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TZL: In one word or phrase, what do you describe as your number one job responsibility as CEO? GD: Keep my employees motivated and my clients satisfied. TZL: What happens to the firm if you leave tomorrow? GD: There is a great network of support and talent. There are principals in each office who have, will, and can main- tain client interaction. Also, our marketing group is well en- trenched in the geographic area. TZL: If the worker shortage continues, do you see wag- es increasing to encourage more talent to enter the AEC space, or will technology be used to counter the reduced work force? GD: I see wages increasing. Our group is up on all the cur- rent technology which is cutting edge in some areas. We will always need the right production staff and management to implement the work. TZL: There is no substitute for experience, but there is pressure to give responsibility to younger staff. What are you doing to address the risk while pursuing the oppor- tunity to develop your team? GD: We have brought in younger staff to execute various tasks. However, these employees are heavily managed. We typically have the younger employee paired with a senior employee to direct and oversee their work. We strongly en- courage questions to be raised by the younger group, so they can learn. TZL: Engineers love being engineers, but what are you doing to instill a business culture in your firm? GD: I try to share the appropriate financials at company meetings and remind staff that our work efficiencies and emphasis on client satisfaction go a long way in improving profitability. That being said, we are a professional “service” organization and it’s important for us to remember it is our responsibility to take the client’s view and perspective into consideration when helping to solve their issues. TZL: A firm’s longevity is valuable. What are you doing to encourage your staff to stick around? GD: We have developed and are developing various benefits to encourage the employee to stay long term. Many are fi- nancial, others are geared more to family/work life balance. We are in the process of examining different succession plans, some of which involve employee ownership.

The Rock Brook Consulting Group employees at a Christmas outing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

TZL: Benefits are evolving. Are you offering any new ones due to the changing demographic? GD: We are always looking to improve our benefits. We ask our employees what they would like, or what have they heard about that we could possibly try. For example, there was a suggestion to try every other Friday off. We instituted it on a trial basis two years ago. It was successful and con- tinues today. TZL: How have the tax cuts impacted your firm’s valua- tion? Do you plan on doing another valuation due to the tax cuts? GD: Yes. We have been in contact with our external accoun- tants and legal team to access and evaluate how this change may affect us.

YEAR FOUNDED: 2004 HEADQUARTERS: Monroe Township, NJ OFFICES: NJ, PA, and NY opening this month NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 54 SERVICES: MEP/FP professional engineering design, IT, AV & security design, mission critical design, energy modeling and analysis, sustainable design and

LEED services, commissioning and validation, construction administration. CLIENTS: Corporate and commercial, healthcare and pharmaceutical, education, science and technology, data center, hospitality, retail, entertainment, and housing. COMPANY CULTURE: A collegial and professional environment where employees are given

the tools, continual training, and oversight they need to produce an exemplary work product. The Rock Brook Consulting Group fosters and encourages professional growth, development and long- lasting relationships among its employees in a casual, family- oriented and collaborative environment.

mber 17, 2018, ISSUE 1276

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