TZL 1341

BUSINESS NEWS MID-ATLANTIC ENGINEERING FIRM REFRESHES ONLINE IDENTITY & LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE Whitney Bailey Cox & Magnani , a Mid- Atlantic engineering firm, announced an online brand refresh and unveiled a new website to reflect the organization’s wide range of engineering, architecture, construction, associated services, and core values. Founded in 1977 and with more than 40 years of rich history, the WBCM team of engineers, architects, landscape architects, surveyors, and LEED professionals has completed numerous projects for a diverse client base. WBCM’s mission is to build relationships with clients while committing to diversity, innovation, value and excellence in everything they do. With six offices throughout Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, WBCM is most notably known for work in civil engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, and marine and industrial/process engineering.

“Over the years our organization has excelled well beyond what our online identity depicts. We invested considerable time searching for a marketing firm that aligned with our core values, and one with a proven track record. After meeting with CC&A Strategic Media we quickly realized their team could help us achieve our goals. Our new online identity reflects our values, showcases our projects, and allows our clients to fully understand who we are as an organization. It’s been a long process and we couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome of this project,” said Whitney Bailey Cox & Magnani President, Marco Legaluppi, PE. WBCM’s complement of more than 200 dedicated employees, over half of whom are licensed professionals including engineers, architects, landscape architects, surveyors, and LEED professionals, are committed to their mission of being a client-focused business that respects diversity, innovation, value, and excellence. The Whitney Bailey Cox & Magnani Team has left its mark throughout the region, having completed the design, engineering,

and construction of projects exceeding $1 billion in construction value. “WBCM is a company dedicated to excellence. After our first interactions we quickly realized the level of expertise within their organization is unmatched. While working through the process of building a new online identity, we saw firsthand the extensive list of projects they’ve completed. It is extremely impressive to see how successful WBCM has been over the past 40 plus years, and I have no doubt that success will continue for many years to come,” said Stephen Taormino, CEO of CC&A Strategic Media. Founded in 1977, WBCM has grown from four partners to over 200 employees and produces annual billings in excess of $35 million, earning a place on the Engineering News-Record ’s list of Top 500 Design Firms. WBCM provides engineering and associated services for facilities, marine, industrial, and transportation design, design-build, design-bid-build, and public-private partnership projects.

MATT DWYER, from page 11

The structure job target is “medium.” People with medium structure typically like having the right answer, but they also want to make sure they understand the big picture. This candidate scored somewhat above the structure target. This means: ❚ ❚ The candidate may be more concerned with procedures and accuracy and a little less so with the overall outcomes than necessary. ❚ ❚ The candidate may become anxious if the expectations and/or rules change in a work situation . The report also includes an interview guide with suggested interview questions customized to each candidate. We never ask all Berke’s suggested interview questions, but the report is a good starting point for our interview process. At a recent management conference, other AEC leaders most mentioned that culture match was a critical issue for acquisition success. Since using Berke Assessments in the screening process, it’s occurred to me that they could also be used for mergers as well as hiring, even if you can’t do the follow-up interviews until afterward. Acquisitions are often expensive, so I was surprised to learn that due diligence did not include any type of testing for culture fit except for interviews, and informal meetings with firm leaders. I think it might be worthwhile to read existing staff assessments, as well, or do some additional tests without violating confidentiality. Finding and hiring good engineers is critically important to our success, and also difficult to accomplish. We are fortunate to have found a good assessment tool that helps us do just that. MATT DWYER is president of Dwyer Engineering. Contact him at mdwyer@dwyer.com.

ENTER BERKE ASSESSMENTS. After some expensive mistakes, we started using a non-technical assessment by Berke Assessments which is designed to handle initial screenings. The one-hour, online assessment instantly generates a surprisingly-detailed description of the candidate with a green/yellow/red stoplight rating for likely success in our office, and provides questions to ask about any possible issues. To evaluate the test, I asked current employees to take the test, and then I read the test reports. Compared to other assessments we’ve tried, these were very accurate. Different jobs require different personalities. For example, someone who is overly optimistic may be good for sales, but engineers need to question their assumptions and not blithely assume everything will work out regardless. Seller- doers probably need to be in the middle of the optimism range to be successful. Berke compares the applicant to determine if they’re a good fit for your firm. The test benefits the applicant as much as it does the firm. The final summary from the assessment test is a simple green icon (or red or yellow depending on overall score):

If a candidate gets a green “high” rating, we conduct an interview to dig deeper and learn more. For example, one of our tested characteristics has to do with “structure” and how much the applicant likes it.

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 20, 2020, ISSUE 1341

Made with FlippingBook Annual report