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BUSINESS NEWS AECOM AWARDED CONTRACT FROM THE U.S. ARMY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMAND FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION SERVICES AECOM, the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, announced that it has been awarded a five-year, multiple-award contract from the U.S. Army Environmental Command to provide environmental remediation services, including investigation and remediation services for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, at various locations throughout the contiguous United States, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska. “We are proud to continue leveraging our leading environmental expertise in partnership with the U.S. Army on their environmental remediation challenges
across the U.S.,” said Frank Sweet, chief executive of AECOM’s global Environment business. “Importantly, we now hold a series of key environmental remediation contracts across our U.S. government clients, including for the U.S. Army, Navy, FEMA and NASA, which positions us well to support our clients on the regulatory demands for emerging constituents like PFAS.” AECOM’s scope encompasses the investigation and remediation hazardous and toxic waste throughout the United States, including persistent compounds such as PFAS. With more than two decades of PFAS experience at more than 600 sites globally, AECOM is uniquely suited to support the U.S. Department of Defense PFAS responses.
“The remediation of PFAS is not just an environmental challenge – but one related to protection of water as a resource,” said Beverley Stinson, chief executive of AECOM’s global Water business. “As the number one Water design practice as ranked by Engineering News-Record, we look forward to supporting the U.S. Army through this contract and continuing our work with federal agencies to protect human health, the environment and our water supply.” AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management.
START WITH IDENTIFYING WHERE YOU’RE GOING AND WHY. In 2023, ISG launched a five-year growth plan, identifying opportunities for client, talent, and geographic expansion. Every company’s goals are going to be different. The important thing is that employees are working from a common vision – rowing in the same direction – even if leaders take a different approach to get there. ISG is taking the coach approach to leadership development to achieve our strategic goals. THE COACH APPROACH. There is a difference between a coach and mentor. One of Google’s studies, known as Project Oxygen, revealed that high-quality managers who excel in coaching and communication tend to have more engaged and productive teams. Google identified that their best managers share specific behaviors, such as being good coaches, empowering teams, and fostering an inclusive environment. ISG has experienced the benefits of hiring in-house performance strategists. Leading our effort is Dave Williams who is trained in sports psychology. Dave and his team apply similar coaching techniques to enhance the skills, behaviors, and effectiveness of leaders within the firm. This method emphasizes personalized, one-on-one interactions where performance strategists guide leaders through a process of self-discovery, goal-setting, and action planning. If your company does not have the internal resources to hire directly, there are many coaching resources and consultants available externally for you to consider. THE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT RIPPLE EFFECT. Over the last eight months, ISG has piloted a leadership program that is designed to fast-track leadership skills of select employee owners through coaching, assessments, and team-building activities. Participants were selected based on their broad influence, creating ripple effects that will benefit all employee owners and improve overall leadership capabilities. The impact of this program and its success is already evident through the positive testimonials from the pilot cohort and excitement it has created firmwide.
ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL. Using your vision plan, work backward from your goals to identify the behaviors you need to implement today to achieve the results you desire tomorrow. Develop leadership programs around this approach, ensuring there are opportunities at every milestone to keep individuals engaged and growing as leaders throughout their careers. This method fosters continuous development, aligning daily actions with long-term success. We have also seen success in engaging young leaders early in their careers through client interactions, industry committees, and public engagement opportunities. This early engagement positively impacts retention and makes ISG known within the AEC industry as a firm that invests in young talent. This is a competitive advantage in a challenging recruitment industry. Conversely, leveraging the experience of our seasoned professionals helps to minimize the chaos curve and maintain growth momentum. THE INVESTMENT IS WORTH THE RETURN. We get it. The investment in leadership development is real, but so is the return. In the last five years, we have increased our staffing levels by 42 percent, expanded our office locations from 10 to 14, and increased profitability by 34.8 percent. Refining and expanding our leadership development programs has led to our lowest turnover rate in four years, demonstrating the effectiveness of these initiatives. By aligning our business goals with our leadership goals, we are building a high-performing firm that leverages the strengths of our team and amplifies the culture of employee ownership. Leadership development is not just an investment in your leaders; it is an investment in the future success of your organization. Lynn Bruns, PE is chief executive officer of ISG. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 28, 2024, ISSUE 1559
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