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#HOTFIRM2015 Zweig Group’s 2015 Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Conference is Sep- tember 3 and 4 at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. Events include: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 ❚ ❚ 8 a.m.: Breakfast ❚ ❚ 9 a.m.: Opening remarks – Mark Zweig ❚ ❚ 9:45 a.m.: Summary data on Hot Firms and Best Firms – Christina Zweig ❚ ❚ 10:45 a.m. - noon: Agile Innovation and the Workplace – Langdon Morris, Innovation Labs; voting on People’s Choice for marketing ❚ ❚ Noon: Courage in Leadership Luncheon ❚ ❚ 1 - 4:30 p.m.: HowWe Made a Small Company into a Large Di- versified One with Less Than 50% of Revenue Coming fromTra- ditional Design Services – Chris Doerschlag, WD Partners; M&A – George Christodoulo; The Virtual Office: Making it Work – Kenny Ogilvie; Bentley Systems Breakout Session; 5 Things We Do that Make Us Successful – Panel of Hot Firm/Best FirmWinning CEOs, moderated by Mark Zweig ❚ ❚ 5:30 p.m.: Cocktail party

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 ❚ ❚ 8 a.m.: Breakfast ❚ ❚ 9 a.m. - noon: General Sessions – John Zweig, WPP; Ozzie Nel-

son, NELSONWorldwide Inc.; Company Culture ❚ ❚ noon: Marketing Excellence Awards Luncheon

❚ ❚ 10:45 a.m. - noon: Agile Innovation and the Workplace – Langdon Morris, Innovation Labs; voting on People’s Choice for marketing ❚ ❚ 1:30 - 4:15 p.m.: Nontraditional Sources of Capital for A/E Firms – Scott Chappel, BDCA Advisers LLC; The Challenges of Integrating Multiple Cultures into One – Tony Mirchandani, RTM; Holding Em- ployees Accountable to Increase Profitability – June Jewell, AEC Business Solutions; The Real Secrets Recruiters Use to Find and Hire the Best People – Randy Wilburn, Zweig Group ❚ ❚ 4:15: Closing remarks – Mark Zweig ❚ ❚ 6 p.m.: Cocktails and red carpet photo ops ❚ ❚ 7 p.m.: Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards black-tie ceremony – announcements of Hot Firm and Best Firms to Work For awards

O’NEAL , from page 11

grades to construction sites, among oth- ers. I enjoy working at this company be- cause the atmosphere is inviting, I am ac- knowledged for my work and contribu- tions, and ,above all else, I ammade to feel like more than a cog in the wheel. Working here, I feel appreciated and respected,” El- lis Bellew, electrical engineer, says. Judy Castleberry, CFO, says that what re- ally speaks volumes about the company is the years of employee retention and satis- faction the employees demonstrate. “Nearly 80 percent of our employees own stock in this company, an incentive-based practice that is proven to increase client and employee satisfaction,” she says. Internally, 2015 is a landmark year for O’Neal as it celebrates 40 years of busi- ness. Making it even more exciting is the fact that the firm continues to grow. In April, the company announced a $5 mil- lion expansion in Greenville, South Car- olina, that has direct ties to the nation’s increase in chemical production. It also announced a new partnership with Beck Group to expand their services in Mexico. Kevin Bean, president and CEO, has been with O’Neal since 1994. He says that, “Identifying new opportunities, rath- er than becoming a niche service provid- er, has, I believe, allowed our company to stay relevant and competitive in this ever-changing market. We are honored to be selected by Zweig as a 2015 Hot Firm winner and are committed to continuing this 40-year legacy of innovation moving forward.”

A CULTURE OF SUCCESS O’Neal offers professional development opportunities to employees, including: ❚ ❚ O’Neal EPC Certification: O’Neal provides in-house certification programs to continually expand its qualified, experienced team of engineering/procurement/ construction professionals. ❚ ❚ SafetyTraining: In addition to mandatory safety awareness training, employees have the LEEDTraining: O’Neal’s employees may take courses on sustainable design and construction principles. It also offers LEED-AP and LEED-GA programs. ❚ ❚ Lunch and Learns: Internal training on technical issues, design approaches, project opportunity to take OSHA 10- and 30-hour training. ❚ ❚ Sustainability and technologies, sustainability, and general EPC information. ❚ ❚ RedVector: Self-directed, online training courses. ❚ ❚ Tuition Reimbursement : O’Neal encourages and supports team members to continue their education while working with the firm. management, business communications, new

employees and perks, such as training programs, technology investments and a compressed work week – four full days and a half day on Friday.” This Hot Firm award is valued by O’Neal because it is a great measure of how the firm compares to other design organiza- tions throughout the country. The firm believes this will help with recruiting and retention. O’Neal is an employee-owned company. Ten years after Paul started the compa- ny, he began selling stock to his employ- ees. This practice helped him to attract and retain quality workers, many of whom are still with the company today. “We find that the employee-ownership provides a higher level of accountability and commitment for our team members,” Gallagher says. “And, our employee-own- ers take pride in recognition such as the Hot Firm award.” Rob Evans, recruiting manager, says that the Hot Firm award helps the firm within the industry to spread the word to prospec- tive employee-owners as O’Neal strength- ens its team of designers and builders. “I have worked at O’Neal for three years and was made to feel like family from Day 1. O’Neal strives for perfection in project delivery and makes efforts to stay at the forefront of technology in the form of software advancements, training oppor- tunities for employees, and paperless up-

THE ZWEIG LETTER AUGUST 3, 2015, ISSUE 1114

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