RIBA Future Trends Survey conveys positive outlook

Survey shows architectural practices are confident about future workloads and staffing levels.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has released its Future Trends survey and the results show that companies are experiencing higher staffing levels from the equivalent period of 2014.

Released every month, the survey was launched in January 2009 as a way to monitor employment and business trends during the economic downturn and how they would affect different architectural practices.

It is put together by using a sample that represents a cross-section of members and focuses on areas where RIBA members may face difficulties. This includes workloads, staff levels and other work in specific sectors.

Throughout the survey, balance figure is defined as the difference between those expecting more work and those expecting less.

Permanent staffing levels are measured in each quarter. In comparison with 2014, this is up by 6%.

This is backed by the Future Trends Staffing Index which is still showing positive signs, with the index up to +18. Encouragingly, just 1% of those practices who took part in the survey expect to be employing less permanent staff members by the end of the next three months than they are now.

Firms that take part in the survey are a mix of small, medium and large, and in terms of staffing, the balance figure for medium practices show they are positive about employment levels in the future, as the figure from April is +48. This figure for large and small firms stands at +25 and +4 respectively.

In terms of the Future Trends Workload Index, it remained at +35 for April. At +74 and +75, medium, and large practices are both very confident about the levels of workloads in the future, while it is encouraging to see small firms, which encompasses firms with up to ten staff members, keeping a positive outlook as well (balance figure of +29).

Although the community sector forecast declined in April 2015 and there was a slight fall in the commercial sector, the private housing sector forecast for workload remains robust thanks to an increase to +38.

The balance figure for the Future Trends Workload Index is strong in London (+47) and the south of England (+37).

Adrian Dobson, RIBA Director of Practice, says the figures suggests services in architecture are becoming “stable”.

He said: “The overall picture is still one in which confidence levels amongst architects about future workloads are high. The rising Future Trends Staffing Index indicates a strong feeling that the current market for architectural services is stable or growing for the vast majority of practices.

“However, there remains widespread reporting of intense fee competition in many sectors, along with tight profit margins. The decline in the community sector forecast is somewhat disappointing, while the fall in the public sector forecast may reflect ongoing uncertainty about future public sector capital spending.”

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