3
OPINION
Innovative initiatives
O ne of the great things about working for a company like KSA is the ability to be creative and unique in our approach to firm management. As an example of that, I’d like to share about two unique programs we developed at KSA, which we believe advance our mission of “We Build People Who Build the Future.” Ensure employee growth and success by implementing innovative approaches to career development, like diverse training programs and leadership initiatives.
Mitch Fortner, P.E.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING PROGRAM. First, KSA has invested a great deal of time and resources to create a career development and training program that we call KSA University. Many companies in our industry have training programs, but at KSA, we run ours a bit differently. KSA University is run on a semester basis, with anywhere from seven to 15 courses being offered per semester. Since its inception in 2019, KSA University has offered or conducted a total of 230 classes. That’s an average of 46 classes per year. The classes are taught by a combination of KSA subject matter experts and outside professionals with topics that range from soft and technical skills to fun elective topics. Since 2019, KSAU instructors have dedicated more than 2,000 hours of preparation and instruction time for KSAU classes. Additionally, in that same period, KSAU has documented more
than 11,000 hours of student, instructor, and program management time. Past courses have included classes on ethics, design, technical writing, book clubs, Spanish, leadership, management, mentoring circles, and lighthearted topics such as how to smoke a brisket. All classes offered by KSAU are live instruction classes, some with assignments to be completed outside of class time. In fact, many of the KSAU classes have homework to be completed individually or in small groups. With our nine offices in three states, we have found that conducting these classes live and online using video meetings is a great way to introduce, familiarize, and build relationships with our staff in different locations and different professional disciplines. That familiarization is one benefit we didn’t
See MITCH FORTNER , page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 1, 2024, ISSUE 1518
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker