How MBH Architects Created a Culture of Collaboration with Archie
SYNTHESIS CASE STUDY
The Challenge
Sharing work across multiple offices, continents, and cultures can be tricky.
As MBH Architects grew from one office into a global firm, it was important that they consciously focused on cultivating the same connections to the firm that have always been present in their headquarters office.
They found that strong internal communication was key to building trust between offices to ensure quality, efficiency, and collaboration.
Here's how they accomplished this…
The Solution
MBH Architects had one office and a WordPress intranet when they decided to build Archie, their Synthesis intranet, in 2018.
As they very rapidly expanded to five offices by 2022, Archie became their way of sharing internal information and culture across those offices.
To create a collaborative and inclusive firm culture, MBH's Director of Brand Communications, Hillary Thompson, led the team that configured Archie based on the following three strategies.
Strategy 1: Democratize Knowledge Through Socialized Learning
For many years MBH's intranet was seen primarily as an operational resource—containing information employees needed to be part of the company, but not necessarily to do their jobs as design professionals.
With Archie, Hillary and her team transformed their intranet into a technical learning platform, with the help of Principal and Technical Design Director, Kevin Albaugh.
Their approach included:
Integrating content from “Framework,” MBH’s semester-long internal corporate university program
Hosting weekly office hours for anyone with code or technical questions
Posting content regularly to address common questions or knowledge gaps
The Framework program has been particularly instrumental in generating technical content. Originally designed to help job captains create high-quality sets of drawings for one office, it's now expanded across all five offices.
Kevin teaches lessons over Zoom, and as part of the program, students are required to post their lessons and learnings to Archie.
The benefits of Archie are significant:
Is an evergreen source of technical content that's constantly refreshed
Enables the validation of content by an expert, ensuring accuracy and thoroughness
Democratizes sharing of information across all levels of the firm
Benefits project teams directly, as directors now refer team members to these lessons
By transforming their intranet from an operational resource to a technical learning platform, MBH has created a scalable approach to knowledge sharing that grows stronger with each new contribution from their team members.
“Archie has democratized who can post technical content. People feel more included in sharing information, which is really powerful.”
Strategy 2: Empower Everyone to be a Helper
MBH Architects transformed their employee profiles into powerful collaboration tools by implementing features that reflect their supportive culture. Central to this approach is the "I can help with" feature, which invites team members to share their expertise in a way that is accessible and not intimidating.
When designing this feature, MBH was deliberate about terminology. Previous attempts using phrases like "what are you proficient at?" or "what are you an expert at?" yielded inconsistent results. The shift to "I can help with" language helped employees feel comfortable identifying areas where they could support colleagues.
Their approach included:
Standardizing dropdown menus for software and professional skills
Vetting lists with input from principals, leadership directors, and senior associates
Creating directories of skills that automatically populate throughout the site, connecting people with similar expertise
The benefits of Archie are significant:
Employees engage with colleagues with whom they might not otherwise interact
Employees feel comfortable asking for help when others have self-identified as willing to assist
Technical teams can focus on more complex issues while everyday questions are distributed across the firm
With Synthesis's direct integration with Deltek Vantagepoint, employees can now edit their own profiles without administrative bottlenecks.
To ensure profile information stays current, MBH incorporates profile reviews into their biannual review process. This creates a sustainable system that continuously strengthens their collaborative network while reducing maintenance overhead.
“MBH’s culture is very much one of helping others around you. We have a non-competitive culture where you really get ahead by helping other people.”
Strategy 3: Foster Inclusion Through Personal Connection
“We have employees representing 28 different countries around the world. Archie has been invaluable during meetings when I might not know how to pronounce someone’s name to be able to quickly reference that information. It shows respect and helps promote an inclusive culture among our employees.”
The simple addition of the "pronounce my name" field aligns with MBH's broader vision where everyone feels valued.
The benefits of this feature in Archie are significant:
Employees joining from different backgrounds feel included
Team members collaborating across their global offices have a reference tool
Respect and connection are fostered during virtual meetings
Rather than treating diversity as an abstract concept, MBH embeds respect for cultural differences directly into their daily workflows.
Results
Leaning on Technology to Create a Collaborative Practice.
MBH has transformed Archie from a simple information repository into a powerful collaboration engine by embedding cultural values directly into their technical solutions.
The result is an internal communication system where technology and culture continuously reinforce each other—creating a scalable, inclusive approach to knowledge sharing that evolves with every contribution and serves employees across all five offices, regardless of location, role, or tenure.