Page 38 - BusinessWest November 14, 2022

Transparent Approach
As they start writing those new chapters, those we spoke with said the ESOP model, one in which ownership of the firm is essentially shared by all employees, will work well at Dietz, and for a number of reasons.
“It’s a very interesting way to look at a business, especially in the design industry, where so much of what we do is teamwork,” said Newman, adding that the ESOP model dovetails nicely with the company’s operating structure in ways that were not really anticipated, or fully understood, when the concept was first proposed in late 2020.
Another factor is the high level of transparency that has defined Kerry Dietz’s management style and now characterizes the company, said Morrissette,
an experienced architect who came to Dietz in 2019 after working at firms in the Boston area.
“One of the things that is most remarkable to me, coming from other firms in the Boston area and else- where before that, is the level of business transpar- ency that the Dietz company has offered from the very first meeting I came into,” he explained. “The quarterly performance of the company and our busi- ness initiatives are clear to all the employees, and we have an open-book policy when it comes to salaries, and that’s very uncommon in our industry.
“There has been a very consistent approach to sharing the business of architecture with the entire staff,” he went on. “It’s an education for everyone;
it was for me when I first came here — I learned
a lot about the business of architecture, and it’s made it a lot easier to do this transition, because we were included the whole time so we could take on more and more understanding and more and more responsibility.”
Riordan, who has been with Dietz for nearly 20 years, agreed.
“Kerry was one person running the firm, and that was a huge responsibility, with a lot of tasks and pieces attached to that,” he said. “It’s been really great to see everyone step into those roles in their own way and actually make a better
process for running the firm, because
there’s no one person trying to manage
it all, plus run projects. There are four of
us that are actually taking on the tasks
and developing our own initiatives for
how we make those tasks better.”
Still, there has been a sharp learning curve with this transition, said New- man, adding that it’s still ongoing.
“It’s definitely a completely different
way to run a business,” he said. “Many
of the aspects of being an ESOP are quite positive; we have a lot more opportunities for our employees to engage and reap the benefits of being a company owner, from the financial side as well as the cul- tural side. It’s not one person at the top who has full authority on decision making and the strategic direc- tion of the company.”
Elaborating, he said that, in addition to the four in the four leadership positions, there is also a board of directors charged, in essence, with making sure the company is being run fairly and that all voices are heard.
“The ultimate authority at the company is the employee,” Newman went on. “If we’re not running the company in a way that is benefiting, or for the benefit of, the employees, then we’re not doing our jobs.”
With the transition in leadership, the three prin- cipals have taken on new responsibilities. Morris-
sette said he will be working on marketing, alongside Marketing Coordinator Ashley Solomon, while also directing the many housing projects the firm takes on, as well as municipal projects. Meanwhile, New- man said he will be working closely with Gloster
and focusing on the business side of the company
“
The ultimate authority at the company is the
employee. If we’re not running the company in a way that is benefiting, or for the benefit of, the employees, then we’re not doing our jobs.”
— “talking with our lawyers, corporate governance, contracts, insurance, all this stuff you love to do as an architect.”
Riordan, meanwhile, said he will be focused on “quality control” and developing systems to enable the firm to operate better and more efficiently, add- ing that all three principals will be involved in sev- eral aspects of management, including the recruit- ment and hiring of talent and building the book of business.
Branching Out
Moving forward, those we spoke with expect some changes at Dietz. One of them involves a broadening of the firm’s reach and getting closer to clients — quite literally, said Morrissette, adding that, with the
firm doing
consis-
Dietz
Continued on page 39
CREATING COMMUNITY THROUGH DESIGN SINCE 1985
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