Meetings that are conducted face-to-face have many benefits for designers. In the profession of landscape architecture, it is often times necessary for these meetings to occur in order to conduct site visits and vision casting. This format is most useful for generating trust in client relations and evaluating ideas.
(highlight in bold are the phase or phases most applicable)
Vision and goals
Site exploration
Program development
Co-design
Design evaluation
Implementation
Laptops/Computers
Note Taking Materials
Prepared Handouts
Resources for Travel
TIME REQUIRED:
This engagement format will extend through the entire duration of the project if your client is locally based. Each meeting will vary in length based on the topics covered and the preparation needed. Travel time should remain the same.
SUGGESTIONS:
Always be sure the goals of each meeting are clear. A lack of understanding of what is being covered during a meeting can cause confusion and lead to wasted time.
Be aware that you and your clients may have different opinions. Address these differences respectfully if they come up during meetings and give them reasons why their ideas may not be possible.
Always allow time at the end of each meeting for any clarification questions. Client- designer relationships do not what to be skewed due to misunderstanding.
Client-designer relations have seen a drastic change over the past few years. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting formats such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have taken over our day-to-day interactions in the professional and educational workplace. However, since returning to a more healthy, normal state of society, it is vital that we remind ourselves of the importance of face-to-face interactions and participation. In-person meetings are considered any activity or event that takes place with people physically present together in the same space. The goal of this engagement format is to help clients and designers re-evaluate the advantages that each party benefits from through face-to-face interactions and learn how to navigate these meetings well. This format should be considered for projects that require a travel distance of less than one hour.
For an in-person engagement format, having clear communication in each meeting's timeline, goals, and expectations serves both the design and the client in a respectful manner. At any stage, face-to-face interactions between these two parties can lead to an efficient project timeline, as long as interactions are structured well beforehand. Pre-planning for meetings is vital to ensuring that each meeting is as productive as possible. Preparation for these meetings involves understanding the project's timeline, the client's availability, the goals and expectations of both parties, who will be present, and the roles of each person that will be present.
Each type of meeting may need to be structured differently based on the members and goals at hand. These types of meetings include but are not limited to…
Initial Introductions: This meeting involves both the clients and designers getting to know one another. It is important that all members of each group are present in order to gain trust and understanding of each person's role.
Site Visits: This meeting involves designers gaging with the scope of the project as well as understating the needs and wants of the clients. Again, it is important that all members of both parties are present at this meeting.
Presentation/Feedback: This meeting involves presenting to the client what has been created at different points in the design phase. Depending on the scale of the presentation, it may be important for all or only some members of either party to be present.
Problem-Solving: Both clients and designers may run into issues at any point in the design phase. Both parties should address who will be responsible for keeping a clear line of communication and who will be able to attend spontaneous meetings in order to address the problem and find a solution.
Check-ins: It is important to ensure that long periods of time do not go by during the project's timeline without communication. There may not be new material to present to the client but it is important that both parties have more informal check-ins to ensure expectations are being met. Only select members of both parties need to participate in these interactions.
Determine the intended purpose and ideal outcome of the meeting you are going to have.
Based on the type of meeting, determine who needs to be present at this meeting.
Contact the client to set up a meeting time that works well for both parties.
Once a time has been set, ensure that both parties are well informed on the meeting's goals and time allotted.
Prepare any materials needed beforehand.
Assign roles to each designer present based on what is being covered.
Allow yourselves plenty of time to arrive at the meeting location.
Once the meeting is over, be sure that the next steps are addressed with the client.
Sometimes, not all concerns need to turn into a meeting. It is important to value both you and your client's time when it comes to minor concerns that arise during a project. This chart can help determine if a meeting needs to be scheduled or not.
https://academy.nobl.io/a-simple-diagram-to-determine-should-this-be-a-meeting/
There are many different ways to take on preparing for a productive meeting. Above is another step-by-step process that can be taken when planning a client meeting.
Our design team, Ellie, Morganne, and KP, partnered with Bigger Vision to assist in the redesign of their outdoor space. Bigger Vision, a homeless shelter located in north Athens, helps address the needs of the homeless community in Athens, Georgia. Their mission is to “provide help to those in the Athens, GA area who are experiencing homelessness, to keep them safe and comfortable, to help them achieve self-sufficiency, to assist them in achieving their goals, and to advocate for their best interests on an individual and collective basis” (Bigger Vision). They provide this help by hosting over 30 guests every night of the year. Guests are offered items including but not limited to dinner, toiletries, clothes, showers, and a clean bed. Through the past few years, Bigger Vision has seen steady growth and was seeking assistance in beautifying their property. That’s where our team of landscape architecture students stepped in. Part of the mission of Bigger Vision is to ensure that guests feel comfortable and safe while present at the facility. Through improvements to the landscape, it was our job to help guests feel more comfortable and at ease during an extremely stressful time in their life.
Bigger Vision is approximately 10 minutes down the road from the University of Georgia. From the beginning of the project, it was implied that any meetings that were being held would occur at the Bigger Vision facility. With the luxury of having such a short drive to our client's location, the opportunity to have face-to-face interactions for every stage of the project was insisted upon. To begin planning our in-person meetings, we reached out to the staff member who had requested our services, Ryan. Ryan replied with great joy that our project was kicking off. We scheduled a time to meet in order to go over initial introductions, project goals, and visions, and took a site tour with them.
To begin planning our in-person meetings, we reached out via email to the staff member who had requested our services, Ryan. Ryan replied with great joy that our project was kicking off. We scheduled a time to meet in order to go over initial introductions, project goals, and visions, and took a site tour with them. Before attending this meeting. Our team reviewed the form that had been previously filled out by Ryan and other staff members. This form consisted of initial questions that are listed in the image below. In order to try to prepare for our meeting, team members researched the facility on its website and found 3D images on google maps. Team members then took the time to curate initial questions for the staff members. These questions were printed out and each member was assigned a different section to ask and discuss. A day before the meeting occurred, our team members followed up with Ryan to confirm the time of the meeting, arranged transportation, and printed out/gathered all needed materials.
For meetings after, this our team continued to meet at the Bigger Vision facility. Revisiting the site and presenting materials in person was always more desirable than sending items over email or scheduling a zoom call. For some meetings, we also spoke with community members to receive their feedback. This would not have been possible if we had not had the opportunity to be face-to-face. This engagement format brought strong client/guest member relationships, streamlined communication, and a great awareness of site context. Our team visited the Bigger Vision staff members a total of 5 times. Each time relationships grew strong and we are appreciative of the designer-client relationship that was formed. Because of our multiple visits, there was always ample opportunity to discuss issues, concerns, or any opinions that were at hand. Only a few emails were exchanged throughout the project regarding site questions. Mainly visitation matters were scheduled over email. Twice our team was able to volunteer during the times guest were present at the facility. During this time, we helped with normal volunteer duties such as setting up and serving dinner, checking bags, and cleaning tables. When everyone was settled in eating dinner, we conducted a few activities. Lastly, our team members learned new things about the site every time we visited. During one of our visits, we noticed a tree that we had not documented in any photos. This led to a large alteration to the design we had already made. If we did not have the opportunity to revisit the site, we may have never seen this mistake. It was also beneficial to be able to walk through the site and look at the proposed designs we had created. This helped both parties gain a better understanding of what would work and what would not.
Our team is very thankful for and highly recommends using an in-person meeting format for all meetings if the project allows!
The survey above was filled out before our first in-person meeting to help us get a better understanding of what the needs and wants of the design would include.
During one of our in-person visits, we handed out surveys and assisted guest members in filling them out.
Our team visited staff members Ryan and Sam to present the final designs that we had created.
Through many in-person meetings, our team learned about the various advantages and disadvantages of having a client in such a format of engagement that can be used so readily. Some of these key lessons include:
Not everyone will want to attend these meetings that you may want to be present. There are many staff members at Bigger Vision, however not all needed to present at our meetings. Know the level of involvement that each client member would like to have.
Just because your client is close by does not mean you need to schedule multiple meetings. Some time can be saved if the problems can be resolved through a simple email.
Write things down! Clients love when you have a pen and paper in hand. It is important that your client feels seen and heard while discussing ideas.
Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Ensure that your materials are ready well ahead of time. Printers don't always work when you desperately need them to.
Do not agree to any big decisions during the meeting. Inform the client that you will consider their comments after further team discussion
Sources:
https://envoy.com/blog/why-meeting-in-person-is-more-important-than-ever-in-2022/
https://fellow.app/blog/meetings/when-and-why-an-in-person-meeting-would-make-more-sense/#the
https://academy.nobl.io/a-simple-diagram-to-determine-should-this-be-a-meeting/
https://fitsmallbusiness.com/client-meeting