We recently bid a project along with 20 other firms.  Within a couple days, we received the bid tabulation sheet.  The bids ranged in price from $150,000 to $675,000.  Our bid was in the middle.  This was a fabrication-only project so each firm was provided the same drawings.  How could the bid amounts vary so greatly?  Some of the things I thought of were:

• Lower quality product
• Less service
• No warranty
• Lower labor costs
• More efficient
• Plan to change order for everything along the way
• Do not plan to follow the specifications they bid
• Materials are less expensive
• Different fabrication method

I decided to do some follow-up on jobs we had lost because of a substantial price difference (over $100,000).  I sent some of my staff on the road to look at our competitor’s work (see Jason’s recent post).  Some of the clients they visited were our past clients, so these clients were able to compare their experience working with us and their experience working with the firm that underbid us.  When the clients began talking about their most recent experience, they made statements that included:

• They did not meet their dates
• They did not involve us in the process (e.g. weekly phone calls, approvals, website posts of progress, etc.)
• They gave us samples of what they were going to produce and did not produce it
• They asked for their money without providing the deliverable
• They were on the phone during our meetings
• We asked them to redo it several times
• It isn’t what we wanted

At one of the sites we visited we noticed the other exhibit firm used a different fabrication method than we do.  In the coming weeks, we will analyze whether that is a more efficient method.  At this point, we do know it does not offer the opportunity for the client to critique the work along the way and the natural elements were not the quality we produce - from the species of trees to the undulations in the groundform to the transitions into the mural.

We talked to another client about the design process and whether they got the same level of detail in the design deliverables.  We were told our deliverables differed significantly.  We have seen the lack of detail in other designs.  Many lack even the simplest of measurements or the quantity of graphic panels.

As a company that has a foundation of being frugal and efficient, it can be frustrating to lose work to a substantially lower-priced firm.  We have a core value of high integrity and back up our commitments.  This means we will not buy the job and change order it later to make up the difference.  We will make it according to the samples provided, etc.

We will continue to conduct research and will attempt to show the marketplace the differences in deliverables.  When bids come back ranging drastically in price, there is no way the bids can be apples to apples.  If the project is awarded to a company simply because they offer the lowest price, one must ask how that firm can provide the same product and service as the other firms.

If you have chosen to work with a firm based on the low price of their bid, how was your experience?  Are you happy with the finished product?

What does good quality look like?  Don’t all companies say they produce quality products?  How does saying your work is high-quality set you apart from your competitors?

I believe that several factors go into making a product a “Quality Product.”  Some might say that quality means the product has to be built to last.  I would have to agree with this statement and is one reason we offer a five-year warranty.  I think attention to detail plays a role in quality.

I recently visited a museum that just opened a new exhibit.  As I was walking around critiquing everything and comparing it to our work, I noticed some things that I would never accept or approve from our fabricators.  For instance, there were brad nail holes in painted framing that were left unfilled.  These holes stood out and were very noticeable.

I also noticed unfinished cabinets doors.  The inside edge was left unpainted/laminated.  The plywood ply’s were easily seen given the uneven cut of the door.  (No, this wasn’t a design element or accent.)

I could also tell one particular wall was made of MDF given the lack of finish along the edges around an opening.  It looked like they didn’t sand the edge and just paint it.

Needless to say I was disappointed in the lack of attention to detail, but I left feeling good that we pay attention to those things.  I feel it is something that helps set us apart from our competitors and allows us to say we do quality work.  We fuss about the small stuff and pay attention to the details.

What does museum quality look like to you?

Posted by: Jason, Art Director

I recently asked the Community Manager at a PR firm in Chicago, “How do we get more comments on our blog?”  (Yes, I realize a good blog isn’t defined solely on the number of comments it receives (good thing!), but it is a starting point.)  Daniel posed the question on their blog, Spin Sucks.  The suggestions he and other readers offered were good and I will start implementing several of the ideas.  Dan’s post was also referenced by another blogger, Adam Singer, creator of The Future Buzz.  This blog probed my question a little more deeply and also offered some good tips.

An assumption made in The Future Buzz post was, “The real reason they are blogging (speculating here) is to build awareness for their firm and to gain additional inquiries (and ultimately clients) from blogging. “  So why do we blog?  We’ve been asked this question many times and Adam was pretty spot on. (Not really a difficult assumption to make.)

We started this blog about a year and a half ago.  We recognized the importance of social media and embraced it.  We wanted a way to connect with potential and current clients and others in the industry. We also wanted to educate our readers as to why we’re different.  In this industry, differentiation is hard.  We believe we offer our clients more value and a higher quality product, but there’s more to it than that and that’s often difficult to explain in 15 pages or less.  So we started blogging in order to give our clients, and yes, our competitors, a behind the scenes look at what we do, why we do it, what we believe, and ultimately how we’re different from other firms in our industry.

The posts you read on our blog range from meeting our staff, to learning about our management style, to understanding our history.  Some posts are fun (see what Tony does in his spare time), some are informative (see Renee’s series on our design-build process), and some are serious (see Betty’s position on incentives).

Do you have a blog?  Why did you start blogging?  What do you hope to gain from your efforts?

Posted by: Kara

Mac Singer:

How long have you been with TSI?

A year and a half

What did you do before you started working at TSI?

I was in school at U of I for metals/jewelry and industrial design, during which time I worked in coffee shops and a bicycle shop.

What do you do at TSI?

Metalwork, models…I do a little bit of everything.

What do you like best about TSI?

I like the people and the diversity of work.  Also the joking around is a lot of fun.

What’s your favorite TSI project?

The butterfly at the Metamorphosis toddler garden at Albany Pine Bush

Why?

Because it was very sculptural.

What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?

I ride an awesome motorcycle! (Well some of them know this…)

What’s the favorite part of you day?

The beginning and the end

I had my weekly meeting with our controller, Jane, this morning.  One of the things we talked about is organizing our pay policy.  We have a procedure and a strategy and now we need to organize it all together and make an official process.  Some of what we did to create a pay strategy is the following:

• Written job descriptions
• Establish pay ranges for each position within the company
• Market research on what those positions are paid in our market area
• A process for each department head to request raises
• Pay level spreadsheets for each department head
• Each employee gets an annual review. Raises are not given at that time. Expectations and goals are clearly communicated
• Annual review of pay ranges

There are market forces that affect pay policy.  If there is a limited pool of qualified employees for a particular position we are recruiting for we may modify the pay range.  The profitability of the company and forecast for future work could also affect pay ranges.

Once an employee reaches the top of their pay range for any position they would have to offer value in some other way in order to be paid outside of their pay range.  This also applies to making progression within your pay range.  An employee that has diversified skills may be more valuable.  If you can sculpt, paint and do woodworking that may be more valuable than someone that can only do woodworking.  If you can produce something fast you may be more valuable (this applies more to hourly workers than salary, but counts in both).  If you have not offered more value than you did in the previous year your raise may match that year’s inflation rate.  In 2009 there was no inflation.  According to the BLS it was negative .4% for 2009.  In 2010, it has been 1.1%.

Pay may also vary depending on what other benefits we are offering individuals.  We offer a variety of training.  If we are sending someone through extensive and costly training that may affect their pay for that particular period.  If we have to train someone extensively that may affect their pay level.  The pay strategy includes all benefits (health insurance, 401k, life insurance, etc.).

The work that we do is very unique and very competitive.  We compete with companies across the U.S.  Our competition often bids lower.  We assume part of their ability to do this is based on their pay strategy.  If you have to pay workers less in Atlanta for the same work we produce in IL that can make it difficult for us to compete.  We consider the unique work we do as a competitive advantage.  How many people can work at a place in which one day you learn about dinosaurs and the next the civil war?  It’s a very creative environment which also makes it appealing to come to work every day.  This advantage may mean we pay slightly less than the contractor down the street.

Do you have a pay strategy?

Meet Amy:

How long have you been with TSI?

9 1/2 years

What did you do before you started working at TSI?

Freelance art.  I sold paintings (mostly abstract) to galleries, dealers, and interior designers.  I even had a couple posters made.

What do you do at TSI?

Paint - Models, Lifecast Figures, Rocks, Trees, whatever.

What do you like best about TSI?

I like that even on a bad day or when something goes wrong, you’re still talking about how to fix a giant caterpillar or whether the velociraptor looks “too scary.”

What’s your favorite TSI project?

Audubon Insectarium in New Orleans

Why?

Giant colorful cartoon bugs…’nuff said.

What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?

The very first painting I did was graffiti.  I feel kind of bad about that now.

What’s the favorite part of you day?

6p.m.  By then, I’m usually home with Bob working in my studio on a quilt or some other project and watching The Young & The Restless.

I have talked with many business owners who offer incentives in some fashion.  I have also heard stories of how many of these have backfired or the owner is frustrated with the entitlement mentality that develops.  I will share my story.

Many years ago, one of my managers proposed an incentive he thought would highly motivate our sculptors on a particular project.  I thought it was a good idea and we presented it, in writing, to a few of our lead artists.  We told these artists that if they beat their time goals by 5% we would offer so much, if they beat them by 10% we would offer them a little more and if they beat them by 15% we would offer even more.  Beyond that we thought quality would suffer.  Their work had to be approved by our Art Director.

The project went very well.  The work was some of our best and the team beat their time goals by more than 20%.  As we had agreed in writing, I gave out checks to this small group of artists for the 15% bonus amount.  I had also recently given an end of year bonus that was quite large.  Right after giving out the checks the artists came into my office together.  They had checks in hand and demanded more.  I was shocked.  I thought I had been extremely generous.  I paid them more than our agreed upon salaries to do what their job descriptions required in the first place.  I had just given out other bonuses, too.  They took home several thousand dollars more than usual.  I, of course, said “no” to their demands and was hurt that they were not more appreciative of the extras I had given already.

On the next several projects, productivity and attitude spiraled down hill with some of these artists because  I was not offering the same incentive.  I assume they thought they should share in all profits going forward.  Of course, they didn’t think of paying for the losses and taking the risks, too.  Behavior really began to become unprofessional as time went by.  One of the artists wrote FU on the back of a groundform we fabricated.  Another took a knife to insulation in one of our newly constructed buildings.  Their attitude and behavior was shocking.  In the end, after several months, two of them were let go from the company.

I have never offered this type of incentive again.  Since then, I have read articles like the this one by Alfie Kohn that discusses why incentives don’t work.  Daniel Pink’s latest book Drive also discusses how some rewards do not motivate us.  Personally, I have been motivated by potential rewards.  For instance, I chose to study business instead of equine science, so I could buy my own horse.  Even so, I am still leery of offering incentives.

What motivates you?  Would you offer incentives?

Shawn Hensley, model maker:

How long have you been with TSI?

I have worked at Taylor for almost 11 years.

What did you do before you started working at TSI?

Before working here, I worked at Larson, another fabrication studio.  Their scope was geared more toward entertainment.  I was a foam carver there.  Before that, I worked construction while getting my BFA at the University of Arizona.

What do you do at TSI?

Here at Taylor, I’m a model maker.

What do you like best about TSI?

I enjoy making the larger models, such as the Audubon seahorses, GTMNERR manta ray and whale, and also the larger than life Audubon insects.

What’s your favorite TSI project?

The giant squid that I made for Bermuda was one of my favorite pieces.

Why?

Because it is such a mysterious animal.

What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?

Most people know that I grew up in Tucson, but not everyone knows that I grew up in a junk (salvage) yard.  My dad would buy wreaked cars and either fix or part them out.

We are a process oriented firm.  We see this as one of our strengths and one of our differentiations.  Not many creative firms seem to understand the value of process.  We spell out several of our processes (interpretive planning, design-build, quality control, etc.) in most of our proposals.  We’ve heard from several of our clients that one of the reasons they hired us was because of our processes and procedures.  While that’s a great thing for us, we’ve noticed that these are typically the clients that have gone through the process of building exhibits more than once which means they have probably worked with other firms that were not process oriented (or the project manager has a business background and appreciates a thorough plan of attack).  These clients understand the importance of process and procedures and the benefits of working with a firm who believes in them.

My question is, how do we make the clients who have never worked on an exhibit project before understand the importance of a well-defined and thought-out process?  Well, it’s difficult.  As a proposal writer, it’s something I’ve been trying to improve upon for the past three years.  Something I had never considered before, until a meeting earlier this week, was that some clients may glance over our procedures and immediately see dollar signs.  Is that true?  I see them as a cost saving measure - they keep the project on schedule, within budget, they keep the team on track, all decisions are documented as to avoid miscommunication and costly mistakes, deliverables are spelled out so there are no surprises at the end of each phase, etc.  For example, at our kickoff meeting (our first meeting with a client) we may spend an hour filling out our extensive measurement checklist. This may ultimately save time however, because by depending solely on the architect’s floor plan, the client’s grand opening could really be spoiled if we arrive for installation and find out we need to re-fabricate something because something doesn’t fit.  A few of us visited a museum last week where one of their exhibits had to be re-fabricated because the designer mismeasured something by four feet!  It seems inconceivable that a professional could make a mistake like that, but we’re all human, so procedures help guard against human error.

Our processes and procedures are in place to help.  Not to add red tape for the sake of red tape and not to waste time just to run up the bill.  We have taken the lessons learned from every project we have completed over the last 19 years to formulate a plan for every project going forward that helps us avoid the mistakes made on previous projects.  Mistakes happen, but we learn from them and try to not let them happen again.

If you’ve been the recipient of one of our proposals, I’d really appreciate hearing from you.  One of our core values is constant improvement, so any reactions or constructive criticism would be useful.

If you haven’t received one of our proposals, but have thoughts about processes and procedures, I’d love to hear from you, too.

Posted by: Kara

I went to my home town of Streator, IL for father’s day.  My dad wanted to show me how my childhood park had been revitalized.  My expectations were low.  I knew this park well as a kid.  It bordered our cow pasture, so I rode my horse there often.  I remember hanging out on Charlotte, my childhood horse, at the bottom of the Falls as my friends sun bathed on the limestone rock shelf.  It was a great place to hang out.  If you walked back from the Falls in the creek towards our pasture, there was a deep spot.  We would jump off a tree into this water hole.  The park had a tough side, too.  There were lots of drugs and drinking at various times throughout its history.  It grew very rough over the years.  It was tough to control given its remote location and partial gravel roads getting to it.

As soon as we pulled into the park I was impressed.  There was a big wooden sign, the parking lot was nicely graveled, there was a motor home with mowed grass in front of it, a fence with beautiful flowers, a wooden bridge with a ramp, a bulletin board type sign and people.  This was different than the dirt lot with rough trails that I remember from childhood.  As soon as we pulled up, my dad introduced me to Ruth Fennick and Lois Guyon.  They were very excited to show us the new hanging bridge.  Wow!  What a bridge.  It is an Indiana Jones like hanging bridge over the creek.

Ruth and Lois shared with me all they had done at this park.  The park is about 37 acres.  Many trails have been created.  Enough for an hour and a half horse ride if you meander them all.  Many signs have been created naming each trail.  They have a map of all the trails as a handout.  School groups have started coming to the park for natural history education.  Research has been done on the history of the park and it is maintained.

The amazing thing is how this small group of people converted a very rough park into a gem.  I asked how they kept drunks and druggies away.  These 70 year old ladies take two hour shifts keeping an eye on the park.  They ask people to leave if unruly.  They said it doesn’t have to take government money to create a beautiful park.  It is all volunteer, donations and ladies with spunk.  Much of the town has jumped in to help and donated or volunteered in some fashion.  Even my dad drove his tractor there to help spread the gravel for the parking lot.  If you have a few hours and a pair of gloves please give them a hand.

Is there a park like this in your hometown?  Let us know about it.