Founder and President Michael Sapp, AIA, and Vice President and Senior Designer Jim Stufflebeam, AIA, provide an open-door management structure for the design firm’s 21 employees.
The corporate structure at Sapp Design Associates Architects PC is built around a single concept: The employees are the design firm's No. 1 asset.
Although it is a small firm with one part-time and 20 full-time employees, SDA Architects is well known for the many projects it has designed in the public realm - from Evangel University's new administration building to the new Cherokee Middle School project to a new office building for Associated Electric Cooperative Inc.
For President and CEO Michael Sapp, success comes down to a strong culture of communication.
There's a managers meeting every Monday morning, and the minutes of those meetings are immediately produced and distributed to all staff. Monthly company meetings address ongoing issues related to management, business, marketing and internal issues, but "we have an open agenda where any issue can be brought and put on the table for open discussion," Sapp says. "We allow input from employees on operational issues, management issues, types of clients and projects that we work on," Sapp says, noting that such input "promotes a lot of buy-in and sense of ownership from the folks here."
The company also encourages communication through employee and management reviews and an employee mentoring program. The results are strong team identity, low turnover - less than 5 percent a year - low absentee rates and a dedication to work that doesn't stop at 40 hours a week.
"We don't punch a time clock here," Sapp says. The ultimate responsibility is to meet the clients' deadlines, but along the way, if team members need to take time for personal or family needs during the day, the company and co-workers are supportive.
"It's not like work; it's like a separate family," says Office Manager Karrie Smith, who's been with Sapp Design Associates since its beginning in 1986. "The benefits are wonderful, but all of that aside, the people really care."
Taking care of employees in the case of SDA Architects includes paying 100 percent of staff health insurance premiums, providing a company wellness program and dental coverage, as well as access to insurance benefits for employees who are caring for their aging parents.
Staff raises average 7 percent to 9 percent per year, and annual bonuses averaging more than $1,000 are available to all Sapp Design Associates staff, not just managers.
The company also offers a tuition reimbursement program, used by more than 70 percent of employees, for job-related continuing education.
And the firm also boasts a healthy spirit of teamwork.
"We put out an overtime report every month, and if someone has more overtime in their studio, the other studios come in and split the time," Smith says, noting that all team members stand to benefit from the help of their peers. "All you have to do is say 'I need help,' and they're right there."[[In-content Ad]]
