Family Album

A Talent Magnet
By: Jan Kraemer

World Class… Best Place To Work… Employer of Choice… are they just buzz words or do they describe any company you know? Do they describe McCarthy? Over the 19 months since joining McCarthy, I've been a sponge: listening, reading and talking with McCarthy Dudes and Dudettes from all over. In re-reading some of Mike Bolen's past McCurrents articles, it's clear — if you're paying attention — that he's painting a picture of our future:

“The sole purpose of any business, McCarthy included, is to create and keep customers.”

“Genuine Vision: To be successful we must make certain that each of you gets better.”

“Genuine Partners: What it means is that we are all now working for each other.”

Hopefully you see a connection between Mike's statements and the recently announced McCarthy Company Goals. I know I do. They sound like marching orders because they all point ahead, to our Vision: “To be The Best Building Company in America.”

What does all this have to do with HR? Both nothing and everything. It has little to do with Human Resources {the department} and everything to do with human resources {the people}. My mandate is to develop 'state of the art' human resources for McCarthy. What does that mean? First, it means McCarthy must be a Magnet, attracting and holding on to 'the best' talent. It means expanding that talent at every level of the company, and growing the best Leader-Manager-Coaches. It means creating an Ownership Culture where everyone understands how we make money and feels personally responsible for making themselves, and McCarthy, even better.

Overall, it's about being a company that enables each of us to be our best, and equips us for learning, growth and change. Those are the requirements for being The Employer of Choice, not only in the construction industry but in any industry. Are we up to it? I believe we are, but more importantly, you have to believe we are — it will require the commitment of every McCarthy employee-owner.

So, how do we get started? Fact is, we already have. First, we've put HR into the employment business. Peggy Lynas and Harry Steen are now supporting Division and Corporate department management in their most important task: attracting and selecting the talent we need to achieve our business goals. To make McCarthy the magnet that attracts the best people we must select people carefully — even 'the best' may not fit our culture and our needs.

Next, we're tackling the performance review process. The new McCarthy Performance Plan addresses both current job performance and future learning and growth (development). It's a pretty simple and common sense process. In fact, it's modeled after our project management process, so it should also be familiar to you.

The new review cycle will be based on employee anniversary date rather than fiscal year end. Those who review others will attend a 1/2 day training workshop before starting the new process, and complete information will be available to all Employees on the McCarthy Intranet. Following a pilot this fall in two Divisions, we anticipate full rollout early next year.

What else is on the 'state of the art' menu? Some pretty big things, including…

• identifying ways to make McCarthy a Talent Magnet;
• growing the talent we have;
• creating an Ownership Culture;
• improving employee benefit communication and education;
• integrating new people into the McCarthy culture more quickly;
• …and more! Stay tuned.

I'll conclude with a couple of personal notes about things we already do right. Many of you have been around McCarthy for a long time, but I've worked for several companies and know McCarthy is different. A simple example is that I saved over $1100 on my share of the medical insurance premium; McCarthy pays a much larger portion than most employers. I also love being associated with a company that wants to be The Best.

Shortly after I joined the company, I was talking with someone about 'family' — the word so many long-time people use to describe McCarthy. I asked him to be more specific: “People at McCarthy help each other succeed.” Well, there it is… the essence of the kind of company where everyone would want to work!

But, are we there yet — really? What does being 'The Best Place To Work' mean to you? How do we get there? I welcome your creative thoughts and ideas — visit “The Best Place To Work” on the McCarthy Intranet and record your comments.

In the meantime, we'll keep working on building that Talent Magnet and becoming The Employer of Choice… The Best Place To Work.

To again quote our fearless leader, “Fasten your seat belts, partners!” I'm looking forward to the ride — hope you are as well.