Finding the time

It always amazes me how people explain away mistakes today by saying "we did not have enough time", but afterwards find the time to put things right.

For instance, take the issue of measurement. When I began work in 1972 I was told "measurement was about to become extinct". Rubbish. Someone, somewhere, at some time in the process has to measure something and they always will. The important thing about measurement is that, although it takes time, it gets you around a building and helps you understand how things are put together, which makes it a great training aid in so many ways.

There are many other good training aids that can cover other areas across the industry, such as giving junior staff access to senior staff's time for crucial lessons on report writing or client interfacing skills. The important thing is to never be too busy to find the time to train our people properly.

At RLF things are about to change for our more junior staff. In an effort to supplement the current lamentable education system, which appears to teach candidates how to run firms while skipping over the basics, we are going back to those very same basics that helped my generation begin life in the industry. I may be 50 going on 80, but I'm convinced that to give succeeding generations a chance of coping with the demands that they will undoubtedly face, they will have to be better prepared than they are at present. We have to make up for the deficiencies in the present curriculum somehow if we are to keep pace with the step change improvements being demanded by our clients.

Having senior people spending time talking to those embarking on the early stages of their career is one invaluable tool for transferring knowledge. Shadowing senior staff and partners is another way we can help our people grow and better understand the industry. There are a number of other initiatives we have, like master classes and grouping youngsters together so that they get a broader overview of others' skills - I strongly urge other businesses to do the same.

The skills shortage is not going to be solved overnight, so we would all be well advised to ensure that our captive skill base, our people, are encouraged in this way, to ensure a more virtuous cycle in upskilling for construction and property in general.

When I began work in 1972 I was told ‘measurement was about to become extinct’. Rubbish. Someone, somewhere, at some time in the process has to measure something and they always will

Pangs of nostalgia

I felt a pang of nostalgia when I read the recent QS News article on founding fathers within our industry. Not least because RLF itself can lay some claim to being part of this history. As the son of the founder of the oldest part of our firm, one Reginald H Francis (LA Francis & Sons, established 1885) is to be found in the credits for the third and fourth editions of the Standard Method of Measurement.

With the olden days in mind, I have felt for some time that the industry should get back to good old-fashioned values in terms of service delivery. I believe this can sit well with all of the modern methods because, after all, in both examples, the important thing is getting it right first time.

I'd be interested to know others' viewpoints on this subject. If you have any thoughts, please email me at steven.barker@rlf.co.uk

Steve Barker is senior partner at RLF