Employee-Satisfaction-Based Contract Pays Off for Designer and Contractor

An innovative

employee-satisfaction-based compensation contract for a new $40 million, 165 million square-foot (15 million m²) Ciba Geigy laboratory in Tarrytown, New York proved successful for the architecture and construction firms that risked part of their profits. Designers HLW International and contractor Sordoni Skanska agreed to stake $300,000 of their profits on the outcome of a satisfaction poll of the 150 employees. Eighty-four percent voiced satisfaction. The two firms were so pleased with the process, according to the January 1997 issue of

Architectural Record, that they have agreed to a similar compensation arrangement for two Ciba Geigy buildings in North Carolina. If this sort of contracting arrangement proves successful, we might expect to see it affecting indoor air quality and daylighting features, both of which can increase employee satisfaction.