Ellen Bensky, Partner, CEO, and CFO, Turner Fleischer Architects

Talk Description
The revolution of Knowledge Management at Turner Fleischer began as a quest for an improved intranet platform. Over eight years, this initial endeavor matured into a fully established Knowledge Management department, led by a dedicated Director of Knowledge Management. This presentation will explore the strategic developments and pivotal decisions that shifted the firm’s approach from basic knowledge sharing to a comprehensive, structured knowledge management paradigm. Ellen will highlight how enhancing an intranet platform evolved into a critical operational strategy, significantly elevating productivity, collaboration, and innovation. Additionally, the talk will delve into the implications of a highly developed knowledge management strategy for the AEC industry, providing insights and actionable lessons for firms seeking to advance their own knowledge management practices.

Speaker Bio
As a Partner, CEO and CFO of Turner Fleischer Architects, Ellen Bensky, B.A., Dip. Arch. Tech (Hon), CanBIM P1, contributes on a daily basis to the advancement of architectural technology and design not only in her firm, but industry-wide through her initiatives and dedication. Passionate for education, Ellen is especially proud of spear-heading an internal academy, which provides a comprehensive learning and teaching platform for her studio. Through her current role, Ellen is able to engage daily in the process of successfully leveraging complex business needs and design realities, driving her quest for operational excellence while remaining committed to giving back to the greater community.

Talk Timeline

INTRODUCTION
00:00 Introduction to Turner Fleischer
01:08 Turner Fleischer Business Model
02:15 The Original Intranet
03:26 Search for New Intranet Platform
04:36 First Version of Newton

OPERATIONAL DEPARTMENTS
05:30 Creating Operational Departments
06:38 Digital Practice
07:34 Marketing + Communications
08:40 People + Culture
09:25 Knowledge Management
11:03 Learning + Development
12:12 Finance
12:22 Operational Departments, Software, Data + Knowledge = Workflow Efficiencies
13:15 Knowledge Management and Digital Practice

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT
13:40 Knowledge Management Team

Learning + Development
14:10 On Demand Learning: eTutor Library
15:30 TF Academy
16:17 Course Registration
17:22 Course Feedback
18:20 Continuing Education Certificates

DIGITAL PRACTICE DEPARTMENT
19:09 Digital Practice Team

User Defined Fields
20:10 User Defined Fields
22:17 Examples of UDF’s
24:09 Use of UDF’s in Newton, OpenAsset, InDesign, and Custom Apps

Custom Forms and Workflows
24:53 Consultant Invoice Review + Approval
26:15 Fee Proposal Preparation
27:05 Hold/Write-Off Approval

PowerBI Dashboards
28:06 Work Breakdown Structure
28:57 Timesheet Completion Status
29:41 Fee Proposal Tracker
30:24 PM Bill Review Completion Status

Custom Applications
31:17 Weekly Scheduling
32:38 Department Project Trackers

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
34:13 Conclusion

Christopher Parsons of Knowledge Architecture interviews Ellen Bensky of Turner Fleischer at KA Connect 2024.

Q+A Timeline

00:00 With all this investment in workflow efficiencies, how are you upwards of 30 in terms of profitability?
01:10 Do you use this in recruiting?
01:46 How do you decide what to build in house versus buying an existing product?
03:00 How do you prioritize improvements?
04:16 Were there any project managers or designers who fought getting that admin taken away?
04:47 What’s Ellen’s secret to Change Management?
05:11 Do you have a way of measuring effective utilized hours directly?
07:03 When the CFO Ellen and the CEO Ellen talk, who wins?
07:18 When you talk about looking at profit, are you talking about Turner Fleischer as a whole?
08:02 For those who don’t have software developers, can you talk about on-ramps for starting to build things?
09:10 Do you remember the first custom app that Turner Fleischer built?
09:32 Have you been able to automate updates to your Power BI dashboards and how often do they get updated?
10:00 Any guidance on structuring L+D as part of the knowledge management function?
10:58 Can you give an example of what the synergy looks like between KM and L+D?
11:35 What’s the expertise of your L+D people versus your KM people?
11:52 How do you keep your content updated?
13:12 Do community managers volunteer or are they voluntold?
13:32 How do you maintain consistent levels of training and effort from community managers?
14:43 If you could go back to give advice to 2015 Ellen, what would you do differently?
15:59 What percentage of your firm is operational team members versus design professionals?
17:04 What’s next for Turner Fleischer?