TZL 1424 (web)

9

O P I N I O N

Employee retention

Employee retention is a two way street, requiring trust between both the company and the employee.

S tephen Schwind joined the ranks of the RLG Consulting Engineers’ civil department after being recruited through a job fair during his senior year at Texas Tech University in 2006. RLG appealed to him because he saw a lot of potential in the firm. At the time, RLG didn’t have many young engineers on staff. Schwind saw it as an opportunity to find a mentor and establish himself in his new career.

Stephen Schwind

Engineering runs in the family. Schwind’s dad was an engineer. His three uncles were engineers, too. A career as an engineer seemed chosen for him, but Schwind was interested in more than just engineering. He chose civil engineering for the people. Whether it be the people who were impacted by his work or the people he worked with and worked for. Throughout the years, Schwind moved up the ranks at RLG, first as an EIT, then a project manager, an associate, senior associate, and now a principal. At 41, Schwind is the youngest principal at RLG. “I worked hard, stuck it out, continued growing, and continued to learn,” Schwind says. He didn’t do it alone. Schwind found a mentor at RLG, a fellow civil engineer and principal (now CEO), Stuart Markussen. Markussen taught him everything he needed to know – about design and client

management. Markussen would sit down with him regularly to talk through issues directly and also allowed him to be independent to figure problems out on his own. Those learning opportunities made Schwind the engineer he is today. As a leader in the company, Schwind knows the importance of different types of skill sets required from every position/role in the company, as well as retaining talent. All roles, from technician to senior project manager are pivotal to the success of the company. He looks for motivated new hires with good verbal communication skills and strong personalities to increase employee morale. RLG encourages all employees to participate in business development. It is important for RLG’s engineers to develop relationships with clients who like the firm and trust

See STEPHEN SCHWIND , page 10

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 17, 2022, ISSUE 1424

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