Finding and hiring the right architects has always been a challenge, and it’s not likely to get any easier in the near future. In a June 2025 survey from the AIA, 24% of firm leaders reported that they’re currently understaffed. These figures went even higher for firms located in the American South, those with an institutional specialization, and large firms with annual billings over $1 million. And it’s likely those numbers will rise, considering 13% of U.S. architects are over the age of 65 according to data from the NCARB.

In this environment, architecture talent retention is critical. Keeping exceptional architects on your team takes more than just a competitive compensation package. Top performers have options in today’s market, and they gravitate toward employers with a collaborative design culture, where they can feel a sense of purpose in their work. In short, improving retention for architects and designers starts by creating an environment where they can thrive long-term.

The real reasons architects leave firms

Before you start to develop architect retention strategies, it’s smart to pause and consider why architects leave firms in the first place. Whatever strategy you put in place, it will only work if it addresses the real problems driving your architecture firm turnover. When you start from those underlying issues, you can implement targeted and meaningful changes that deliver real results.

The main reasons people leave won’t necessarily be the same at every firm, so collecting input from your team is a critical first step before designing any kind of retention plan. That being said, there are some common reasons that architects look for a new role. Among early- and mid-career professionals, one of the most common is a lack of mentorship or a clear growth path. If an architect doesn’t feel they can develop skills and progress their career with your firm, they’re likely to look elsewhere for an employer who will invest in their long-term growth.

Culture is often another major factor in design firm talent retention, and issues with the culture can drive strong team members away. These can take many forms, from unclear expectations and disorganized workflows to urgent deadlines and recurring overtime that lead to burnout. As with other professions, issues within the team like low transparency, disconnected leadership, or frequent conflicts between employees can result in top performers taking their talents to other firms. A lack of creative autonomy or repetitive work that leaves people feeling they have little influence over design choices can also lead to a steep drop in architect employee engagement.

The bottom line here is that when you develop strategies for keeping architects engaged, you want to align them with the real-world pain points your team is currently experiencing. When you diagnose these underlying issues first, you can make adjustments that go beyond surface-level perks.

5 retention strategies that actually work

Now that we’ve looked at some of the reasons architects leave, that naturally leads to the questions of how to retain architects and how to build loyalty within architecture teams. There is no single right answer to either of these questions. Instead, it comes down to finding the right retention strategies for your team. Here are some of the most consistently valuable approaches for your architecture firm leadership to try.

Create clear career pathways

Growth, professional development, and mentorship in architecture firms carry outsized importance compared to other fields. The learning curve in architecture is steep, requiring extensive education and long timelines to licensing. After architects spend all of those years developing their technical and design skills, they want to see that effort lead to something meaningful.

The first step to providing stronger architect career development is to create transparent role definitions and expectations for advancement. Clarify the progression from Intern or Junior Designer through senior roles like Project Architect or Project Manager, and emphasize opportunities to specialize, particularly in high-demand skills such as sustainability or computational design. Introducing skill-based milestones can add further clarity to what promotion readiness looks like at each level, such as the expected software proficiencies, leadership capabilities, or client-facing experience.

Architect mentorship programs can be a key piece of this puzzle. Structured mentorship helps architects grow faster, strengthens team engagement, and supports their licensure goals. Pairing architects with committed mentors and scheduling regular check-ins focused on skill development and career growth can be far more effective than annual reviews tied only to pay. Promoting architect professional growth gives your employees a roadmap, not just a job. That signals you’re willing to invest in their future, which will inspire them to commit fully to your firm in return.

Offer true flexibility

High workloads, tight deadlines, and long project cycles often push architects toward burnout or send them seeking other opportunities. Offering flexible work for architects is one way to overcome this issue. The difference with this field is that most architects can’t be fully remote. They rely on physical models and field observations, doing work like client meetings, collaborative design sessions, and on-site coordination that makes remote work impractical.

This is why flexible scheduling and hybrid work policies in architecture can be so valuable for reducing turnover in design teams. It gives your employees control over their time even when they can’t control their location, acknowledging real project demands while also respecting their time, energy, and need for creative space. When you offer that kind of meaningful flexibility, it improves morale and reduces the risk of chronic overtime that often leads to burnout, balancing workload patterns so architects can recover after crunch periods and reducing unnecessary sources of stress, like commuting needlessly during peak hours.

In practice, this can take many forms. One option is hybrid scheduling with core hours, where everyone is in the office during specific windows but has the choice of when and where they work outside of this. This gives the team predictable periods for collaboration along with autonomy over their schedule. Another option is to give architects flex time for site visits, letting them shift their hours depending on the requirements of their current projects. Non-standard schedules like 4X10 (four 10-hour days with three days off each week) or 9/80 (80 hours worked over 9 days with alternating Fridays off) provide built-in long weekends without reducing the total hours worked, which fits the industry’s project-based cycles and helps architects recover from strenuous project weeks.

Build recognition and purpose into your culture

Even more so than most other professions, architects are driven by meaning, impact, and the opportunity to shape the world around them. When firms tap into those motivations, it improves architecture employee retention because it creates a work environment where people feel valued, connected, and committed for the long term.

Infusing a sense of purpose into your architecture workplace culture is something else that can combat burnout. Long hours and urgent deadlines feel more meaningful and less draining when architects can clearly see the impact of their work. When a firm reinforces this purpose by showing how each individual’s work contributes to client outcomes or the success of a project, this reignites the intrinsic motivation that brought architects into the field in the first place.

Strong internal recognition is among the most effective non-salary ways to retain top architects. There are a variety of strategies you can employ. The most basic is to make a point of celebrating professional achievements like award wins, competition results, certifications obtained, or important project phase completions. This reinforces employee growth and builds a sense of momentum that keeps the entire team engaged and committed. You can also take this recognition more public by featuring staff accomplishments in newsletters or on social media. Peer-to-peer recognition programs are another way to celebrate architectural team performance while also building camaraderie and encouraging collaboration, making them effective for creating a strong culture in architecture firms.

Invest in continuous professional development

Architecture evolves quickly. Firms that provide professional development programs that support their team’s ongoing growth are able to hang on to their top talent because high-performing professionals have faith they can continue to grow while they’re with the company. As a rule, architects also value mastery and are motivated by improving their craft and leading meaningful projects. Providing this sense of continuous progress helps to attract and retain architects because it keeps them engaged, challenged, and committed.

Mid-level architects are often at the highest risk of leaving. As designers move into the 5-10 year range, they hit a crossroad in their career, where they have enough experience to handle complex work and are eager for more influence and autonomy. If they don’t see a path upward with their current firm, they’re more likely to leave. Conversely, offering professional development shows emerging leaders that their skills are valued and their future at the firm matters.

This is another strategy that can also help to reduce burnout and stagnation. A common burnout accelerator is when architects feel stuck doing repetitive production work with no pathway to new responsibilities. Development initiatives give architects variety and new challenges beyond their daily deadlines, which can help to reignite their passion for their profession.

Licensure support is one of the best things a firm can offer to retain their top architects. Earning an architecture license is one of the biggest career milestones in the field, but the path to get there is expensive and time-consuming. When firms provide ARE exam fee reimbursements, AXP support, access to study materials, or paid study time, they remove major barriers to advancement and send the message that they want employees to succeed and grow. Technology training on new tools related to BIM, computational design, or AI workflows is another beneficial form of professional development. This not only makes their work more efficient but also sets them up for long-term success in the profession. Even something as simple as supporting employee attendance at AIA conferences, technical workshops, or regional design festivals can give them access to new learning opportunities and strengthen their connections within the industry.

Improve your team’s workload balance

Architects often deal with heavy workloads, tight client deadlines, and constantly changing project priorities. These pressures can quickly lead to burnout. Focusing on a healthier balance gives architects the time and headspace to do their best work while staying motivated for the long term.

This starts with effective resource planning that ensures the right people are assigned to the right projects at the right time. Accurately predicting staffing needs helps prevent a small number of high performers from being stretched too thin and reduces last-minute work that drives overtime. Ensuring responsibilities are clearly defined also helps avoid repeated work and unnecessary stress. Clarifying roles from the start helps everyone understand who owns what, making workloads feel more fair and transparent and reducing confusion and conflict during tight deadlines.

What this ultimately comes down to is ensuring that expectations and timelines are realistic and clearly defined. Firms that set boundaries and communicate proactively with clients create healthier project environments and protect the morale of their staff during large or complex projects.

Building a firm where top talent stays

If you’re wondering how architecture firms retain their best talent, the answer starts with understanding what architects want from employers beyond pay. When firms offer clear architectural career pathways, invest in true flexibility and meaningful recognition, and create a workplace where people feel valued and supported, they create an environment where team members can grow without burning out. Ultimately, the firms that excel at retention do so by treating their architects not just as billable resources, but as creators, innovators, and future leaders.