该公司于1965年开始从事家庭业务近50年后，工程和规划公司Pond and Co.决定是时候通过迅速扩大其员工而发展的了。随着整个行业需求高的工程人才，将员工大约翻倍的目标确实是雄心勃勃的。

In 2014, Pond and Co.’s full-time staff numbered 260—a modest number given the fact that the diversified firm had business throughout Georgia as well as across the Southeast and, to a lesser degree, the rest of the country. The Peachtree Corners, Ga.-based firm had long established its bona fides by delivering a range of design and planning services, including assignments related to transportation, structural, environmental, life safety, MEP, fueling systems and civil and site engineering projects.

But Pond saw plenty of business opportunity ahead for design firms with the resources and talent to meet the demand. So leadership set a goal of reaching a total of 520 employees—doubling the number of staff—by the year 2020. Launched on July 1, 2014, Pond met its the ambitious target well ahead of schedule, achieving it by June 2017.

The reason was not just to grow revenue, says Jeff Meier, chief operating officer. Instead, he says, “It’s to create opportunity for all of our staff” and to build high-performance teams.

The growth initiative, dubbed 520x2020, accelerated Pond’s professional growth, says Erik Grandowski, vice president of marketing and communication.

“Doubling the firm takes leadership on all levels,” he says, adding that the initiative “provided a record number of promotions and internal advancement within Pond.”

Explains Meier: “Great people are going to want to come to great companies. And great people are also going to want opportunities. That’s the main reason we’re really committed to the growth.”

Meier and other Pond leaders can use the term “great” when referring to their firm with some justification. The company has garnered national recognition from Zweig-White’s “Best Places to Work” program. And, for the past two years (2017 and 2018), was named Georgia Engineering Employer of the Year by the Georgia chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).

Michael Sullivan, president of the Georgia ACEC, sees Pond’s growth as a direct result of its efforts related to its workplace culture.

“I think there’s a direct connection between the kind of culture that they’ve built and the bottom-line business success and growth that they’ve experienced,” he says. With the industry’s keen competition for engineering talent, Sullivan adds: “Culture can make all the difference.”

In recognition of its efforts to grow and develop its own workforce to deliver improved results, ENR Southeast recognizes Pond as its Southeast Design Firm of the Year.

Company Growth

池塘aerospac列出了其主要的重点领域e/aviation; architecture/interiors; community development; defense; energy; facilities engineering; and transportation. The firm also acts as a construction manager, mostly for certain projects where it is already performing design or inspection work.

The energy sector has been one of Pond’s most “dynamic” over the last decade, says Lorraine Green, executive vice president and group leader.

她说，该公司在该领域的工作“由于我们的客户而变形”。“我们只是根据客户的要求继续扩展我们的服务。现在，我们几乎是一站式商店。”

Working on pipelines and facilities in both the natural gas and liquids markets, the firm’s energy-sector services can include process engineering, coating design and inspection of new facilities as well as mechanical integrity inspections for existing ones.

属于池塘能源18luck官网保护伞的其他项目包括用于军事和商业所有者的航空加油系统以及各种市场的侵蚀控制。格林补充说，从地理上讲，庞德的能源工作包括欧洲，太平洋和中东的项目。18luck官网

其他不断增长的市场包括运输和社区发展，例如，包括公园和小径。

Transportation projects run the gamut from interstate projects to roundabouts and other, “traffic-calming” designs. Ron Osterloh, senior vice president, says a focus on local municipalities also led to an expansion of services.

领导这两个细分市场的Osterloh表示，为了应对许多城市和县面临的人员限制，该公司扩大了其针对运输和社区发展项目的计划服务。18luck官网

“There are a lot of local municipalities that just can’t handle their work load, so we do plan reviews for them, or inspections, and serve as that value-added resource,” he says. “It helps maximize their money, and it helps us understand the project before it gets to the design phase.”

最近获得行业荣誉的相关项目是乔治亚州梅布雷顿（Mableton），该项目获得了ACEC佐治亚州的设计功绩奖。在这里，该公司集成了道路工程，以及交通工程，景观建筑和照明设计的异常方法，以便将Mableton未充分利用的部分改造成城镇广场。

该项目介绍了Mableton重建区的计划，该计划在接受该奖项时表示，景观建筑总监Matt Wilder表示，在接受该奖项时说，“居民能够在繁荣的社区中优雅地老化”的社区。

Another award-winning project reflecting Pond’s community-development practice is the 15-mile Big Creek Greenway project in Forsyth County, Ga. The last phase of that multiyear project is currently under construction, Osterloh says.

去上学

A specific driver behind Pond’s performance and growth is the emphasis on creating high-performance teams, says Tony Parker, president and CEO. At the center of that effort is Pond University, an initiative started about six years ago aimed at improving the leadership and relationship skills of a select group of emerging company leaders. It’s a major effort, with the company estimating that it invests roughly $1 million developing Pond U.’s annual class of roughly 20-24 “students,” who come from a range of positions. Company executives take turns leading two-day, offsite sessions held every other month, with an early focus on each individual’s potential “derailment” issues.

“If you’ve got some character flaws or issues in your personality that cause the team to not operate as effectively as they should, you have to be aware of those things, which (can be) very unnerving,” Parker explains. “It’s all about building trust, and that’s essential to having a high-performance team.”

人力资源总监Pam Gower补充说：“我们实际上是关于组织中的关系，这确实始于我们彼此之间的关系。”

The educational initiative appears to be producing the intended results. Kathryn Masters, director of airside/landside/cargo, planning and development at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, says the Pond team—which is partnered with Michael Baker International as engineer of record for civil projects—provides “a level of collaboration you don’t always get” from other firms. Pond has been serving in this role for approximately 10 years.

“As an owner, we have a strong opinion about how we think things should be done,” Masters says, adding that Pond does “a good job of listening to that and respecting that, but also being willing to come in with their own ideas.”

Of the Pond-Michael Baker team, Masters adds, “They do good work, they’re responsive and they communicate well.”

Sullivan with ACEC Georgia says Pond University is “one of the leading internal leadership and business development programs” among the association’s member firms.

The difference between Pond U. and other, similar programs, Sullivan believes, is that Pond’s initiative is “part of a much larger, broader, deeper commitment to building a culture of inclusiveness (and) valuing employee perspectives.”

While the program itself stands out, Sullivan adds, “It’s that larger culture that Pond has created that is the real key” to its growth.

池塘目前的年增长率为20％，梅尔（Meier）表示“为我们正在雇用的伟大人物创造机会。”

他补充说：“这在发展公司正在挑战，但我们使它变得有趣。”