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Conference call: Michael Carragher, part 2 President and CEO of VHB (Best Firm Civil #23 and Hot Firm #46 for 2017), a 1,400-person firm based in Boston, Massachusetts.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent “B ottom line, when it’s the right move, and when it will benefit employees and enable us to serve our clients better, we go all in to provide the support needed to make it happen,” Carragher says. A CONVERSATION WITH MICHAEL CARRAGHER. The Zweig Letter: The A/E market is great right now. What are you doing to cushion your firm in the event of a downturn? Michael Carragher: Listening and learning are the critical components here. We’re listening to our cli- ents and understanding their challenges and con- cerns; listening to economists; and staying ahead of market trends. We’re always looking on the ho- rizon. In the past, we’ve adapted to downturns by balancing our mix of public and private work and
short- and longer-term projects. We continue to strive for this balance, and our work is focused across six primary markets: transportation agen- cies, real estate, institutions, energy, federal gov- ernment, and local government. I also believe that you need to remain focused on practical invest- ments and fight the urge to take advantage of good times by investing in riskier ventures – stay fo- cused on the things that are right to do – in up and down economies. TZL: How do you deal with underperforming em- ployees? What are your steps for removal after they have proven to be ineffective, or even coun- terproductive, to your firm? MC: We don’t start with “steps for removal.” Super- visors work to discuss how an employee is meet- ing expectations, and we are clear about areas for improvement. There is much opportunity to work with employees to help them be successful. We try
Michael Carra- gher, President & CEO, VHB
THE ZWEIG LETTER Novem
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