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BUSINESS NEWS MANHARD CONSULTING OPENS AUSTIN OFFICE National civil engineering and surveying firm Manhard Consulting has opened a new office in Austin, Texas. The firm’s newest location, its 10th office nationwide, is managed by Jesse Conrad, vice president, who is based in the company’s Dallas office and responsible for managing all of Texas. Austin has been a target market for Manhard, and after careful analysis, the opportunity to bring the right associates onto the team, and given the region’s growth, it made sense to establish a presence there. In addition to Conrad as manager, new Manhard team members based in Austin include Adam Burke, PE, project manager and associate principal; Casey Giles, PE, senior project manager and associate principal; and John Lewis, who will manage projects and work on business development. “These leaders support the growth in the Austin area, and the office complements our existing presence in Texas,” said Don Manhard, Jr.,
president and CEO. “This move aligns with our steady approach to growth, and to better serve our clients across the region. Austin is a perfect fit – a diverse and expanding market, a great opportunity to grow, and it aligns well with our national strategy.” Recent Texas projects the firm has had a role in include: ❚ ❚ Sierra Vista in Iowa Colony, TX – engineering and surveying services for development of 900-acre, 1,800-lot master-planned community ❚ ❚ Sapphire Bay in Rowlett, TX – civil engineering, land planning, surveying, entitlement, and construction administration services for a 117-acre, $1 billion mixed- use development ❚ ❚ Valley View-DFW Commerce Park in Dallas, TX – civil engineering for onsite and offsite improvements for a three building industrial park totaling approximately 1.6 million square feet on 120 acres. “Given the explosive growth in that market,
and the top-tier talent we’ve recruited to build our foundation locally, we’re excited at the potential for us here, and beyond, for our newest office and future Texas opportunities,” noted Conrad. Manhard Consulting’s new Austin team members are located at 2101 E. St. Elmo, Building 1, Suite 100, Austin. The firm has had a Texas presence for five years, and the new location will work closely with Manhard’s existing office in Dallas, and its other offices across the country. Manhard Consulting is a full-service civil engineering and surveying firm that serves public and private clients nationwide. With more than 275 employees, and 10 offices across the United States, Manhard Consulting continues to lead the industry as one of the most responsive, innovative and technologically advanced civil engineering and surveying firms in the country.
CAROLINE YOUNG, from page 11
one-on-one relationships and company-wide events. Transparency is a buzzword but for good reason. Our leadership also encourages transparency by holding a company breakfast bi-monthly, where they review the state of the firm, financial data, recognize recent employee successes, and address any other business-related items. In the company newsletter, the firm also shares financial data, including how the firm is performing on a monthly basis. Each year the firm also shares the annual strategic plan with staff, which outlines the firm’s goals. Workplaces without open communication tend to be more toxic – office politics thrive on trading the need-to-know information and there is more anxiety among staff. Direct communication with all staff members can cut down on these issues. Open communication also goes hand-in-hand with building healthy relationships. Our leadership works toward this by sponsoring monthly birthday lunches and other periodic social events, walking around the office to chat with employees, and supporting employees through special life events. Investing time in employees is a great way to ensure that they will come to you when they need you. Employees, including myself, can easily access executives and schedule appointments with them. Because we’ve built a relationship, I am more likely to approach them when there is a need. Why employees stay or leave involves many factors, which also means there are many ways to increase retention. I suggest choosing one or two goals that can positively impact your retention rate for the next year. Then, focus your policies and programs consistently, and be patient. Some changes take time to see the benefits. CAROLINE YOUNG is the HR coordinator at Sain Associates. Founded in 1972, Sain Associates is a full-service consulting engineering firm that specializes in civil engineering, transportation planning and engineering, surveying, construction engineering and inspection, and geographic information systems. Sain Associates is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with additional branch offices in Pulaski, Tennessee and Huntsville, Alabama. Caroline can be contacted via LinkedIn or at cyoung@sain.com.
Another teaching technique I enjoy is role-playing. By giving managers the ability to role-play, they can encounter a variety of scenarios related to people management, practice how they might respond, and receive feedback from their peers on ways they could have tackled the problem differently. “Why employees stay or leave involves many factors, which also means there are many ways to increase retention. Choose one or two goals that can positively impact your retention rate for the next year. Then, focus your policies and programs consistently, and be patient.” 2)Talk to your employees. Firm-wide surveys can be helpful in determining where to improve retention efforts, but I am able to find out more when I have a conversation with an employee. In a survey, employees may leave out items because they are in a rush or don’t feel like it is important. In person, employees are more likely to give meaningful feedback on what they love about the company and ways to improve. I encourage you to go on a fact-finding mission with employees with differing tenure. In my first year at Sain, I met with employees to learn what they valued so I could create programs that targeted their interest. I would enter the meeting by having a couple of pre-set discussion questions, but I was flexible to let the conversation go where they take it. Their information also helped me focus on maintaining the aspects they loved and allowed me to recruit for the firm more effectively. 3)Encourage transparency from leadership through
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THE ZWEIG LETTER DECEMBER 14, 2020, ISSUE 1371
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