Contract - August 2012 - (Page 144)

PRACTICE: GENSLER EXCHANGE By Diane Hoskins, FAIA Designing Cultural Fluency Firmwide with the Gensler Exchange As designers, our clients trust us to define authentic spaces that reflect their DNA and ultimately contribute to their business success. As our clients’ global portfolios have grown, so have ours in rapidly expanding markets around the world such as China, India, Latin America, and North Africa. The true measure of our collective success, however, is in our ability to forge longstanding client relationships that are rooted in—and represent—the communities where we do business. As Gensler expands globally, we have also broadened our talent development strategy to foster a culturally fluent workforce to help our clients connect with local customers—anywhere in the world. Any firm that aspires to develop a truly global-ready workforce needs a plan to formalize mentoring and learning opportunities; technologies cannot take the place of real human interaction. To that end, we developed and formalized the Gensler Exchange in the past year. For our global employees, it’s an inter-country exchange of knowledge, experience, and ideas, because we must understand the cultural and physical characteristics of the people and places we design for. The Gensler Exchange comprises four distinct tracks ranging from one-week job shadowing, to a global internship program, to six-month intercountry project assignments that connect offices to talent on other continents. The tracks are: 144 • “Global Intern” brings talent from countries outside the United States to U.S. hub offices for internships. Participants then return to their countries of origin for permanent employment with Gensler. • “One to One” allows an individual to shadow a firm leader in another country for one week. • “On Assignment” allows Gensler employees the opportunity to take on projects on other continents for weeks or months at a time. • “Knowledge Exchange” lets a practice area mentor establish or further develop Gensler offices in emerging markets in Asia and South America, primarily. A retail practice area leader from Seattle might spend a week in São Paulo, Brazil, collaborating with clients and learning the ins and outs of the local market. An intern from Bangkok (see office, page 126), could spend the summer in Atlanta, Houston, or London, imparting cultural knowledge while developing valuable relationships with colleagues. The rhythm and culture of global teams With feet on the ground in the countries where we work, we are better able to establish ourselves in the rhythm and culture of global teams. Gensler also aligns with local partners in the 97 countries where we have projects, a model that benefits both large and small design firms in the U.S. and in developing regions by providing complementary experience in continued on page 146 Diane Hoskins, FAIA, is executive director and southeast regional managing principal at Gensler. She is based in Washington, D.C. contractdesign.com JULY | AUGUST 2012 http://www.contractdesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - August 2012

Contract - August 2012
Editorial
Industry News
Product Focus: One Size Fits All
Product Focus: By the Hand of the Painter
Product Focus: The Future Is Bright
Product Briefs: Team Players
best of NeoCon®
Sanofi Headquarters
Microsoft Vienna
Gensler Bangkok
St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort
International Design and Practice: Lessons from an Expert Abroa
Competition: Inspirations Awards
Practice: Gensler Exchange
Designers Select: Fabric
Sources
Ad Index
Exhibition: KarlssonWilker Exposes the Many Facets of Wolf-Gordon

Contract - August 2012