9
OPINION
The value of training your people
When well-trained staff are equipped with the skills needed to do their jobs well, everyone will reap the benefits.
A t Fleis & VandenBrink Engineering, we know the importance of developing staff in a tight talent market. With the demographics of the AEC industry today, there’s a lot of baby boomers and millennials, but not as many Gen Xers to step into leadership roles.
Keeping that pipeline of staff with leadership abilities is the responsibility of firm managers. This professional development is an investment for long- term sustainability, and it’s critical to embrace young engineers and strive to keep them on a growth track. Admittedly, it’s not easy and it doesn’t come with a written manual. But with the unemployment rate so low in the engineering field today, we know we must grow our firm from the inside and focus on individualized mentoring. Mentoring, coaching, and challenging staff with authentic real-world experience are keys to successful training. Sharing institutional knowledge with them is extremely important. The goal is to make them better than you are.
For nearly three decades, F&V has readily acknowledged that our employees are our greatest asset. We invest in staff, even if it increases the risk of losing them, because investing in training increases employee loyalty and retention. Although engineering graduates today have grown up with personal computers and are tech-savvy, the challenge is getting engineers-in-training involved in meaningful work from day one without throwing too much at them too soon. The training and development process, which never ends, focuses on new tasks and skills that they can try out in a controlled environment – much like learning to walk before you run.
David Harvey, P.E.
See DAVID HARVEY , page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 31, 2022, ISSUE 1463
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