1213

BEST F IRM WINNERS ROCK BROOK RANKS NO. 32 NATIONALLY ON ZWEIG GROUP’S BEST FIRMS TO WORK FOR LIST The Rock Brook Consulting Group, PA announced that the firm has once again received Zweig Group’s Best Firms to Work For Award, ranking No. 32 on the 2017 list among multidiscipline firms. Zweig Group received more than 11,000 survey submissions from firms across the U.S. and Canada, and recognizes the top architecture, structural engineering, civil engineering, environmental, geotechnical engineering, landscape architecture/planning, and multidiscipline firms based on their workplace practices, employee benefits, employee retention rates, and more. “We are really excited not only to have won this award for the second year in a row, but also to see a substantial improvement in our rank on the list for 2017,” stated Julia Moroney, Rock Brook’s director of marketing. “A primary reason we participate in this award program is to collect valuable feedback that will give our managing principals the insight they need to continue to provide an enjoyable and satisfying work environment for our staff. We remain cognizant of the goal to be one of the ‘best firms to work for,’ especially as our firm continues to grow.” For a firm to qualify, a minimum of 60 percent of its staff is required to complete an anonymous survey. Participating firms also receive a benchmarking report comparing

employee responses to those of the larger sample. COFFMAN NAMED A BEST FIRM TO WORK FOR BY ZWEIG GROUP Coffman is listed at No. 14 in the Multidiscipline category on Zweig Group’s 2017 Best Firms to Work For award list that recognizes outstanding workplaces in the AEC industry. Coffman focuses on creating a workplace that aligns with its guiding statements – its mission, vision, values, and culture. The recognition of being a Best Firm to Work For is an honor for Coffman as we intentionally strive to create a place where people enjoy coming to and like the work that they do. JQ NAMED TO 2017 BEST FIRMS TO WORK FOR BY ZWEIG GROUP JQ is excited to announce that it was recently recognized as a 2017 Zweig Group Best Firm to Work For in the Structural Engineering category. Zweig’s annual list recognizes the top architecture, structural engineering, civil engineering, environmental, geotechnical engineering, landscape architecture/planning, and multidiscipline firms in the United States and Canada. As part of the qualifying process, company employees complete surveys, and the firm’s management answers a questionnaire about values, culture and benefits.

“We are very proud to be among the best firms to work for again this year. This recognition reflects feedback from our employees about our work environment and the opportunities we provide for their professional growth while serving our clients. This award is indicative of the fantastic culture created by JQ staff in all our offices,” said JQ’s CEO Stephen Lucy, P.E. By using the management questionnaire and the anonymous employee surveys regarding workplace practices, companies are graded against other industry participants, then ranked by category. JQ noted the highlights from its employee surveys including: ❚ ❚ More than 89 percent of respondents would recommend JQ to a friend looking for a job ❚ ❚ More than 91 percent of respondents believed their manager was supportive of their professional development/continuing education ❚ ❚ More than 92 percent of respondents believed that new employees are made to feel welcomed and valued Top attributes of the firm, also noted by JQ employees, that make it a great place to work include the firm’s quality work, integrity and honesty, great culture and work-life balance.

BEST FIRMS, from page 3

TZL: How has being a Best Firm helped you recruit and retain top talent in a tight labor market? Dan Houf, president, Harper Houf Peterson Righellis, Inc. (Portland, OR), a 90-person landscape archi- tecture firm: Harper Houf Peterson Righellis Inc. finds being on the list for Zweig Group Best Firms extreme- ly helpful in attracting new talent, but more importantly, helping us gauge how we are doing with our current employees and in-house talent. We continually strive to be a great place to work, and to provide a professional and rewarding experience for all of our professional staff. The Zweig survey provides an opportunity to gauge areas of strength, and to find opportunities to improve our firm. We use the rankings on our web page as well as advertisements for current openings. We also use our Best Firm’s standing in marketing, as it provides us with credibility to our clients that we treat our employees fairly, leading to low turnover and consistent cli- ent service. TZL: In the process of becoming a Best Firm, what did you learn about building a great team? Eileen Pannatier, CEO and founder, Comprehensive Environmental Inc. (Marlborough, MA) a 30-person geotechnical firm: The formula for happy employees includes the basics of good pay, good benefits, and good working conditions, but more importantly, the daily gratification of a job done well and making a difference for our clients and for the environment. TZL: In the process of becoming a Best Firm, what did you learn about building a great team? Sonny Kaiser, principal, Ecosystem Planning & Restoration, (Tomball, TX), a 21-person environmental firm: Building a great team starts with visualizing the culture and environment you want to build for your company, and then pursuing team members that embody that vision. We learned through this process that identifying the best people to help build our company culture takes time, but is well worth the effort to find the right people. Identifying leaders that help embody and define our culture has been critical to becoming a Best Firm to Work For, and those leaders help us create an environment where people desire to work.

THE ZWEIG LETTER August 21, 2017, ISSUE 1213

Made with FlippingBook Annual report