McMillen Engineering has been blessed with many long-term employees whose employment has exceeded ten, twenty and even thirty years. We hope that this has resulted from our family-type culture (as opposed to a strict business culture) and that it generally indicates employee satisfaction.
In a recent article “How to Build a Great Company Culture,” Claude Silver said “… culture is the ‘heartbeat’ of a company. It’s something that lights up the entire system. If a company has great culture, it can be the backbone of their success.” At the outset over forty years ago we wanted to establish a culture at McMillen Engineering that was different from the cultures of other engineering companies. We realized then, and still realize today, that work needs to be done efficiently and timely, but with a sense of pride in a job well done. Our intent is to lead without ego and, instead, instill empathy and kindness among our people. We work by a set of values consistent with ethics and professionalism expected of an engineering company desiring to lead, not follow.
I believe our long-term employees have adopted the culture we hoped to establish. Our long-term employees provide benefits that are the foundation of the company’s success. They reflect a stable work environment, which improves morale.
Clients often ask about our workforce when considering hiring us for a potential project. What they really want to know is whether we have a stable work environment. They want reassurance that their project maintains consistency throughout. In addition, they understand that a stable workforce improves morale, and increases performance. Our long-term employees provide this assurance, which increases client loyalty.
Within the company the long-term employees provide a solid knowledge base and understanding of the company culture, products and services. Years of service produce institutional knowledge and wisdom, which automatically translates into the quality of the finished project. The institutional knowledge and wisdom is an invaluable support system to new and younger employees.
Our long-term employees are seen as professional, knowledgeable and a credit to our profession, which produces confidence to our clients, owners and project municipal review Boards. All of this is an obvious benefit to the daily and long term success of McMillen Engineering.
A common characteristic of long-time employees appears to be a balanced life keeping faith, family and work in a healthy balance. Each of these areas may become a priority at a given time, but long-term employees keep an eye toward returning to the balanced life when possible. As employers we should not only allow the employee balanced life but should foster it as well.
Two months from now (in September 2023) McMillen Engineering will be celebrating its forty-sixth anniversary. From our beginning, the long-term employees have embraced and cultivated the culture and ensured that the new hires developed in the same way.
We are grateful to the employees who have already dedicated many years of service to the company, and we look forward to continuing to offer the same level of family-type culture to our employees for many years to come.
McMillen Engineering is a full service civil engineering and land surveying firm located in the Fayette County Business Park in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. It is the mission of McMillen Engineering, Inc. to contribute toward the advancement of the civil engineering and land surveying fields by providing quality engineering, surveying, and technical services to our clients in an efficient manner while promoting a work environment that offers opportunities for our employees to thrive both professionally and personally. For additional information about our civil engineering and land surveying services, visit mcmilleng.com/services or give us a call at 724.439.8110.