What is the value of your workforce?
A 2016 Conference Board of Canada study exploring the value of employee engagement – increased productivity, decreased turnover and improved business results – might have taken a page from Surrey’s McElhanney Consulting playbook.
Among the factors most influential on workplace engagement: interesting and challenging work, professional and personal growth, acknowledgement and recognition, autonomy, relationships with co-workers and manager, and confidence in senior leadership.
They’re concepts embraced by one of Surrey’s most celebrated engineering companies, with projects touching every corner of the municipality, from the parks where you play to the streets you drive, notes Paul Deol, branch manager. What makes the McElhanney’s community not only work, but thrive?
1. Mentoring. Whether through student placements or hiring of recent grads, “One of the things we’re most proud of is the level of mentoring we offer to our young engineers,” says Chris Newcomb, vice-president.
2. Growth. Closely connected with mentorship is the opportunity for professional growth and ongoing education. “Our employees have a lot of freedom to pursue their dreams. If a young person wants to take a course or go to a conference, we don’t say ‘No’ a lot.” The one stipulation? “When they come back, they share what they have learned.”
3. Interesting work. Engineers or students enjoy hands-on experience in their field, industry-leading technology and processes, and ongoing education and development.
4. Community. “We’re always encouraging our young professionals to look beyond the role of engineer and consider the role of everyone in society,” Newcomb says. Employees are encouraged to join McElhanney in its community initiatives, including tree planting and the creation of a playground at Surrey Memorial Children’s Hospital’s paediatric wing, and in turn McElhanney supports staff in their community initiatives. Involvement in peer associations is also encouraged and supported.
5. Local work, with a global reach. McElhanney’s Surrey branch marks 50 years of showing young engineers that challenging and rewarding opportunities are possible right here at home. At the same time, the Vancouver-grown company has projects world-wide.
6. Value. “We realized many years ago that our future lies in our young people. We want to hire great people from the get-go.” That means ensuring staff have the resources and quality equipment to get the job done and the support to grow in their careers.
7. Recognition. McElhanney Consulting has earned a variety of awards for its work – the Port Mann Bridge Deconstruction Project is among the most recent – but recognition locally and nationally for its individual engineers is also a most welcome common event.
Learn more about McElhanney Consulting’s career opportunities at mcelhanney.com.