Why Client Experience Is Actually a Talent Strategy

Winning the coolest projects out there is one of the most reliable ways to attract amazing talent.

Who doesn’t want to work on technically challenging, professionally satisfying work? The kind of projects people point to and say, “That’s why I do this.” The kind that stretch you, sharpen you, and remind you why you chose this profession in the first place.

Most firms try to win those projects by talking about technical excellence, credentials, and resumes. That’s table stakes. The firms that consistently land the most interesting work do something else. They compete on client experience.

Let me explain.

The Neuman Munson story

Neumann Munson Architects is a roughly 50-person firm based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Not exactly the first place people expect to find a firm competing for globally significant work.

They were shortlisted for the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, a world headquarters project for an international NGO focused on nuclear nonproliferation (and other humanitarian pursuits). They were up against large national firms and internationally recognized brands.

The big firms came in with polished presentations and impressive portfolios. Neumann Munson walked in with.

Four slides.

They talked for about five minutes, then sat down and started asking questions. Thoughtful questions. Empathetic questions. Questions that showed they deeply understood what this organization was trying to achieve and what it would feel like to live with the building long after construction ended.

After the interviews, the CEO of the Stanley Center described it perfectly. The first firm was the one you want to date. Neumann Munson was the one you want to marry.

They won the project. It became one of the first seven Living Buildings in the world, only the second springing from a renovation.

That win had nothing to do with being the biggest firm in the room. It had everything to do with how they made the client feel understood, partnered with, and confident.

That is client experience.

The downstream effect most firms miss

Here’s where this stops being a business development story and starts being a talent story.

When firms consistently win meaningful, complex, values-aligned work, a few things happen.

First, your people get to work on projects that matter. Not just technically difficult, but emotionally and professionally satisfying. That kind of work energizes teams instead of draining them.

Second, the client relationships are healthier. Fewer adversarial moments. Less scope creep driven by misunderstanding. Less rework caused by misalignment. That directly reduces burnout.

Third, firms delivering strong client experience tend to command better pricing. Better pricing supports healthier multipliers. Healthier multipliers support competitive compensation. Competitive compensation supports retention.

This is not theoretical.

Neumann Munson has sustained an employee turnover rate roughly one fourth of industry norms.

Read that again.

One fourth.

That is not because they have a foosball table or better snacks. It is because they consistently win work their people want to be part of and deliver it in a way that respects both the client and the team.

Why CX shows up in talent metrics

In recent AEC research, firms with mature client experience practices were twice as likely to outperform their peers in attracting and retaining talent.

That makes sense when you think about it.

Poor client experience does not just frustrate clients. It creates chaos internally. Fire drills. Emotional labor. Late nights fixing preventable problems. Project managers absorbing stress that should never have existed.

Great client experience does the opposite. It creates clarity. Trust. Momentum. A sense that the work you are doing is purposeful and appreciated.

People do not leave firms only because of workload. They leave because of chronic friction. Bad clients. Misaligned expectations. Constant recovery mode.

CX addresses all of that.

The shift leaders need to make

Most firms still treat client experience as a marketing initiative or a loyalty initiative. That framing undersells its value.

Client experience is a talent strategy.

If you want to attract top performers, win better work. If you want to retain them, deliver that work in a way that does not grind them down. If you want to build a firm people want to stay at, make client experience a discipline, not a slogan.

The firms that understand this are not just winning better clients. They are building better careers.

And that might be the most sustainable competitive advantage of all.