1193

fillment

Zweig Group is social and posting every day! C O N N E C T W I T H U S

facebook.com/ ZweigGroup

twitter.com/ ZweigGroup

linkedin.com/company/ ZweigWhite

blog. ZweigGroup .com vimeo.com/ ZweigGroup

TC: Project leadership works hard to move the project for- ward in sync with our proposal. Before work plans and schedules are formed, the team will confirm scope and ex- pectations with the client and then kick off the project with a project initiation meeting. Every project must begin by gathering team members from every discipline to discuss and document collective goals (budget, building perfor- mance, design, delivery, other) so that there is diversity in the input and identification of opportunities and a shared vision for how we define success. “There isn’t one benefit that is going to meet the needs of all 750 employees and their families, so we ask what matters to them and then work to incorporate a program that matches their needs.” TZL: How does marketing contribute to your success rate? Are you content with your marketing efforts, or do you think you should increase/decrease marketing? TC: Marketing built on the research necessary to strategi- cally differentiate us in each of our markets and as a nation- al firm has proven to dramatically increase our success rate. We are in the process of amplifying our marketing efforts through more effective and consistent methods of storytell- ing that make our point of view more transparent and to differentiate us in each of our markets. TZL: What has your firm done recently to upgrade its IT system? TC: Our IT team has been working tirelessly to upgrade our systems over the last year, focusing in particular on the fol- lowing: ❚ ❚ Infrastructure and network upgrades ❚ ❚ Implementing the most recent updates to Windows/Office products ❚ ❚ Incorporating cloud-based solutions to support unified and consistent systems across our eight offices ❚ ❚ Enhancing mobility to support choice in how and where our employees work ❚ ❚ Security, security, security. The protection of our data, as well as that of our clients, is of the utmost importance to us. We have upgraded all of our firewalls, enhanced our network au- diting and reporting, and emphasized security awareness on our staff through comprehensive training and education. TZL: What’s the best way to recruit and retain top talent in a tight labor market? See CONFERENCE CALL, page 8

practice area, discipline, geography, gender, ethnicity, etc. We believe our collective intelligence is a key to better deci- sion making, and ultimately, our success. We look for stra- tegic thinkers who know how to collaborate, speak up, and follow through, and value leaders who can best connect what’s happening on the outside with what’s happening on the inside. Additionally, we have an outside board advisor from a different industry who brings fresh perspectives. TZL: Is there a secret to effective ownership transition? TC: We’ve been lucky. Our founders wanted to build a cul- ture of collaboration and they backed that sentiment up with their business model. Our firm has experienced broad ownership for most of its history. Granted, the percentag- es may have morphed a little, but in general, 20 to 25 per- cent of employees have been shareholders. We collaborate on and integrate practice and business. We are transparent with our financial information and seek to have each share- holder strategically engaged in our success. These efforts have resulted in relatively smooth transitions without voids created by employee departures. TZL: How do you go about winning work? TC: We strive to connect with our clients at the deepest lev- el. We work beyond just minimizing risk. We bring added passion, creativity, and insight to each opportunity to make an impact that is measurable and meaningful. Our experi- ence and expertise in a particular project type is often an entry point, however, we win work through our research to understand the client’s needs, through demonstrating how we will listen to them and then creatively applying what we learn to their great benefit. “We strive to connect with our clients at the deepest level. We work beyond just minimizing risk. We bring added passion, creativity, and insight to each opportunity to make an impact that is measurable and meaningful.” TZL: What’s the greatest problem to overcome in the pro- posal process? TC: Connecting our experience, approach, and culture di- rectly to the clients’ needs. We must balance the time, re- sources, and the hard work of understanding the client, their culture and the specific challenges of their project, and then tell that story of understanding in a way that they can quickly absorb and relate to. Our most successful proposals help the client visualize the journey they will take with us. TZL: Once you’ve won a contract, what are the “marching orders” for your PMs?

rch 27, 2017, ISSUE 1193

Made with FlippingBook Annual report