Recruiting, developing, and retaining team members is the foundation of great organizations, but engagement is the firmament beneath the foundation. Understanding the importance of an engaged workforce, Haskell strives to create a culture focused on each team member’s success, future, well-being and connection to the organization and each other.
As its workforce doubled to more than 2,300 in the past five years, Haskell’s executive leadership recognized the need for a significant and intentional effort to maintain a strong connection with team members. Formation of the Learning, Development & Engagement (LD&E) team was a direct response to this need.
Today, Day 4 of Construction Inclusion Week, is dedicated to Workplace Culture. As the industry focuses this week on celebrating and amplifying awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), we focus on how establishing and maintaining a positive culture means everyone gets to experience an inclusive and respectful workplace.
At Haskell, we believe that recruiting, developing, and retaining team members is the foundation of great organizations, but engagement is the firmament beneath the foundation. Today, we look inside how we strive to maintain a strong workplace culture based on our core values of Team, Excellence, Service and Trust.
The company’s expansion aligned directly with its strategic roadmap, titled Haskell 2025, which calls for meaningful and profitable growth. So, too, does the development of its engagement efforts, which aim directly at the plan’s first strategic pillar, “Provide team members with the best job of their lives.”
“Team member engagement affects every aspect of the business from creating a strong company culture to delivering a top-tier client experience,” said Barbara Cotes, Manager of Team Member Engagement, “We are laser-focused on addressing the first pillar of Haskell 2025 and ensuring our team members are able to do quality work and contribute to Haskell’s overall success.”
Members of the engagement team have dedicated themselves to creating programming in direct response to team member feedback, including paths for team members to provide ideas and receive timely responses and resources that equip leaders to ensure their teams’ success. Current engagement survey feedback indicates that the approach is on the right track.
Measurement Informs Action
Using Gallup’s highly acclaimed platform, Haskell measures team member engagement with the Gallup Q12 survey annually and Pulse surveys at strategic intervals. Gallup provides comparative analysis and ranking based on survey data from around the globe. Ensuring that individual survey responses remain anonymous and that results are transparent to the company is a top priority. The LD&E team immediately releases the companywide data set and briefs leaders individually on Gallup ranking and analytics. Haskell’s engagement rate of 9:1 means it has nine engaged team members for every disengaged one. The industry average is 4:1. These results reflect intentional and focused approach to promoting a healthy workplace environment where employees feel trusted, seen and heard.
The engagement effort is rooted in Haskell’s Core Values of Team, Excellence, Service and Trust. In accordance with the value of serving, Haskell team members logged more than 45,000 volunteer hours for more than 300 organizations in the past year. Over that same period, nearly 200 team members have received promotions. The Engagement Team also oversees Haskell’s Best Places to Work Committees, which comprise representatives across more than 25 offices worldwide who recommend ideas and support activities to enhance the workplace experience through appreciation, communication, advocacy and camaraderie.
The Gallup survey results do more than keep score. They inform action. With the support of the engagement team, directors and managers analyze the ranking, interpret the data, and acknowledge the opportunities by creating Action Plans for areas needing improvement.
Travis Taylor, Vice President of Preconstruction Services, has experienced the benefits of strategic Action Plans in his team and appreciates Haskell’s effort to help team member development.
“The first step is to find where we are missing the mark and where opportunities differ for team members,” Taylor said. “The scores we’ve seen are good, but one of the lowest we saw was about receiving feedback from managers, so now we have created a guideline for our managers to deliberately touch base with employees every three months or so. This process allows us to keep ahead of the curve and better connect with those around us.”
Team, Excellence, Service and Trust
Haskell’s Core Values of Team, Excellence, Service and Trust are central to its engagement. Each quarter, it bestows three Living the Values Awards to team members nominated by their peers for their positive influences on their families, coworkers, company and communities.
Team members are encouraged to volunteer in their communities and have four paid hours per month for donating their time. Further, each of Haskell’s 25-plus offices organizes community service opportunities.
“Through service as a team, we can extend a feeling of who we are and create togetherness,” said Jim O’Leary, Chairman, CEO and President. “The Core Value of Service brings people together. Team members who may not work together, who may not even know each other, come together to do something meaningful.”
The example comes from the top. By the numbers, Haskell’s directors are the most engaged team members, and O’Leary and his Executive Leadership Team are regular participants.
The engagement team has implemented several programs and resources to ensure that standards are upheld companywide as it grows. The first step with engagement begins immediately with an accessible and interactive onboarding process and weekly sessions for new hires to meet each other and LD&E team members. Haskell’s New Hire Playbook ensures a consistent experience across all locations and provides a roadmap to ensure that the first 90 days go smoothly.
“Having grown so much in the past couple of years, it’s easy for the culture to go sideways,” Cotes said. “The way we onboard and have a roadmap set out for new hires, team members understand our commitment to their success here, and leaders can have meaningful conversations, which only further emphasizes our commitment to engagement.”
Driven by our core values of Team, Excellence, Service and Trust, Haskell is committed to expanding diversity and inclusion as it procures supplies and services. Contact us to become one of our trusted partners as we Create Things That Matter.
