*Story continued…
E&A has been experiencing a cultural shift over the past few years, placing an emphasis on our core values: “Our People, Our Customers, Our Company.” The services and talents of Our People are the “product” that we offer to clients, so investing in Our People is essential for our success.
We are already seeing improvement in internal communication and collaboration as a result of this culture shift. Employees are taking the initiative to refine our internal systems. They are excited about our direction, and the word is spreading. We also see it with past employees who are returning to E&A, having heard about these changes.
E&A President Thomas Nussrallah, PE, strongly believes in the importance of training all of our team members, with a special emphasis on our current and upcoming leaders.
In 2017, we began an internal training series specifically geared toward those tasked with managing people. These sessions have covered topics ranging from emotional intelligence to critical conversations; subjects that many of our technical professionals hadn’t learned about in school or at previous jobs.
E&A provides quarterly training sessions that cover professional development for all employees. This is led by David Dechant with BestCare EAP. These sessions reinforce professional expectations with topics such as time management and team-building.
E&A also provides opportunities for employees to train each other. This is done through topics ranging from business development to technical best practices and lessons learned.
Beyond the training sessions, we have many ways that employees can get involved. Our CEO, Jason Thiellen, sends out a monthly email communication that reinforces our direction as a firm and provides specific information that employees have identified as important. E&A leadership holds quarterly town hall-style meetings with updates that allow everyone to stay up-to-date with the company direction. We have a rotating group that plans employee engagement events and monitors the pulse of their peers, allowing the president and CEO to stay informed. We also have a few groups who have taken on challenges, seeking out better processes and solutions.
This style of direct communication from top to bottom (and vice versa), coupled with countless opportunities for involvement, allows people to truly be engaged and empowered.
Staff recognition includes yearly service awards, yearly and spot bonuses, pay increases and a monthly peer acknowledgement opportunity that we call “core values sightings.” Employees send in notes of appreciation for their peers’ actions that are then highlighted in the monthly CEO eblast. Recognition also comes as staff members are entrusted with challenging new projects and their involvement is sought after for committees, community engagement activities and recruitment events.
We believe that being presented with a 2019 Business Excellence Award for Excellence in Leadership is evidence that we are practicing what we preach. We want to develop our staff and, in turn, positively impact our community. If we build our team members’ depth, they will become brand representatives and believers in our company and our culture. It is truly exciting to see our transformation happening!
You can see examples of our culture on the E&A Life blog page.
