Hire and develop the right people
Having the right people in place can help you get through growth
with minimal problems, and in EQM’s case, deal with emotionally
and physically exhausting projects.
“The stronger an individual is, the more likely that they will be successful with customers and sell themselves more, so their value and
contribution is more apparent,” Greber says. “The better job we do
in identifying the right people, bringing them in and integrating them,
then the better they’ll perform, the more work we’ll get and the less
turnover we’ll have.”
Greber looks for people who are flexible and have character, integrity, loyalty and dedication.
“Technical talents and skills are essential, but if you don’t have
some of those other features first, you will not be effective,” Greber
says.
You get a sense for these qualities during an interview by asking
direct but discreet questions about the candidate’s work experience
and personal working habits and styles.
“You don’t ask someone, ‘Do you have high integrity?’ but you get a
sense of those things, and experience is valuable,” Greber says. “For
loyalty, look at an individual’s work history and interpersonal skills of
working in a team environment. If someone seems to be introverted
and independent, they may not be loyal to a business or the common
cause.”
Once hired, EQM has a mentoring and training program to help
integrate employees into the company.
“Every employee has one or two mentors, and then we have classroom and on-the-job training,” Greber says. “We believe a lot in training and that it can improve an individual’s capabilities and performance.”
He has found that these programs help teach employees the nec-
essary skills and help them better understand their job responsibilities and company expectations.
“It makes the individual feel more comfortable in their job,” he
says. “They are more confident in themselves, which makes them
more effective and productive. Through good mentoring, individuals become part of the team as opposed to being shoved off into a
cube. Training does the same thing and makes them a better professional with more qualifications and more valuable to the customers.”
Once you have the right people, you have to make sure you are
working to keep them. Support and recognition are important keys
to keeping people at your company.
“I make certain that I do not allow the magnitude of the events to
keep me from giving people recognition for their hard efforts and
important work,” Greber says.
Recognition can be as simple as an e-mail or a more formal note or
visit.
“Make certain you recognize that person face to face and provide
awards for performance and dedication,” he says. “On the Katrina
and Rita response, we had so many people involved, who did such a
good job, I made sure they were constantly recognized through e-mails, phone calls, personal visits and companywide newsletters.”
EQM has also established an annual awards ceremony called the
Pillars of Excellence, where employees who have contributed to the
excellence and quality of the company are recognized.
Recognizing employees makes them feel valued in their jobs and
makes them more willing to work through those growth spikes for
the betterment of the organization.
“It energizes them and makes them feel important,” Greber says.
“They’re more willing to support the project and customer, and it creates a culture of everyone’s important and everyone’s hard work is
genuinely appreciated. It creates a good atmosphere and high morale,
and it carries over into the industry.”
