We call it our “think tank”. Each week, our Orlando team gathers for both a bite to eat and a bite of industry knowledge.
KPM Franklin employs a variety of design specialists at this office, including civil engineers, landscape architects and planners. The 40-part lunch and learn series is done with the intent to cross-educate employees in various topics from planning, real-estate law, engineering design and construction methods, just to name a few.
Our projects often cover several stages, from due diligence research and conceptual site plans to signed and sealed construction documents. These lunches cover each of those stages in depth, who performs them, what resources they use and the most important aspects of each one.
The topic of each session focuses on a different component of the land development process. We have one of our resident subject matter experts present on their topic and will lead a conversation with the team about their area of expertise. The presenter will answer questions, providing clarifications and showcasing examples from past and current projects.
These sessions allow team members who specialize in one stage of a project to gain an understanding and appreciation of the other stages. It helps us expand our personal repertoire of skills and highlights who in the office can help with specific tasks – this in turn reduces the frequency supervisors need to be involved in problem solving.
The open forum also allows the team to bounce ideas off one another and tell of past experiences. KPM Franklin is taking advantage of its good blend of senior and junior level staff to ensure lessons are getting passed down and incorporated into current and future projects.