  We contacted the folks at DesignFacilitator to learn more about their Client Feedback Tool.

We were impressed with the thoroughness of the Client Feedback Tool, and have decided to give it a try. As consultants ourselves, we see value in having the Client Feedback Tool’s implementation experts help us work through the logistics.   COO Bill Hestand said, “I believe we will see some good results right away.  Our staff does a good job, and it will be good for them to hear that from our clients.  As a manager I look forward to hearing from clients and to the challenge of responding to any negative feedback right away. ”

In a memo to staff announcing this new initiative, Koontz-Bryant President Greg Koontz wrote, “I am quite sure everyone here is aware that Client Satisfaction is one of the key principles that drives our business.  I think overall we all do a good job of attending to our clients’ needs and requests, based on our level of repeat business.  We have a unique opportunity to take our understanding of this key business principle to another level, giving us a true advantage over our competition.  This is a great opportunity for us to strengthen our existing client relationships, and gives us a great story to discuss with new clients!”

We believe that the investment will prove to be a profitable one.  As we embark on our feedback initiative utilizing the Client Feedback Tool, we will keep you posted with periodic updates.

Here’s to a great 2011!

KLMK Group, LEAN and Client Feeedback

DesignFacilitator recently spoke with KLMK Group, a leading provider of innovative healthcare facility solutions, about their utlization of the Client Feedback Tool and their LEAN approach.

LEAN is a production management-based approach to project delivery. As it us used in the AEC industry, it is a method for designing and building capital facilities.

Read the full interview and report: KLMK Group, LEAN and Client Feeedback

AEMA Article: “Busting the 6 Major Myths Plaguing the A/E Industry”

Myths, or false beliefs, can lead to misconceptions that produce harmful behaviors, and they are present in all facets of society, including A/E/C firms. They can undermine the credibility of design firms and disrupt industry prosperity.

Mike Phillips, Founder of DesignFacilitator, has identified six prevailing industry myths and begins by debunking the first three in a recent article in the Journal of the Architectural Engineering Management Association.  Read the complete “A & E Business” article here:
A&E Business Jan 2011 Cover & Article

For a complimenary copy of this issue, or to subscribe to the AEMA journal, visit Architectural Engineering Management Association, email AEmanagement@sbcglobal.net or call 405-848-1111.

Feedback – Is Your Goal High Scores, or Better Service?

Getting rave reviews from your clients feels great!  We all enjoy positive feedback, particularly from those you work with closely.  However, when designing a feedback process to stay in tune with your clients, too many organizations make the mistake of seeking high scores, rather than actionable information.

If 90% of your feedback comes with top ratings, you may have some great marketing statistics.   But, you really haven’t collected data that lets you improve.  If almost all your scores are at the top of the scale, you have no way to differentiate which clients are most loyal, and place the highest value on your services.  You have no means to capture when something worked especially well, compared to your typical (and still effective) process.

With our Client Feedback Tool, we invested years of research into our patent-pending answering system, based on a self-centering “Met Expectations” sliding scale.  While our system provides the same percentage of “low” scores (~4%), only 16% of results fall in the top score category.  It’s this downward shift that gives you 400% more information with which to make decisions and improvements.  In the cases where you receive “Exceptional” feedback, you can now identify clients that valued your services much more than normal.  You can begin to see trends about what sets these situations apart.  Once you identify the contributors to these high scores, you can work them into your “typical” processes, enhancing value for all clients.

Suddenly, your high scores give you an opportunity to improve, just as much as your low scores do.

90% thumbs up feels good, but dramatically reduces the useful information you have.  

To learn more about our answer scale and how it works, contact us to schedule a demonstration.

Client Feedback Tool Testimonial – Cara Phillips

We interviewed Cara Phillips of Phillips Architecture about her use of the Client Feedback Tool.  Cara is Principal and COO, and has been using the Feedback Tool for four years.

Client Feedback Tool – New Features!

On January 23, 2011 the Client Feedback Tool received an update with several substantial new features and enhancements.

• New, high-security encryption.  The Client Feedback Tool is now secured by 128-bit SSL (https); the same level of encryption used by online banks and merchants.
• All reports now include extensive filtering options (previously this was limited just to Advanced Reports).
• Project Manager Role has been added.  PM’s are added to individual projects, and can see all feedback for that project.  This allows much more granular sharing of feedback than the current Team Manager role.
• When viewing results from a survey, you may click on the name of the respondent to quickly see a summary of that respondent’s past feedback.
• Projects may now be assigned to more than one team.
• New report – Response Details.  View responses to many different surveys in one consolidated report.  Allows you to quickly see all the feedback from a selected person; for selected project(s); etc.
• Enhanced “Export to Excel” capability.
• Enhanced importing capabilities.
• Dozens of other minor tweaks, enhancements, and fixes

ZweigWhite Press Release – Interview with Mike Phillips

ZweigWhite just issued a press release including comments from an interview with DesignFacilitator President Mike Phillips.

http://blog.zweigwhite.com/news/know-your-clients/

ZweigWhite is a leader in enhancing business performance for architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firms.  They, like many other experts in the A/E/C industry continue encouraging firms to gather feedback effectively, in order to improve service delivery and long term prosperity.

Hot Firm 2010 Conference in D.C. This Week

The Zweig Letter Hot Firm 2010 Conference and Awards Celebration, presented by ZweigWhite, will be held October 27 & 28 in Washington, D.C.

The Zweig Letter Hot Firm Conference is an annual, 2-day event for growing A/E firms that features top design and environmental industry executives, entrepreneurs, authors, and many others who gather to share strategies for success, learn tactics from their peers, and leave with renewed inspiration for another successful year.

If you’re attending this event, please join Mike Phillips for his brief session on Client Feedback on Thursday, October 28 at 9:45am, directly following Ed Friedrichs’ presentation, or stop by the Client Feedback Tool Sponsorship table and say hello.

For more information on the event visit http://www.zweigwhite.com/events/hotfirm/index.asp.

2010 Best Firms to Work For Summit

 The Best Firms to Work for Summit, presented by CE News, Structural Engineering & Design, The Zweig HR Letter and the Environmental Business Journal, is today, September 28 and Wednesday, September 29 at the Palazzo in Las Vegas.  This two-day conference will explore topics such as retaining top talent in tough times, workforce planning in an economic downturn, firm cultures that motivate and inspire commitment, retooling your current workforce, diversification strategies, staffing and cash flow, managing overhead, training and workforce development, benefits integration, legal issues, and best practices, as well as provide unlimited networking opportunities for all involved in the business of architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting.   

If you’re attending this event, please join Mike Phillips for his 4:00pm session today: Improve Your Firm by Improving Your Value to Clients or stop by the Client Feedback Tool Sponsorship table and say hello.   

For more information on the event visit http://www.bestfirmstoworkfor.com/index.html.

PSMJ Circle of Excellence Conference – Sept. 23 & 24

DesignFacilitator’s Client Feedback Tool is a proud sponsor of PSMJ’s Circle of Excellence Conference in San Diego, September 23 & 24, 2010.  

DesignFacilitator’s Mike Phillips will be moderating today’s 2:30 Panel discussion
“Keeping Your Clients Happy and Loyal.”

Conference attendees can also visit the Client Feedback Tool table to learn more about the tool and what it can do to increase the prosperity of your A/E firm.

PSMJ’s Circle of Excellence represents the top 20% of firms participating in PSMJ’s Financial Performance Survey that achieve the best overall business performance in the A/E industry. This distinction is awarded based upon a combination of 13 performance benchmarks that measure business operations in terms of profitability, growth, cash flow, overhead control, business development, project performance, and employee satisfaction.

For more information on PSMJ, and their Circle of Excellence Awards and Conference visit PSMJ Resources, Inc.