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SSOE employees celebrate company culture.
KEY SUCCESSORS, from page 7
that contributed to us being recognized as a “Great Work- place” by Great Place to Work for the last three years. These benefits and perks include flexible work arrangements, buy/ sell paid time-off option to buy up to 40 hours of additional PTO or to sell up to 80 hours of PTO, subsidized gym mem- berships, tuition reimbursement, and a 401(k) plan that matches 50 percent of employee contributions up to 6 per- cent. In addition, SSOE offers additional work perks such as SSOE swag for new employees, BRAVO employee recog- nition program, a one-day “SSOE Experience” class that in- troduces new employees to the organization, employee ap- preciation clubs and volunteerism programs, as well as ca- reer progression. “As a company we recognize diversity of thought as a strategic advantage – one that we’re not yet fully leveraging, but working toward.” TZL: Tell us about the last time you named a new princi- pal from outside the firm. BH: We announced the appointment of Cathy Myers, P.E., to our advanced technology leadership team in October 2017. We knew she would be an excellent fit because she not only brought with her 25-plus years of expertise, but she also has a deep familiarity with the semiconductor indus- try, one of SSOE’s key markets. In addition, she has a dual bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mechanical engineering from the University of Portland and is a licensed profession- al engineer.
SSOE has been on a journey to broader diversity and inclu- sion for some time now, focusing on building a strong foun- dation to ensure it becomes sustainable and ingrained in the firm’s culture. As a company we recognize diversity of thought as a strategic advantage – one that we’re not yet fully leveraging, but working toward. Although we hold ourselves accountable to benchmarks that ensure progress, we believe diversity is really about hir- ing someone who thinks “differently than I do” in an effort to generate stronger ideas. To put forward something differ- ent requires a variance in life experiences, which frequently emerge from contrasting backgrounds, be they economic, gender, race, ability, generational, or industry differentia- tion. We train our employees on the dangers of implicit bias so we can proactively combat these tendencies. We also ac- tively recruit employees who bring a fresh perspective, par- ticipating in programs like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Pro- gram, which is designed to train transitioning service mem- bers on skills needed to succeed in the civilian workforce. Additionally, we work with educational non-profits and uni- versities to ensure women and underrepresented minori- ties have options and ways to get involved in STEM. TZL: A firm’s longevity is valuable. What are you doing to encourage your staff to stick around? BH: In addition to our culture initiative that has a proven ROI when it comes to retention, SSOE offers its employees an extensive list of benefit programs and employee perks
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THE ZWEIG LETTER March 4, 2019, ISSUE 1286
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