Heath Construction ready to Go Vertical! with training

In construction parlance, a project is ready to “go vertical” when a solid foundation has been laid and the structural skeleton can begin to take shape.

At Heath Construction, Go Vertical! is also the name of an innovative employee career development program. The Fort Collins company enables all employees to grow along clearly defined career paths to enhance their knowledge, skills and abilities within the company – and for their personal, long-term careers.

Heath President Randy DeMario has been working since May with local consultant Mary Siebe to define specific competencies needed for each position in the company and determine the most effective training to develop those competencies – be it in-house classes, outside seminars or one-on-one mentoring.

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Go Vertical! then provides that training to each employee on the company’s time and dime. Employees are evaluated and rewarded based on their accomplishments as an incentive to continue to take an active role in their careers.

And if an employee decides to switch from one career track to another, the Go Vertical! system delays out the necessary steps and documents individual progress toward that goal.

Why invest so much money and effort into making employees potentially more employable by your competitors?

“It’s the right thing to do, for the company and for our people,” DeMario said.

It may also be the future of the construction industry. The top challenge facing the industry, according to unions, trade organizations and the federal government, is a chronic lack of employees in the face of increasing demand.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1 million new construction jobs will be created between 2002 and 2012, bringing total employment to 7.8 million -a 15 percent growth rate – and ranking construction among the nation’s top 10 sources of new jobs.

It’s not the pay that keeps people away. Armed with only a high-school diploma, a person just starting out in construction can make almost three times the hourly wage of his or her burger-flipping peers, or up to $15-an-hour. Add vocational training and an apprenticeship, and by the time high school classmates start paying off college loans, those in skilled construction trades can be closing in on $40,000 to $50,000 a year, according to the BLS.

It’s not for lack of interest, either. Enrollment in Colorado State University’s Construction Management program has jumped from 264 in Fall 2002 to 916 this year, with about 100 percent placement for graduates.

Turnover in the industry has traditionally been high, about 29 percent last year, surpassed only by food service and hospitality, well above the 23 percent average for all private industry. With direct and indirect costs of replacing a single employee estimated at about $15,000, companies have a strong financial incentive to attract and retain workers.

New generation of workers

For companies like Heath, which works on projects ranging from simple tenant finishes to multimillion dollar commercial complexes, that means offering a work environment more attractive to younger workers – the so-called Millennial Generation, the largest since the rapidly retiring baby boomers.

The new generation of workers look for jobs at specific companies, where they expect to continue learning, and they value flexibility that allows time for family and outside interests.

“Their families are a part of who our people are,´ said DeMario, whose two children are involved in sports programs. “We know them all. They are included in company functions, we send the company newsletter home, and if an employee wants to take time off to coach a soccer team, we trust them to get their work done. It would be a real loss to miss that family time.”

This family-oriented approach is not really new, according to DeMario, who gives credit to company founder Bob Heath for establishing the corporate culture 30 years ago. In fact, some current employees have been working for Heath for more than two decades.

 DeMario purchased the company from Heath in 1992, but defines his role mostly as “making sure everyone has work tomorrow.” Staff has the option to purchase stock in the company within a year of becoming part of management, and there are now 24 stockholders.

Employer of choice

What is new is the company’s image campaign to raise its profile among the general public as well as prospective clients and employees. Fort Collins-based Condit Communications designed billboards and newspaper ads featuring key employees talking about why Heath is their employer of choice.

The company recently won an ACE Award from the Colorado chapter of the Association of General Contractors for the brand-building campaign, which has doubled the number of contacts from prospective clients and resulted in a projected 71 percent increase in annual gross revenues.

“It’s a competitive industry and we need to grow,´ said DeMario, who has seen his company nearly double in size in the past year, from 45 to 75 employees. “But we’re only going to if we have the best people. We want to be where the top people want to come to work, and create opportunities for them to stay here.”

And Go Vertical! is the obvious next step. It focuses on training, hiring, accountability and compensation.

Consultant Siebe explained there are six career paths defined in the program, based on a natural progression from specific entry points.

“The two key concepts are the ability to make lateral moves within the company, and tying compensation to accomplishment,” she explained. “You know exactly what is needed in each position, and you can see exactly how training is helping you in your career.”

Doing the right thing

Bob Papish has been a project superintendent for Heath for a year and a half. He has worked for various construction companies in Northern Colorado for 18 years, and said he couldn’t be happier where he is now. Well, maybe if some of his jobs weren’t going through some rough patches.

“But that’s what’s different about Heath,” Papish explained. “At other companies, if your numbers don’t work out or the deadlines slip, you’re going to get fired. Here, there isn’t that pressure. Randy really wants us to succeed, and doesn’t make it feel like your job’s in jeopardy.”

Another difference, according to Papish, is the relationship among the supervisors. Unlike the fierce internal competition between project managers elsewhere, “we all like each other and help each other out,” he said. “Everybody has different abilities and skill levels, and the company puts you where you’re going to be successful.”

Construction is still construction, and when he needs to be, Papish is at a worksite before dawn, or doing paperwork at midnight. But he can also take a few hours in the afternoon to watch his daughter’s softball championship playoff game. In fact, it’s almost mandatory.

“Randy really cares,” Papish said. “He takes the time to make us want to do our job better.”