Engineering Inc. - November/December 2010 - (Page 19)

tise required to be able to prepare taxes in-house.” W h e re o t h e r f u n c tions, such as IT, are concerned, the answer is less clear. While equipment and hardware maintenance are a no-brainer for outsourcing, many IT tools, such as objectoriented design and Building Information Modeling, are so pervasive and important to growing business that “whether firms like it or not, they are in the IT business,” Braley says. basic fixes, or about 70 percent of routine IT work,” Friese says. “With bookkeeping and accounting functions, over time, we have successfully brought about 60 percent of the effort in-house.” Firms with specialized needs are beginning to hire FTEs who not only understand critical or specialty software, but also know how to perform upgrades, repair IT problems and keep projects moving without having to wait for an IT specialist to fix problems. Firms that find an IT expert who understands the software, software programming, writing code and communicating its functions to engineers and clients should make every effort to hire and keep him or her, Braley says. “The economy has driven most wizards out of the practice and into the hands of the vendors.” His advice: Hold on to those in-house people with specialized IT skills and be willing to pay them a bit more instead of outsourcing to save money. Finding a Contractor N When Firms Choose NOT to Contract Out ot every firm chooses to outsource noncritical business tasks. At Wyoming-based engineering Associates, which has about 28 employees across three offices, staff members are cross-trained in back-office, iT and other critical business functions. The firm had considered outsourcing some back-office tasks, but decided to keep those functions in-house. “We’ve always felt that having everything happening under one roof gives us a much higher comfort level than sending something across the internet to some other world,” says President Rob Overfield. “We have a staff member—he’s kind of assistant bookkeeper—who does a good job with payroll and payroll taxes, and paperwork like that. The rest of the week he’s doing other jobs, whether it’s materials testing or helping a survey crew.” Other staff members are crosstrained in drafting and materials testing, as well as surveying and project inspection. “We’ve been able to keep our people busy that way, and not found ourselves shorthanded or overstaffed,” says Overfield. Proof positive that different solutions work for different firms. Some firms go on to develop their own proprietary software, then patent it and make money off royalties, he says. “That’s an emerging thought for business owners.” Over the years, environmental and water engineering firm McKim and Creed has increased its in-house IT staff to handle upgrades, maintenance and help-desk functions. But some specialized IT projects remain outsourced. When the firm adds customized features to its project management software, for instance, it typically outsources that project to a software specialist. “We’ve also outsourced website design, and we have offsite data hosting,” says Phyliss Elikai, chief people officer at the Wilmington, N.C.-based firm. “It’s not cost-effective for us to have someone sitting around with that expertise on staff all the time, so we just get it as we need it.” At K Friese and Associates, an IT contractor maintains the firm’s systems when needed. “They handle the more infrequent, larger issues, such as software and server upgrades, connectivity, significant maintenance and repair issues, while inhouse staff performs routine connectivity maintenance, hardware purchases and Most firms find outsourcing contractors by networking with other firm owners and asking people with experience. Beginning in 2011, as part of reports on most commonly outsourced business services, Engineering Inc. will include a special state-by-state compilation of vendors that provide those services and have been endorsed by Member Firms. ACEC’s HR Forum also features an e-mail listserv where participants can offer advice and feedback on outsourcing firms they have used. The resource provides “good word-of-mouth experiences about service firms,” Elikai says. Getting engaged and being active in other engineering and HR organizations is also helpful. And help doesn’t have to come from within engineering-only circles. Going outside the industry sometimes yields fresh perspectives. Once a firm settles on a contractor, experts say, leadership must communicate with that person clearly and often. Make sure the outside contractor knows exactly what the firm expects of him or her. Then give the contractor room to do the job. Friese describes this practice as “trust, but verify.” Elikai advises that firms know all the costs up front, especially when outsourcing 401(k) benefits. “You don’t always see what the hidden fees are, or your employees don’t get serviced well—so you constantly have to deal with problem issues. I think that’s also very true in outsourcing health benefits administration. If you don’t have a good firm that you can rely on for advice and expertise, you’re almost shooting yourself in the foot, because you constantly have to intervene. It almost feels like just doing it ourselves would be easier.” No firm should become so comfortable with the outsourcing arrangement that it loses control of what the contractor is doing, especially when they are handling core accounting functions. “Don’t just hand everything over,” says Friese. “Really check your references, and make sure you choose someone that you think is really good. And check up on them.” n Stacy Collett is a business and technology writer based in Chicago. November / December 2010 eNGINeerING INc. 19

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - November/December 2010

Engineering Inc. - November/December 2010
Contents
From ACEC to You
News and Notes
Market Watch
Legislative Action
Power Play
2010 Fall Conference Highlights
Ins and Outs
Re-energized
Business Insights
Young Professionals of the Year
Members in the News

Engineering Inc. - November/December 2010