Hartford Business Journal

16 Hartford Business Journal • March 28, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com 16 Hartford Business Journal • March 28, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com BEST PL ACES TO WORK IN CT 2016 Shawmut partners seek to balance selves, others By Karen Sackowitz Special to the Hartford Business Journal E mployees at the North Haven offices of Shawmut Design and Construction have a good reason to put their all into the work they do. They own the company. In addition to yearly and spot-perfor- mance bonuses, every staff member can enroll in Shawmut's Employee Stock Owner- ship Program (ESOP) after they have been with the company for one year. An ESOP provides workers with an ownership stake, usually in the form of stock. At Shawmut, that translates into annual contributions of company shares to a personal retirement account. Those shares can average 12 percent of their annual salary, over and above 401(k) contributions. To date, 54 of Shawmut's Connecticut staff are ESOP participants. To bring in the best and brightest employ- ee-owners, Shawmut runs a construction management skills training program for recent engineering graduates looking to enter the construction industry. According to Ken Proscino, director of the company's Connecticut office, most participants in the program come with a four-year degree in some sort of engineering. Trainees go through a rigorous 36-month curriculum with rotations through project management, site supervision and estimating, paired with leadership devel- opment curriculum. "The training is extremely beneficial in that you become a more well-rounded employee, which helps tremendously with career develop - ment," said Josh Walk- er, a project manager who has been with Shawmut for eight years. "You spend one year learning each area of specialty before choosing a path, so you have a good understanding of how each of the groups interact on a project." Shawmut employees also are encouraged to participate in any one of the company's various community-service projects. "We work very hard on those efforts. Our main goal is giving back to the community," says Proscino. "We choose four or five efforts and stick with them through the year." In 2015, those efforts went toward the Ronald McDonald House in New Haven, Ham- den-based Special Olympics of Connecticut, Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Haven, and the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen in New Haven. Proscino says the impact of their hands- on work in the community is invaluable. "Volunteering gives us a sense of commu- nity and of helping others," Walker said. In addition to serving clients with collabora- tive pre- and post-construction services, virtual construction capabilities and safety practices, Shawmut also prioritizes green building prac- tices. Internally, this dedication has translated into the formation of a green-building commit- tee whose members have instituted office recy- cling and indoor air quality management. Proscino says the firm has also created a new initiative focused on work-life balance. Through the new program, staffers can create flexible arrangements to work from home, alternate work days, or switch hours in an effort to enjoy a life outside of work and reach that balance between dedication in the office and family or activity time. "The option of a flexible schedule is a huge benefit," said Walker. "I've been able to come in late and stay late, or to work from home if that's how I am more productive." n Shawmut employees volunteering at Habitat for Humanity during National Women Build Week. L ARGE COMPANY CATEGORY # B ES T P LA C ES TO W O R K I N C T 3 S h a w m u t D e s i g n a n d C o n s t r u c t i o n

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