Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Inc. Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Inc., CEO Glenn Bell discusses a project with young staff members. Senior staff members mentor younger employees to develop skills and strengthen the company for the future.

Amidst a lethargic AEC industry, the best firm managers are putting more energy into cultivating office culture, building morale, encouraging communication, and refining other “softer” skills needed to make a team successful. “Right-sizing,” office closings, position eliminations, and early retirement are the talk in management meetings, and leaders who have fostered an open, honest dialogue with staff are rewarded with a cushion to fall back on — such firms exemplify the Best Firms To Work For mentality. Sure, we’ll all face hard times and have to make difficult decisions; but building core culture and focusing on your staff and their well-being is the safest bet to achieve long-term success.

Structural Engineer is pleased, once again, to honor the stellar firms that commit to creating great workplaces despite the economy or the challenges faced by their individual firm. Fifteen standout firms comprise our list, and three honorable mentions get nods. The charts on page 15 and page 16 showcase these winning firms.

Check out the online version of the article at www.gostructural.com, where the top firms are broken out by firm size. Congratulations to Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, the No. 1 large firm; PCS Structural Solutions, the No. 1 mid-size firm; and Barrish Pelham & Associates, Inc., the No. 1 small firm!

Additionally, four firms earn more accolades for their achievements with employee satisfaction, training, employee recognition, and recruiting program; see page 18 for this year’s superlative winners.

Who applied
Thirty-two firms applied to the seventh annual Best Structural Engineering Firms To Work For ranking program. This is down from 63 participants in 2008; 42 firms that participated in 2008 did not participate in 2009, including 13 that were on last year’s top 25 list. (The ranked list was larger last year since there were more participants.)

Barrish Pelham & Associates, Inc. Barrish Pelham & Associates, Inc., staff on the steps of the state capitol in Sacramento, calif., doing what it does best.

We believe the drop in applicants is associated with the downturn in the economy, which has forced firms to make difficult decisions — such as laying-off staff and cutting benefits — that affect employee satisfaction and the general workplace environment. Some firms felt that they weren’t going to “win a prize” for a great workplace this year, no matter how carefully they made decisions, communicated with staff, and tried to make up for any negative impacts to their staff. Further, the usual reasons, such as new leadership and workload, were also factors that influence whether or not a firm applied.

Despite the hardship the industry is facing, 10 firms applied this year that did not participate in 2008 — a decision worthy of praise. Two of these are in the Top 10: RW Armstrong & Associates, and Douglas Wood & Associates, Inc. Additionally, all three honorable mentions, MacIntosh Engineering, BHB Consulting Engineers, and Nagamine Okawa Engineers Inc., did not apply in 2008.

The comparison of the 2008 and 2009 participants is important to underscore the fact that this ranking program is dynamic: Every year different firms are evaluated and compared against one another, depending on firm participation. Firms come and go, for a host of reasons, and each year we take a new snapshot of which firms are achieving superior employee satisfaction and providing above average benefits and workplace practices.

THE JUDGING PANEL
Barbara H. Irwin President of hr advisors Group, llc, herndon, va.	Gerri King, Ph.D. President of human dynamics associates, inc., concord, n.h.	Bernie Siben, CPSM Principal consultant with the Siben consult, llc, austin, texas
SE Honorable Mentions Firm Headquarters Number of employees Website IBHB Consulting Engineers Salt Lake City 22 www.bhbengineers.com MacIntosh Engineering Wilmington, Del. 27 www.macintosheng.com Nagamine Okawa Engineers Honolulu 16 www.nagamineokawa.com

At the top
The top three firms are characterized by excellence in six categories: culture, benefits, performance and recognition, compensation, professional development, and recruiting and retention. Responses from employee satisfaction surveys substantiated what we learned about the firms from a questionnaire completed by management, and the judges investigated further to be sure our top three were ranked appropriately. Below are details of what sets these three firms apart:

First place: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH) — With offices in Waltham, Mass.; New York; Rockville, Md.; Los Angeles; and San Francisco, SGH provides design, investigation, and rehabilitation services for structures and building enclosures. Its services are supported by several capabilities, including building envelope engineering, building science, field and laboratory testing, structural engineering, concrete technology, materials and science engineering, engineering mechanics, construction engineering, and preservation technology. About 80 percent of the firm’s work is in buildings, in essentially all market sectors, and the balance is in infrastructure, defense, and science.

Following her review of the top three firms, judge Gerri King, Ph.D., had this to say about SGH: “Their commitment to motivation, training, and employee satisfaction is impressive. In their own words, they don’t think there is a silver bullet to motivating people so they’re committed to the underlying themes of high morale, respect, and continuous improvement. They are so committed that they have a full time Training Development Coordinator and a Dedicated Internal Communications Coordinator.” She added, “Employees clearly come first: They recruit women and minorities, offer flex time for all staff, and trust and listen to their staff. All information, including revenue data, is shared with everyone. It explains the excitement and enthusiasm reported by employees in the survey.”

Judge Barbara Irwin said, “SGH thrives on motivating and encouraging employees by providing a focused leadership model that leads by example. They want their employees to continue to learn and grow in their careers and therefore try to ensure that employees have opportunities to do so throughout the organization. The organization thrives on promoting from within and has a culture where they continuously reinforce this concept.”

Judge Bernie Siben, CPSM, said, “Every firm ‘talks the talk’ about employees being their major concern, but everything SGH said and every comment their staff provided showed that they also ‘walk the walk.’ I loved the staff member who said ‘the items I have listed for improvements on past surveys have been addressed by the firm, and I am running out of items to list for improvement.’”

Siben added, “The staff’s enthusiasm about the firm amazed me, including comments that the firm is ‘always coming up with new and inventive ways to make coming to work easier and more fun,’ ‘great learning environment,’ ‘they strive to make all their employees successful,’ and many others.”

Second place: Barrish, Pelham & Associates, Inc. (BPA) — BPA has vast experience in new construction, modernization, and seismic retrofit projects utilizing structural steel, concrete, masonry, and timber structural systems. The design of public school facilities is a specialty of the firm. Notably, the firm has Integrated Project Delivery experience, working closely with owners, designers, contractors, and suppliers to achieve rapid approvals and construction schedules.

King commented about the firm’s “employee first” philosophy: “It shows that they understand that happy employees result in satisfied clients. They invite staff input, ask what people need from the organization and their supervisors in order to succeed, and are dedicated to an open-door policy.”

King said, “A monthly ‘State of the Union’ presentation keeps everyone up to date. The firm embraces diversity, as their domestic partner benefits and many other policies indicate. Teamwork, mentoring and respect are evident. The survey reported that a balanced life is fostered, there is a lot of laughter amidst the hard work, and it is both a nurturing and relaxed environment.”

Irwin said, “I thought the firm was very creative in 2008 in implementing a Green Commute program by providing public transportation free of charge. This is a great message to convey to staff about the organization’s commitment to the environment.”

“Another program that the firm created in 2008 was focused formal training involving all associates and principals in mentoring for management level positions. The firm is interested in the continuing development of the current and future leadership BPA,” she added

Siben commented on several fringe benefits offered by BPA, including its support for philanthropic/community service activities, paid downtown parking, and alternatives for recognition of excellent work. Further, he commented on the fact that the firm provides top-notch health insurance, a benefit valued highly by staff.

One respondent to the employee survey said, “I have a tremendous amount of respect and trust for the people that I work with.” Siben found this and other impressive feedback representative of a great firm to work for.

Third place: KL&A, Inc. — KL&A’s offices in four Colorado locations offer structural engineering consulting with an emphasis on steel, including construction management, design/build, and detailing.

King said, “Understanding that just because someone is good at his or her job doesn’t mean that he or she will be a good leader. Thus, they offer an Impact Management Seminar dedicated to leadership training.” She also commented on the firm’s communication tactics, “The entire staff is included in annual strategic planning and weekly team meetings to keep them up to date.”

Irwin said, “Reviewing the survey data on KL&A gave me a sense that people not only believe in what they do, but they enjoy it along the way. It’s important to the culture of the organization that you enjoy your career at KL&A and this is clearly evident in the following quote: ‘People who work here feel not only like they’ve arrived somewhere great, but that they are headed somewhere better.’”

KL&A, Inc. Kl&A, with offices in four colorado locations (Golden office shown here), includes its entire staff in annual strategic planning and weekly team meetings to keep employees up to date.

Siben said he liked that ownership opportunities are offered to select employees after only two years, and that 100 percent of senior staff were promoted from within. He also noted that the firm shares revenue, profit, and project data with all staff, providing good transparency.

Again, Siben cited some of the staff’s representative comments, including “wonderful people, wonderful ethics, wonderful work environment,” “they have the employee’s best interest at heart as much as the client,” “the company culture is an amazing and unique combination of fun yet hard working,” “in this economic climate they have done everything possible to keep the KL&A ‘family’ together,” “the firm respects its employees,” and “high excellence and initiative is rewarded with fun jobs, new opportunities, and compensation.”

Conclusion
Thank you to all the firms that applied this year, as well as the employees who took the satisfaction survey, and our judges. Further, special thanks to our friends at ZweigWhite who executed the Best Firms To Work For program on behalf of Structural Engineer. In addition to conducting the research for this program, ZweigWhite also provides strategic insight for firms that want to become a Best Firm To Work For, or to advance beyond their current position in the rankings — contact ZweigWhite for more details.

Superlative spotlight Highest employee survey score: Douglas Wood & Associates, Inc. In pursuit of excellence, they’re all rowing in unison at Douglas Wood. Best training program: KL&A, Inc. From coursework at universities or technical schools, to formal mentoring or coaching programs, KL&A, Inc., offers to its employees ample opportunities to hone their skills and evolve with the industry. Whether part-time or management, all employees are eligible for full reimbursement for 100 percent of course fees, with limitations on the number of courses or dollar amount spent in a year. The full suite of training options is extensive, including online training systems, outside seminars, and in-house training in areas such as: licensing exam review, software training, business skills training (such as writing or project management), technical skills training (such as design methodology), vendor-sponsored product education, and site safety training. Best collaborative environment: Douglas Wood & Associates, Inc. At this Florida-based, team-oriented firm, employees are provided with several avenues to share ideas, such as in-house employee satisfaction surveys, regular staff meetings, and face-to-face meetings with executives. In keeping with its open-door policy, the firm develops an annual strategic business plan outlining future performance goals and tactics, which is shared with all staff. The pulse of the staff is important too, so the firm conducts surveys and interviews, and uses the results to analyze trends, consider strategic planning, or implement recommended changes. Best employee recognition program: Barrish Pelham & Associates, Inc. Last year’s winner in this category, this firm is adept at doing the little things to encourage and support its employees. At Barrish Pelham & Associates, employees can garner recognition for working hard and working well, and the firm rewards such work with bonuses, extra vacation, event tickets, or even an informal party. The firm will also recognize employees who contribute to outside organizations; and although donating one’s time to a charity is a reward in itself, the firm will take the time to laud these individuals for their philanthropic endeavors. Best recruiting and retention program: PCS Structural Solutions Of the Top 15 firms in this year’s list, PCS is one of the best at retaining its team: Among its current management-level employees, the median tenure is 15 years; among non-management employees, the median tenure is 4 years. In 2008, the greatest source for new hires was college recruitment, including alumni programs. If a PCS employee refers a candidate, and that candidate is hired, the referring employee is rewarded monetarily, depending on the candidate’s position. Lastly, PCS promoted a high percentage — 19 percent — of its employees in 2008.

Mark your calendar! If your firm didn’t apply this year, or if you didn’t make the list, we encourage you to apply next year. To be sure you don’t miss out on the 2010 entry information, go to www.gostructural.com/bestfirm and click “complete this form” and we’ll email you when the 2010 applications are posted. One important note to newcomers: Rest assured that the names of firms that apply but do not make the list will not be revealed. Hope to hear from you in 2010!