Workforce

How do you tap into employees’ most valuable talents and talk to them about career advancement?

Three industry experts share insight on talking to their employees about career advancement.
April 28, 2017
Topics
Workforce

Jerry Hoog
President & CEO
Bartlett Cocke General Contractors
San Antonio, Texas

One of our company’s greatest strengths is that it is employee owned. Our more than 85 shareholders come from every level, which means we have people on every job who have a personal stake in its success.

We also empower our employees, many of whom have been with us for more than 25 years, at the project level by implementing a flat organizational chart and giving them more control in the decision-making process. This approach has saved our clients millions of dollars.

Additionally, new employees attend a weeklong boot camp to immerse them in our company and provide them with resources for career advancement. We also recently launched the Bartlett Cocke General Contractors Leadership Development Academy—a 10-month program that builds leadership skills by pairing operational staff with senior-level managers and executives—to teach them how to oversee multiple projects and manage jobsite expectations. Other training focuses on safety, scheduling, estimating, preconstruction and site logistics planning.

Mark Hodsdon
President
Palmer and Sicard, Inc.
Exeter, N.H.

Palmer and Sicard, Inc. is 100 percent employee owned, so it is a very important part of our culture for employees to feel that they have opportunities for career advancement. We believe it is our role as an employer to provide training and education to all of our team members in many different facets to help them acquire the skills and tools they need to do their jobs most effectively.

We developed one of our most recent training programs in conjunction with a local community college. The leadership and supervision training is for everyone who manages people within our organization, from field foremen to the president. The 11-month program helps employees at all levels understand how we affect one another upstream and downstream in our process, as well as to open effective lines of communication across the company.

There is always a fear in spending the money to train someone only to have them leave and go work for a competitor, but the bigger question is what will it cost us if they stay and we do not train them?

Todd S. Morgan
Founder, President & CEO
Comprehensive Energy Services, Inc.
Orlando, Fla.

Our mission statement includes: “Providing the best place to work for our employees” and “Growing our employees and CES.” By doing this, we attract, retain and grow the best people in our industry. This has been key to our continued sustainable growth and success during the last 25 years.

We attract and retain people by providing a great place to work and are proud to have been regionally named as a “Best Place to Work” for the ninth straight year. We grow our people by providing opportunities generated by the growth of CES, the extensive training opportunities we offer, mentoring, work experience and, very importantly, “career pathing.”

Our COO has taken career pathing to a whole new level within the past year. Getting to know all of our people is critical to the process (e.g., what makes them tick, what untapped talents they possess, where they want to grow and what they are passionate about). From this input, we can align their talents and growth potential with our organizational needs.

Related stories

Workforce
Increasing Support for the Increasing Number of Women in Construction
By Shanthi Rajan
Providing more support for the women in the construction industry is a promising way to recruit them to (and retain them at) your company.
Workforce
An Interview With the Women Leading the Way at BELL Construction
By Rebecca Goss
In celebration of Women in Construction Week and Women's History Month, four women leaders with BELL Construction talk career trajectories, inspiration and advice for the next generation.
Workforce
Barriers That Are Hurting Your Hiring and Recruitment Efforts
By Samantha Stephenson
To hire based on merit, companies must ensure that their hiring procedures are accessible to everyone.

Follow us




Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Stay in the know with the latest industry news, technology and our weekly features. Get early access to any CE events and webinars.