Maintaining Long-Term Employee Relationships

Cindy Milrany, CFO/CAO

Freese and Nichols, Inc.

• Multi-service engineering, architecture and environmental science firm

• 119-year history means experience, strength and stability

• 15 offices in Texas and North Carolina

• More than 550 experienced professionals, technical experts and support personnel

Why Long-Term Employees Matter

• Retention of organizational knowledge• Linkages to long-term client relationships• Reduction of recruiting and training costs• Maintain culture as firm grows

Our Employee-Focused CultureFlexibility and Discretion

Stability and Control

Extern

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Inte

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Family-Oriented Cultural Profile

• Value Drivers— Commitment— Communication— Development— Appreciation

• TheoryGain organizational effectiveness thru human development and participation

Family-Oriented Culture:CommitmentOur Guiding Principles• We are ethical• We deliver quality• We are responsive• We add value• We improve continuously• We are innovative• We develop professionally• We respect others• We appreciate our clients

and fellow employees• We give back to our

communities

Family-Oriented Culture: Communications

• President’s Roundtable• Principle Luncheons• Open Door Policy• Freese.com Blog• President’s Letters• CI Luncheons• Strategic Plan Roll-out

Family-Oriented Culture: Development

• Career Ladder– Developed for every discipline– Includes employee career

assessment– Education and experience

for each step of career– Possible technical, sales and

management career paths– Used for Development Plans

Family-Oriented Culture: Development

• Performance Review and Individual Development Plan (IDP)– Expected competencies– Individual performance goals– One-year and three-year career

development goals– IDP with training, project

assignments, offer of technical coach– Training linked to FN University

Family-Oriented Culture: Appreciation

• Thank Tank– Online thank you– Everyone can thank

everyone– Aligned with our

core values

Hierarchy-Oriented Cultural Profile

• Value Drivers– Efficiency– Consistency– Quality– Timeliness

• TheoryGain organizational effectiveness thru control and efficiency

Hierarchy–Oriented Culture:EfficiencyAutomated Processes

Hierarchy–Oriented Culture:EfficiencyResource Management

Resource NameFeb 11 Mar 11 Apr 11 May 11 Jun 11 Jul 11 Aug 11

Sch Hrs Sch Hrs Sch Hrs Sch Hrs Sch Hrs Sch Hrs Sch HrsAnne M. Carrel 202 210 202 202 170 162 162Charles Allen Kucherka 217 277 275 271 237 233 147David T. Bennett 145 323 321 325 285 277 277Davin D. Hatley 166 270 330 320 254 322 232Gary Ray Smith 126 134 140 148 136 184 179Lizanne Marie Douglas 268 356 328 258 240 238 233Michael G Morrison 248 175 143 174 174 157 129Michael Stafford Gunning 273 286 206 186 278 262 270

Hierarchy–Oriented Culture:Quality and Consistency

Technical Excellence Program

Hierarchy–Oriented Culture:Quality and Consistency

• Quality Control– Quality is an on-going process– Quality Control Plan defines reviews

• Quality Assurance– Initial, mid-point and final reviews– Kick-off meeting documentation– Quality Control Plan– Project Schedule– QC and QA Review Forms

Hierarchy–Oriented Culture:Timeliness

Keeping Projects on TrackProject Manager Portal• PM Dashboards• PM Process• Project News• Project Status• Project Action Items

Innovation-Oriented Cultural Profile

• Value Drivers– Creativity– Future Thinking– Transformation– Improvement

• TheoryGain organizational effectiveness thru creativity and vision

Innovation-Oriented Cultural: Creativity

• I2 Team• Innovation Newsletter• Innovation Award• R&D Fund

Innovation-Oriented Cultural: Future Thinking

Employee Contributions to Strategic Planning• Futures Committee

– Subject matter experts provide insights about future trends

• TEP Reports– Technical staff provide current trends in

services, technology, regulatory trends

• Market Scans– Account Directors provide understanding

of shifts in client expectations

Innovation-Oriented Cultural: Improvement

• CI Steering Committee• CI Luncheons• CIdeas• CI Teams• Standing Teams

– PM Steering Committee– CAD Steering Committee– GIS Steering Committee

Market-Oriented Cultural Profile

• Value Drivers– Customer Focus– Competition– Accountability– Market Share

• TheoryGain organizational effectiveness thru customer focus and competition

Market-Oriented Cultural: Customer Focus

• Hedgehog Concept– In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins told a

story about a fox and hedgehog. Despite the fox’s attacks, the hedgehog consistently survived, even thrived, by doing one thing – rolling into a ball of spikes.

• Our Hedgehog, our one thing…Be the very best at client service, resulting in long-term mutually beneficial relationships

Market-Oriented Cultural: Competitive

• Core Competencies– Understanding client needs– Being the technical experts– Exhibiting ethical behavior– Being a trusted advisor

• Competitive advantages in the marketplace

Market-Oriented Culture: Accountability

• Bi-monthly President’s Reviews– Project-level reviews

• Annual Performance Reviews– Individual’s goals tied to firms’ goals

• Performance Portals– Performance for groups,

projects and employees

My Utilization

Market-Oriented Culture: Market Share

Overarching Goals• Stewardship of Resources• Integrated Services Delivery

– Across the project life cycle– Leveraging our multidisciplinary expertise

and that of our partners

Long-term Employee RelationshipsMoving Toward Our Desired Culture

Profile Perceived by EmployeesProfile Desired by ManagementEmployee Survey Aligned with Profile

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12100

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350

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500

550

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Number of Employees Employee Satisfaction

Long-Term Employee Relationships Employee Engagement

Emp Opinion Survey

FNI University

Individual Dev Plans

Career Ladders

Mentoring Program

Technical Coaching

Wellness Program

Leadership Training

Cultural Assessment

Sr. Leader Training

Long-term Employee Relationships:Being a Great Place to Work

• 2013 Best Companies to Work for in Texas• 2011 Best Place to Work for in the Coastal Bend Area• 2010 Best Midsize Firm to Work for in Dallas-Ft. Worth• 2009 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America • 2009 Top 10, Best Civil Engineering Firms to Work For Nationwide

Thank You