3 Industry Veterans on Effective Employee Retention

Karly O’Brien

Estimator Structure Tone, New York

For starters, I work with amazing people. We all constantly feed off one another, and everyone is always willing to help. There’s always someone to learn from, too, no matter what his/her position is in the company. There is a constant focus on challenging one another, which is one of the main reason I enjoy working for the firm.

Structure Tone has done a great job of pushing me out of my comfort zone, which has helped my personal and professional development. Specifically, I’ve had the opportunity to help launch a Women in Construction group at Structure Tone to support and empower women in our industry and create a more diverse construction community.

Finally, Structure Tone has opened up company ownership to employees in the last year. Now, as a shareholder myself, I am literally invested in our success, which is both exciting and motivating.

Scott Keenan

Superintendent PCL Construction, Denver

I’ve worked for PCL Construction for nearly 12 years, and the incentives I value most are the company’s employee-ownership model, the culture of giving and the opportunities available to me that help further my career.

Being an employee-owner of the company gives my day-to-day more value. I appreciate that I—along with my team—have the freedom, responsibility and power to hold each other accountable, ensuring we produce the best products not only for ourselves, but also our clients.

PCL also prides itself on giving back to the communities in which we work, and it is this culture of giving that is embraced by our top leaders and inspires each employee to always do more. Additionally, PCL’s approach to professional development is refreshing, as we are encouraged to never stop learning, growing and finding ways to enhance our careers.

Gloria Cook, CRIS

Pre-Qualification and Subcontractor Insurance Specialist Robins & Morton, Birmingham

In the past 19 years at Robins & Morton, I’ve worked on a jobsite as an administrative assistant, in the corporate setting as an operations assistant, and in the risk management department. Each of these positions has given me the opportunity to grow and see firsthand how each person works to perform a top-notch job daily, which is in alignment with our culture of integrity.

Each year, Robins & Morton offers training in all aspects of construction, including risk management, safety, project management, sustainability, leadership and innovation. In the R&M Way course, all new hires engage with key people from our organization and learn about Robins & Morton’s history and culture.

Through our Building Forward initiative, we are able to disseminate lessons learned to the organization in a rapid manner by utilizing an e-forum setting with strategic groups comprised of personnel from various projects, positions and states—an invaluable collaboration.