Engineering Inc. - November/December 2008 - (Page 21)

I Mandel and others point to the nation’s infrastructure as the “big question mark.” With the current “trust fund” financing model faltering because higher oil prices have forced Americans to cut back on their gas consumption, Congress and the new administration must find a way to fund sorely needed infrastructure projects across the country. “Infrastructure is, at this point, a political question more than an economic question,” Mandel says. It’s an issue that could determine whether bridges, tunnels, roadways and other improvement projects get off the ground. “It’s one thing to pave potholes, but it’s entirely another to build new bridges,” notes Mandel. Strategic and Proactive t’s all about possessing the agility required to deal with fluctuations in business since the economy is a constantly moving target. chuck leichner arcadiS Trying to predict which direction the economy will turn is at best an educated guess. What executives at engineering firms can control is how they approach economic swings and how they run their business— during a downturn, but also over the long haul. “It’s best to build a business plan that deals with various scenarios and problems before they arise,” says Ray Kogan, president of Kogan & Company, a McLean, Va.–based consulting firm. Engineering firms are no strangers to boom and bust cycles. Depending on the sector, public and private spending fluctuates dramatically based on an array of factors, including consumer confidence, tax revenues and actual contracts. Although there’s no single way to best deal with this reality, the common denominator for engineering and design firms is that a strategic and proactive approach is essential. Organizations that use the downturn as an opportunity to adapt and adjust are far more likely to emerge healthier and stronger. This is an approach that SSR’s Barrick knows well. Over the years, he has built a diversified, multidisciplinary firm that touches several engineering sectors, including health care, transportation, water and sewer and sports stadiums. In 2008, Barrick says, his company’s revenues grew by a hefty 18 percent, despite a softening economy. In fact, the 530-person firm has maintained a steady 15-month backlog of projects. “We haven’t seen any slide yet, though we are concerned about the state of the industry and how that affects business in 2009,” he says. Anthony Zuena, president and CEO of SEA Consultants, a six-office, 180-employee Cambridge, Mass.–based firm that specializes in environmental engineering and architecture, has taken a more conservative approach. “We specifically set out to become as recession-resistant as possible by creating a balanced client base and a balanced portfolio,” he says. The company embraces a lean mentality and works to manage staffing and offices as efficiently as possible. Labor Pains In economic downturns, labor issues always come to the fore. ARCADIS, a design and engineering firm with $2 billion in annual sales and 13,500 employees worldwide, has focused on creating a highly flexible work force. “As one sector of the business shrinks, we move people over from another; in many cases, the talents are transferable,” explains Chuck Leichner, executive vice president of strategic development at ARCADIS, which is headquartered in the Netherlands with U.S. operations based in Denver. For example, engineers with expertise in water resources often are equipped to handle similar challenges in transportation or other infrastructure projects. Although some training or cross-functional experience is required, the transition is fairly seamless. “It’s all about possessing the agility required to deal with fluctuations in business since the economy is a constantly moving target,” says Leichner. The company also reassigns engineers and other professionals based on need. For example, ARCADIS has a large contingent of Dutch engineers assigned to a levee project in New Orleans. That makes sense—and maximizes dollars—because the largest levees in the world are in the Netherlands. Leichner says the approach also helps ARCADIS balance the effects of stronger and weaker economies in different regions. SEA has created a flexible work force by placing a heavy emphasis on training. The firm provides more than 40 hours of training per employee per year. It also taps recruiters to locate talent, and it has established an associate recruiting program. The combination has been extremely effective, Zuena says. “We’ve been able to build a diverse staff of architects, engineers, scientists and specialized experts. We’re able to provide a wide range of services to our clients and that has helped us deal with economic fluctuations.” Although SEA so far has experienced flat growth in 2008, it has maintained an 18-month backlog. “We’ve managed to avoid a decline, and we’re healthy,” explains Zuena. One benefit of the downturn, says SSR’s Barrick, is the growing pool of talent in the marketplace. “Either because other firms are laying off or because they’re hiring less, we’re able to take advantage in selective situations,” says Barrick. The key word is “selective,” says Kogan. “Many firms have gone from a mind-set of recruiting like gangbusters and trying to poach talent from across the street to shedding workers at all costs,” he explains. Such reactionary thinking can lead to problems. In some cases, organizations trim talent and costs from the lower rungs of the organization, while neglecting to examine the value and contributions of far more expensive senior-level employees. A single highlevel executive might represent the cost of 15 or 20 engineers. NovEmbER / DECEmbER 2008 ENGINEERING INC. 21

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Engineering Inc. - September/October 2008 Contents From ACEC to You News & Notes Market Watch Legislative Action Engineering Goes Back to School Winning the Talent War Mastering A Hard-Luck Economy Education Makes the Grade in Green Construction 2008 Young Professionals of the Year 2008 Fall Conference Highlights Technology Members in the News One On One

Engineering Inc. - November/December 2008

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