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24 Hartford Business Journal • March 23, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com Best Places To Work In CT 2015 Consigli Construction keeps employees passionate By John Lahtinen Special to the Hartford Business Journal N ow in its second century of operation and led by the fourth generation of family owners, Consigli Construction remains vigilant, building upon the legacy of the Consigli name through its ever-growing construction management and general con- tracting business serving academic, health care, institutional, corporate, life sciences, landmark restoration, and federal clients throughout New England and beyond. "We are passionate about the work we do, and we are passionate about the people who do it and the service we provide," said Michael Walker, area manager for Consigli's Hartford office, which houses 37 of the company's 635 employees. "We are a hard-working group of individuals with different talents who work together as a team to go above and beyond expectations for our clients." Consigli generated $725 million in rev- enue last year and hired 286 employees in its offices in Hartford, Portland, Me., Boston, Milford, Mass., and Williamstown, Mass. In the past year, in addition to two new jobs with new client Yale New Haven Health Systems – the Yale-New Haven Hospital Old Saybrook medical office building and the Fitkin restoration project – Consigli broke ground on the 87,000-square-foot Sandy Hook School in October in Newtown. The new $50 million state-of-the-art elementary school will accommodate more than 500 students and include three class- room wings, two of which are two stories that overlook central courtyards. Consigli works hard at making sure its employees are well taken care of, Walker said. Once a person is hired and joins the Consigli team, they can expect to take part in group Paint Nites, chili-making contests, golf out- ings, ski and fishing trips, and rope climbs. "I have 36 other people whose career and life and family are tied to the hip to what we do here," Walker said. "I love the people. We restore and bring historic places back to life for generations to come and create new spaces where people can live, learn, work, and play." Perhaps the most highly-anticipated event each year for Consigli's team is its annual meeting, an offsite retreat for all employees to review the work, measurements, and metrics of the past year and plan for the future. The meeting provides an opportunity for people from different offices, working on different projects, to get together and socialize. Awards are given to employees to mark specific achievements and to project teams representing the firm's best work. Shortly after Andrew Jennings joined the company as a project manager, he recalls being placed in a peer group, so employees spend time together outside of work. "The best activity we did was a ropes course," Jennings said. "We spent the afternoon on the mountain doing different courses. It was fun to be together and take on the challenges as a team. Interestingly, I got to know another project man- ager well at the course and, sure enough, two months later we were on a project together. We had already developed a friendship and learned about our common interests and were able to get right into the project as a team." Each year, Consigli University offers its employees in excess of 5,500 hours of training through more than 130 classes, teaching inter- personal and technical skills. If a subject isn't offered in-house, employees can take advantage of the company's tuition reimbursement pro- gram for job-related classes outside of the office. "Due to our team-oriented culture, Consigli has a corporate competitive drive unlike any other firm I have worked with," said Joshua Syl- vester, a preconstruction manager. "It is clear that Consigli understands the benefit of pursu- ing the best in our field, and then providing a level of training and development that prevents employees from becoming complacent." ◆ The Consigli Construction team and their families at the company's Paint Nite 2014. Large Company Category