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Bill A
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Conference call: Bill Abbott President, RPS North America Infrastructure, a division of RPS (formerly RPS Klotz Associates, Inc., Best Firm Civil #36 for 2017), a 500-person firm based in Houston.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent “O ur limitations are people,” Abbott says. “We could do more if we could find more quali- fied people.” A CONVERSATION WITH BILL ABBOTT. The Zweig Letter: The talent war in the A/E in- dustry is here. What steps do you take to create the leadership pipeline needed to retain your top people and not lose them to other firms? Bill Abbott: Recruitment is a dog-eat-dog world right now. We’re feeding on ourselves. We try to ensure that every employee has a path to move up and create a reason for them to stay. We provide growth opportunities and have no set guidelines
for who moves up (i.e., after every two-and-a-half years, a person is promoted). If you prove yourself, you move up. We also stay competitive with salary and benefits. “We have positive business relationships and work to maintain a strong track record with clients so they will keep coming back to us again and again. Repeat business is key.” TZL: The A/E market is great right now. What are you doing to cushion your firm in the event of a downturn?
Bill Abbott, President, RPS North America Infrastructure
THE ZWEIG LETTER Decem
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