Who we are is backed by what we do. In December 2024, we released an independently run engagement survey to all 350+ Wright-Pierce employees. The purpose of this survey was to gauge employee satisfaction and to determine what areas we could improve upon as a company as we continue to embody our mission of delivering technical excellence and superior client service to communities across the Northeast and Southeast.
A growth mindset is as crucial to businesses as it is to individuals, and recognizing areas of opportunity is just as important as celebrating areas of success. In this spirit, we present the findings of our first company-wide employee engagement survey.
The Results
The results of the survey were overwhelmingly positive, with 94% of employees likely to recommend Wright-Pierce as a place to work. This is 13 percentage points above the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry average—just over best in class—and highlights our commitment to fostering a workplace environment that balances life and work.
In addition to being a recommended workplace, Wright-Pierce also received high marks throughout the survey. This included additional top-performing areas such as high morale and enthusiasm, opportunities for socialization and celebration of special events, treatment of individuals with respect, work/life balance, and commitment to the organization as a career opportunity. Areas of opportunity include enhanced benefits, increased recognition, and enhancement to performance appraisals. Each of these areas is addressed as part of the next steps described below.
Why Employee Engagement Matters
Our values statement is PIECES: People, Integrity, Excellence, Collaboration, Environment, and Service. There is a reason that our values begin with “People.” Checking in with our most important component, our people, is critical to the company’s success. Only once we’ve created a thoughtful working environment for our staff can we begin to touch on the other components of our values statement and deliver on our vision to set the standard for infrastructure engineering.
The measure of our success is how we treat each other. This engagement survey and the practices we put in place because of it help us hold ourselves accountable to our values.
Next Steps
The survey is just the first step in our efforts to promote continued engagement and to ensure our employees continue to be seen, heard, and recognized as they complete their important work. Leadership has already taken steps to promote employee engagement. These steps have included performance-based, company-wide holiday time off for a week in December 2024; increased employee 401K benefits with deferred compensation company match; the introduction of an additional paid holiday; and additional time off.
Our survey results have been shared as part of a company-wide meeting, and the leadership team is working on a more detailed action plan to prepare and implement additional next steps. These action items will be implemented across all levels and departments.
We look forward to continued growth and opportunity.
– Paul