Ken Baker is currently serving as a member of Gensler’s Board of Directors and the Gensler Management Committee. As a Co-Regional Managing Principal of Gensler’s Southeast Region and past Co-Managing Principal of Gensler’s UK, EMEA and Gulf Regions, Ken is considered a global expert on workplace design and planning, particularly for law firms.
He has designed tens of millions of square feet of corporate headquarters and offices for law firms and financial institutions and is one of Gensler’s major Global Account holders, managing relationships with clients such as Sidley Austin LLP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, JP Morgan Chase, and Barclays Capital worldwide. Ken is also a leader in Gensler’s furniture and product development practice and frequently speaks about the power of design at industry events around the world.
A fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and a member of the Board of Trustees for the National Building Museum, Ken is passionate about producing design solutions that optimize trends that align with clients core objectives. Ken’s focus on maintaining strong client relationships is a core tenant of his leadership philosophy and design strategy and is a natural outgrowth of his people oriented personality.
I was recently emailing back and forth with a listener about building a recruitment marketing strategy for their business. How companies can make people want to come work for them is actually one of the things I’ve been talking to people about the most lately, so I wanted to make sure to have an episode of Absolute Advantage with a guest whose business is excelling in this area.
The architectural design firm Gensler is an excellent example of this, and I was so thrilled to have Ken Baker, Co-Regional Managing Principal of Gensler’s Southeast Region, join me to talk about making an impact in everything you do.
One of the areas in which Gensler makes an impact is their excellent process for growing and developing their team, no matter what position someone might have inside their organization. That internal mentorship program is absolutely top notch.
This really stood out to me because of the impact actually making that effort and investing in their team has on their recruitment and retention efforts. When every person inside your company continues to get better and better, that becomes really attractive for people job searching. Top talent loves attracts top talent, and that’s absolutely the case for Gensler.
Not only that, but the growth is really important to the millennial generation. They often get a bad rap, but growth is so important to them. When you give them the opportunity to grow, develop, and gain purpose, they want to stick around. We all know how expensive it is to turn people over, so you have to do what you can to keep your good employees around. The best way to do that is through this growth program that Gensler has implemented so well.
This is just one of the many ways that Ken talks about around this idea of how you can make an impact that is spread all over this episode. I highly recommend that you listen in to the full episode because when you apply Ken’s strategies to your business, you will be applying the secrets that have made Gensler one of the most successful companies in the planet.
Thank you for listening today! I appreciate your time so very much.