Five ways your AEC firm can use tech to empower your people

Unanet recently released its 2024 AEC Inspire Report. In this blog series, we’ll explore the topics and themes it covers and how your AEC firm can use this information to gain a competitive advantage.

Architecture, engineering, and construction firms can’t succeed without their people. The challenge for many firms is in finding ways to engage and equip their talent with the tools they need to succeed.  

Tech empowerment in AEC firms can address more than just operation challenges and forecasting needs. Let’s explore the five ways your AEC firm can leverage tech to empower your people.   

Protect your legacy and expertise 

In the current talent landscape, talented individuals may transition in and out of your organization more frequently than in the past.  

From the 2024 AEC Inspire Report, we know industry-wide issues with talent recruitment and retention poses unique challenges, including the loss of institutional knowledge. This makes it important to transfer critical data and succession planning through tech.  

Your AEC firm can:  

• Use tech to capture valuable insights from experienced talent.  

• Preserve these insights with effective documentation and archival processes.  

• Maintain institutional knowledge despite inevitable changes in talent.  

Keep leaders informed 

Leaders and executives need to make their decisions based on data that is current and relevant. For your firm, this means you’ll want to gather and distribute the most up-to-date information.  Access to information is reliant on tech to connect, communicate, and create data-driven strategies.  

Your key decision-makers can be more proactive and agile if data is easily accessible throughout an organization. This results in improved process optimization and strategic planning.  

Enable productivity from anywhere 

The talent cliff will likely impact many industries, AEC being one of them. This places an emphasis on internal mobility and integration.  

Since the pandemic, remote work has surged, and it has changed the way we work forever. While some may be required to return to an office, hybrid workplaces have a permanent place in the industry.  

The ability to access up to date data anywhere is a priority for executives and managers and their teams. Having tech that allows professionals to remain hybrid or off-site is also a great way to recruit and obtain talented professionals.  

Reduce administrative burden with automation 

Artificial intelligence (AI) reaches beyond the creation of images and content. It expands into language processing, information gathering, and data utilization. Industries like construction, engineering, and architecture are seeing how AI can improve workflows, project management, planning, safety, and design processes.  

Embrace technology that reduces time spent on administrative responsibilities and allows more time for strategic work and improves employee satisfaction. Additionally, AI can assist with document management, email filtering, and reduce the occurrence of errors. In turn, this improves efficiency and reduces administrative overhead.  

Support demand with a flexible workforce 

Insights from the 2024 AEC Inspire Report tell us resource management is a top project management challenge for AEC firms. Project demands require flexibility, and their needs will consistently shrink and grow. AEC firms demand a combination of a gig-economy, contract, and full-time workforce.  

Tech can ensure your tools are easy to use by reducing onboarding requirements. Mission-critical tasks require efficient use of data and firms that utilize the right technologies are less likely to struggle with resource management. AI-mature firms see even more success with projects that are delivered either on or ahead of time and under budget.  

Looking to make business easy while freeing up more time to do the work that matters? Learn how Unanet can help. Schedule a demo today.