KA CASE STUDY
How LS3P Drives a Culture of Collaboration with FRANK
LS3P knew that improving their firm’s internal collaboration was essential if they wanted to foster strong, creative partnerships with clients.
To do this, they transformed “collaboration” from a marketing buzzword to tangible practice, with the introduction of FRANK, their new Synthesis Knowledge Management platform.
Building a Culture of Collaboration
How do you get 500 employees spread across 12 different offices to engage and share knowledge?
This was the challenge that Katie Robinson, LS3P’s Chief Marketing Officer, wanted to solve. The firm’s existing patchwork intranet system just wasn’t cutting it.
They needed an integrated platform that connected everyone to everything.
Katie and her leadership team chose the Synthesis Knowledge Management Platform for its flexibility, security, and integration with popular AEC software, including Deltek, OpenAsset, and Teams.
They named their platform FRANK after Frank Lucas, one of the firm’s founding principals.
While building out FRANK, Katie and her team followed these 3 Guiding Principles to keep collaboration in focus:
Principle #1: Put People First
People want to connect people. Katie and her team understood this from analyzing their old intranet system. They found that the most visited page was the Employee Directory, indicating a strong interest in connecting with colleagues.
With the Synthesis + Deltek integration, Katie pushed valuable information like education, experience, and training directly to employee profiles on FRANK.
By making past project experiences and accomplishments visible firmwide, FRANK’s Employee Directory helped unlock trust and collaboration, accelerating teamwork across projects.
The New Feed on FRANK’s home page has become a central hub for connection. It allows any LS3P firm member to post updates, from work achievements to personal milestones.
The news feed serves as a collegial space where everyone can celebrate each other’s successes, big or small.
“I love having the home page as a touchpoint for understanding what is going on around the firm. As we grow, I am also thankful for the employee directly. Above all, I love much of the user interface. FRANK is so easy to navigate, including menus, clickability for people/topics, etc. The search function has proven helpful to me on numerous occasions.”
—Katie Walker-Mai
Put people first with these Synthesis tools:
Integration with people data from Deltek Vantage Point
Interactive News Feed
Social Commenting and Liking
See these Synthesis tools in action. Schedule a demo to learn more →
Principle #2: Give People the Tools They Need to Do Their Job
Katie and her team knew that with more than 500 employees, many questions were being asked repeatedly. They also knew that FRANK could answer most of these questions, whether they were about firm practices, BIM standards, or HR policies. FRANK’s Main Navigation Menu was designed to prioritize the most frequently used departments.
With Synthesis + AI Search, project teams can now use FRANK to find answers to questions about the firm’s practices, technology, HR, Finance, and Marketing in just two clicks. This streamlined process enhances collaboration by making information readily accessible to everyone.
FRANK’s home page also features Frequently Used Links, such as Zendesk IT support, OpenAsset, Timesheets, and a virtual suggestion box. This allows employees to access resources quickly, without navigating through multiple pages
“Other frequently used links such as Zendesk IT support, OpenAsset, Timesheets, and a virtual suggestion box are all accessible from the main navigation.”
— Megan Bilgri
Give teams the tools they need to do their job with these Synthesis tools:
Flexible Mega Navigation Menu
AI Search
Integration with Zendesk and OpenAsset
See these Synthesis tools in action. Schedule a demo to learn more →
Principle #3: Provide People Space to Connect with Their Passion
Katie and her team knew that they wanted to use FRANK to capture stories and expertise from their 500+ team members. To do so, they created X Practice Communities and 28 different sub-communities that cross pollinate content. All LS3P team members are welcome to join the communities.
Each community and sub-community page includes the headshot of its community champion, along with a direct link to message them on Microsoft Teams. While Katie and her team provided the template, community champions actively contribute by adding knowledge-sharing resources such as social posts, event recordings, how-to guides, and FAQs.
This structure not only connects people to relevant information but also empowers champions to lead knowledge exchange within their areas of expertise.
“I absolutely LOVE the searchability of Frank. I also really like that communities give designated place for different groups to share on relevant topics within that community, while still being accessible to the whole firm.”
— Madison Millsaps
Provide people the space to connect with their passion with these Synthesis tools:
Community Pages
Content Tagging
Integration with Microsoft Teams
See these Synthesis tools in action. Schedule a demo to learn more →
FRANK’s Impact
“It's hard to corral and satisfy 500 or so head of cattle, but FRANK gets us closer than ever to accomplishing that.”
— Madison Millsaps
Since launching in early 2024, roughly 80% of LS3P team members were actively using FRANK, with more than 6,000 page views each week.
This level of engagement demonstrates the success of FRANK in bringing people together, promoting knowledge sharing, and empowering team members to collaborate effectively, no matter their location.