2009 was a difficult year for most businesses and the engineering and design industry was no exception. Engineering News Record (ENR), the definitive publication for the architectural/engineering/construction industry, publishes an annual list of the nation's Top 500 design firms, and in 2009 more than 70% of those firms reported revenue declines.

Here at Woodard & Curran, we climbed 28 spots on ENR’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms, ranking 113 after coming in at 141 in 2009. This put us 82nd among the top 100 “pure design” firms, which includes only firms where a majority of revenue is engineering and design work. Both rankings are the highest ever for Woodard & Curran. And while industry-wide domestic revenue dropped 13%, or about $9 billion, for the industry, Woodard & Curran grew around 7% last year.

Why this difference? One reason is clear: our people have always understood that success in our industry is about exceeding client expectations. The fact that we are succeeding in a very difficult economic environment is because of the effort and dedication our people show to their clients on every single project, and that makes a big difference in good times and in bad.

Contributed by Doug McKeown

October marked the end of another round of college career fairs for Woodard & Curran. After revamping our recruiting efforts at these fairs in the fall of 2007, we narrowed down the list of schools we visit from the original 23, to 9 for fall 2008. This allowed us to focus on environmental-, engineering- and science-specific events.

The schools attended were: Cornell University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the University of Connecticut, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, the University of New Hampshire, Bristol Community College, the University of Rhode Island, and the University of Maine. At these schools, we have often met well-qualified intern and entry-level job candidates in the specialties that we seek to hire including chemical, industrial, manufacturing, civil, environmental, electrical engineering, and other sciences and technologies. 

Whenever possible, Woodard & Curran sends employees back to their alma maters to represent the firm. This gives the students and our representatives a shared experience, and leads to better connections.

Once we’re back from the career event, we review all resumes we collected, and match them up with appropriate job openings as they are available. These events are an excellent way for us to find interns and new employees who are focused on building a career in engineering, science, or operations, and for us to help students understand what this kind of career might be like.

Thanks to all the colleges and universities that hosted events this year. We are excited for another round of career events next fall!  For more information of current job openings, please visit our Career Center.

Contributed by our HR Team

On Monday, September 22^nd, Woodard & Curran held its 6^th University of Maine Open House event. This event is held annually to introduce University of Maine Engineering & Science Students to our firm and meet potential interns and full time employees.

With the help of past interns, and Woodard & Curran University of Maine graduates, we got the word out to students via posters, emails, online student profile announcement s, the career center, and University professors. This led to our highest attendance ever, with 67 students and a number of faculty members at the event!

The evening began with a 30 minute panel discussion. Students submitted questions ahead of time, and the panel was hand-selected in order to best address the questions.  After a couple of rounds, the floor was opened for questions from the audience. A lot of the questions revolved around what advice could be given to students to prepare them for life in the consulting world.

After the Panel Discussion, students and faculty moved into a reception area where they were able to enjoy appetizers and mingle with Woodard & Curran employees that were on hand. We provided information about our business, our internships, and our hiring process and open positions 

During the reception, speeches were given by Patty Counihan, Director of Career Services, Chet Rock, Associate Dean of Engineering, and Todd Saucier, Executive Director of the Alumni Association. Frank Woodard and Al Curran presented a $10,000 check to the Engineering Department as part of our ongoing effort to support the program.

Today, we have are proud to have a total of 56 UMaine Grads working at Woodard & Curran, not only in our Maine offices, but our New Hampshire, Dedham, MA, and Atlanta, GA offices as well.

Contributed by our HR Team

The staff at our Water Conserv-II facility have not experienced a lost-time injury in over 5,000 days, and were recently recognized for the 12th straight year by the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association for their outstanding safety record.

Obviously, a lot of hard work is behind this achievement: good work procedures; a well coordinated and experienced staff; site-specific training; and management support and dedication. In addition, a major factor in the success of their safety program lies in the commitment of the employees, and the pride they take in themselves and their workplace. The employees are passionate about their workplace, and they are passionate about improving their own health and safety environment.

One of the main building blocks of any successful safety program is strong employee involvement. If management engages employees in the development and implementation of the safety program – through soliciting suggestions, inclusion in decision-making, training, etc. – then employees will feel ownership in the program and a sense of personal responsibility to see it succeed.

Contributed by our Health & Safety Team

In 2007, Woodard & Curran revamped our college career fair schedule in order to target some of the most qualified students and graduates for internship and job opportunities. With the help of our marketing team and enthusiastic employees, we identified a wide variety of exceptional students to add to the Woodard & Curran team.

During the fall of 2007 and spring of 2008, we attended over 30 career-oriented events from the East coast, to the Mid-West, to the Southeast. More than 60 Woodard & Curran employees and interns attended these events in the hopes of meeting students in the fields of Chemical, Industrial, Manufacturing, Civil, Environmental, and Electrical Engineering as well as other sciences and specialties. From the many students we met and interviewed, we hired 15 interns and entry level employees for 2008.

In the Fall of 2008, we plan on attending eight campus events with the hopes of finding more great hires and interns in engineering, environmental science, and natural resource disciplines. Visit our Campus Events page to find out what schools we'll be visiting, or head to the Career Center to search job opportunities.

Contributed by our HR Team

There are a lot of theories and ideas around team building. Many have a magic number of steps or elements that “ensure” that teams are built with a strong foundation. But what is a team? How do they work? And what makes a team successful?

As Dr. Meredith Belbin has written, a team is a group with “a tendency to behave, contribute, and interrelate with others in a particular way.” This is a broad but very useful definition.

The patterns of behavior and characteristics of individuals on a team, in relation to one another, are crucial components of team building. Effective team building results from the exploration and practice of self awareness and self knowledge of the team and its individual members, and their ability to adjust to external pressures and influences.

At Woodard & Curran, we have many “teams”, including but not limited to project teams, client teams, sports teams, and traditional specialty service teams like Marketing or Accounting.

A successful team may look different to different people. The successful client team may be made up of a group of results-driven individuals, who are independent in their tasks and actions but measure results and progress as a group. The successful project team is likely made up of people with a wide range of personalities, skills, and tenure, with a team leader (project manager) measuring and directing group success.

No matter the look and feel of the team, Suzanne Willis Zoglio, Ph.D., writes that “to compete effectively, leaders must fashion a network of skilled employees who support each other in the achievement of corporate goals and the delivery of seamless service.” That mutual support is what we aim for in every team at Woodard & Curran, from the smallest project to the largest service line, and most importantly in the firm as a whole.

So here’s to the team – the forming, the evolving, and the high achieving. They all have a place in our organization, as we grow, develop, and evolve ourselves.

Contributed by our HR Team

ENR's 2008 list of the top 200 environmental firms has been released, and Woodard & Curran is ranked 90th, up 5 spots from 2007. Removing the equipment and construction firms from the list puts Woodard & Curran at #49.

The article that accompanies the list talks about the changing markets for environmental services, noting that international work appears to be on the rise for U.S. firms. Interestingly, despite the economic climate, “wet infrastructure” work (e.g., water and wastewater work) saw significant growth this year and is seen as an area of opportunity. Another area seen as a growing opportunity is water resources management. More and more, communities and companies are trying to plan for the future and be proactive about how they use resources.

On Thursday, June 5th, Woodard & Curran hosted its 2nd Annual Intern Day.  This is a day for Interns, Mentors, and Team Leaders to come together and discuss topics and issues that affect interns and their future career decisions. 

This year, we had 15 interns from 7 of our offices gather at our office in Portland, ME for a day of talks, panels, and discussions on a multitude of topics.  The agenda included:

• Doug McKeown, CEO, welcomed the interns and spoke about the opportunities at Woodard & Curran to follow either a technical track or a business track, or to pursue both.
• Helen Gordon, Vice President and Sr. Project Manager, shared her experience with Northeastern Co-op and what it is like working as a woman engineer in a predominantly male profession.
• Guy Vallaincourt, President, talked about the different types of career you can pursue with an engineering or science degree, including those in industry, government, and consulting.
• Tom Francoeur, Sr. Vice President and head of our Consulting Business, spoke about Woodard & Curran’s culture, and what makes us different from other firms.

Other highlights included:

• A panel of employees with one to eight years of experience who answered questions and discussed their internship experiences.
• Break-out sessions for mentors and interns to discuss what is and isn’t working for them.
• And of course, the ice cream truck! There’s nothing quite like a creamsicle to make people comfortable.

All and all it was a successful and informative event for both interns and mentors that will help us improve our internship program. We look forward to continuing this tradition next summer!

Contributed by our HR Team

In honor of Maine's Commute Another Way Week, Woodard & Curran challenged itself to take advantage of commuting options other than single occupancy vehicles. The effort showcased some simple ways to reduce the environmental impacts of getting to work.

Using modes ranging from foot- and pedal-power to telecommuting, car-pooling, and high-efficiency vehicles, more than 50 Woodard & Curran employees made their way to the office by alternative means.

Those 50+ people represent 16% of the offices participating, and together they saved 7% of all possible trips to and from their offices. Both numbers are up from last year, which was the first entire week devoted to alternative commuting – prior to 2007, the event was Commute Another Way Day. CAWW also coincides with National Bike to Work Week.

Two people turned in the longest people-powered trips, each making a 28-mile journey by bike, and one made his 5-mile trip by bike, foot, carpool, and telecommuted one day, logging the most different modes of all participants.

Together, Woodard & Curran’s CAWW challenge saved more than 2,000 vehicle-miles, and an estimated 109 gallons of fuel, and keeping more than a ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere. And that’s from a single week of concerted effort — think what could be accomplished in a year!

Thank you to all those who helped coordinate Woodard & Curran’s CAWW efforts, and to all the dedicated commuters who made it a success.

Contributed by the Sustainability Leadership Committee

As a forward-looking firm, we have made leadership development as a top priority.  To that end, we created a Pilot Leadership Development Program in the fall of 2007, and came up with our initial vision of what leadership development means for Woodard & Curran:

• Leadership can and should occur at all levels in the organization
• Ultimately, all training and development work should contain some components dedicated to nurturing the talents of leaders and recognizing strong leadership as a critical skill for the future of our firm.
• To ensure that Woodard & Curran has talented and versatile leaders ready to move this organization into the future and help to make it a great place to work.
• Leadership development is a mindset; it will become part of what we do every day.

Our Pilot Program includes two different groups to represent both the developing and emerging leaders.  The “developing leaders” generally have less than 10 years of experience, while the “emerging leaders” generally have more than 10 years of experience.

The overall goals of our pilot program are:

1. Relationship building;
2. Developing wider knowledge and understanding of the capabilities and talents of our future leaders;
3. Transferring of the principles and values of Woodard & Curran;
4. Building a better leadership pipeline through a formal strategy;
5. Developing a better understanding of the leadership opportunities available;
6. Establishing a talent pool from which to draw from for corporate initiatives and committee work;;
7. Creating a community of leaders;
8. Creating opportunities for leadership;
9. Recruiting new leaders;
10. Ensuring that the program is sustainable; and
11. Encouraging leadership outside of Woodard & Curran.

The success of the program is measured through one-on-one and group feedback, and by the accomplishments of the candidates and the actual promotion and retention of those in the program group.  The program also provides a forum for education, training, and experience-building for future leaders, and coaching opportunities from senior leaders.

With an orientation, immersion, and three successful sessions under our belt, we believe the program is a benefit to both participants and the firm.  We see it as a sustainable part of the growth and development of Woodard & Curran, and look forward to working with new groups of developing and emerging leaders in the fall of 2008.

Contributed by our HR Team

The clear skies and warmer temperatures are a good indication that summer is on its way, and with the change of season another group of interns arrives. We are looking forward to providing another summer of great experience for these students to take back to the classroom. We welcome their fresh minds and the ideas and enthusiasm that they will bring to each office they work in.

This summer we will host 13 interns and 1 Summer/Fall Co-op student.  They will sit in our Bangor, Portland, Dedham, Andover, Providence, and White Plains offices. In addition to an introduction to the company through “Intern Day,” they will go on field visits, learn about working in an office environment, and make a final presentation on the main project that they worked on over the summer. This real-world experience will help them to refine their technical and communication skills, and begin to teach them how to work with clients in a consulting setting.

We have currently filled all of our internship positions for 2008, but we always accept online applications through the Career Center section of our website.

Contributed by our HR Team

As of 2004, only 17.7% of engineering undergraduates in the U.S. were women, which is only a two percent increase from 1984. For many years, there have been efforts in the industry to encourage more women to choose engineering as a career. None of them have been very successful.

Engineering is a great field to work in. Engineers spend their careers serving the public, designing innovative solutions to complex problems, and, corny as it may sound, building the future of our country and the world. And yet, we have failed to draw enough young people into engineering to meet the need for engineering skills and knowledge.

Studies have suggested that women, and members of other groups underrepresented in engineering, would be more likely enter the profession if they saw more people like themselves in the industry. If this is true, then maybe the way to draw more women into engineering is to promote the accomplishments of women in the industry. That’s an important part why we created the Women’s Leadership Network at Woodard & Curran.

But it’s not the only reason. There are many, many talented women already working in engineering, and the WLN will be a resource for them in their careers. As our mission statement says, “The mission of the Women’s Leadership Network is to foster an environment at Woodard & Curran that values the diversity of women, encourages women to develop as leaders and integrates women in leadership positions within the company” The WLN is a way to share experiences, offer mentoring, and simply help women connect with other women in the company and industry.

We hope that the WLN will not only be a benefit to women working at Woodard & Curran today, but to those that join us in the future. And we hope that this process will raise awareness of the contributions of women working in engineering at Woodard & Curran and in the industry as a whole. In this way, maybe we will help to raise the percentage of women in engineering, until it someday reflects society more accurately.

Contributed by Helen Gorden, PE 

According to two recent studies, LEED-Certified and Energy Star rated buildings save significant energy relative to the national average and make sound investments.

One study, published by the CoStar Group, looked at LEED-certified and Energy Star buildings. It found that these green buildings demand a rent premium, have higher occupancy rates and lower operating costs, and achieve higher sale prices. Essentially, green buildings look like a better investment than non-green buildings.

The other study, conducted by the New Buildings Institute, found that the average LEED for New Construction building use 25-30% less energy than an average building. Ironically, it found that some certified buildings actually use more energy than the code baseline. According to the study, “Variation in results is likely to come from a number of sources, including differences in operational practices and schedules, equipment, construction changes and other issues not anticipated in the energy modeling process. More in-depth analysis of some of the best and worst performers could identify ways to eliminate the poorer outcomes and communicate lessons from the best results.”

Woodard & Curran’s new office expansion in Portland, ME was recently recognized as LEED Certified. When compared to older portions of the building Woodard & Curran also occupies, monthly utility bills in our LEED space show 10% less electricity usage, between 12% and 67% less natural gas usage (heating and cooling season, respectively), and 25% less water consumption.

Our experience confirms the findings of these studies, suggesting that green buildings will soon be the common-sense choice, whether or not states continue to mandate them.

Contributed by Barry Sheff, P.E.

Seth Godin, author of several books on work, change, and marketing in the information age, writes on his blog that “The passionate worker doesn't show up [to work] because she's afraid of getting in trouble, she shows up because [her job is] a hobby that pays.” He contrasts this with the attitude of the workaholic, who he says is motivated by fear.

I love this description of the passionate worker! I think it describes many of my colleagues here at Woodard & Curran. A big part of what inspires me about my work is the people I work with. I see passionate workers every day, people who love what the do and do it better as a result.

Contributed by Susan Dubuque, HR Director

Lauren and Laurel, a pair of engineers from our Maine offices recently represented Woodard & Curran at an event hosted by the non-profit Maine Engineering Promotion Council. The annual Engineering Expo brings practicing engineers and other people in the engineering industry together with young people from around the state. Despite a little New England weather, over 800 people attended the event.

Our hope was to connect with young people to show them how engineers are working to protect the environment and make the world a safer place. Using a two liter soda bottle, a coffee filter, a straw, a piece of paper towel, and some sand, Lauren and Laurel helped groups of youth build “landfills” and demonstrated the idea behind landfill liners.

Kids from 4 to 16 helped bury a piece of "trash" (a bit of paper towel with paint on it) in the "dirt" (sand), and then poured "rain" (water from a pitcher) on the landfill. They watched as the rain seeped through the dirt and trash and carried "contaminants" (paint) to the ground water, which in a real unlined landfill would eventually reach our rivers, lakes, and streams. Laurel then explained that, as engineers, we try to make things like landfills work better, and be more environmentally friendly. Lauren would then demonstrate this by helping the group model a better-designed landfill.

This time, the model included a "liner" (plastic bag) attached to a "pipe" (straw taped into a hole in the corner of the bag) that directed the contaminated water to a location where it could be treated. The students again buried a piece of painted "trash" and caused another rain event – and watched as this time, the contaminated water flowed through the straw to a treatment area, protecting the ground water.

As one parent said, "That's a message that will stay with them for a long time." We certainly hope that’s true, and that some of those same youth may have been inspired to become engineers some day.

For more information contact Barry Sheff, P.E.

Over the past 12 months, I have been attending the ACEC’s Senior Executive Institute, and one of the sessions was held at The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy institution in Washington, DC. Like many people, I have been frustrated with the inefficiencies in government, be they local, state, or national. That frustration has been somewhat fueled by the knowledge that a substantial portion of our business depends on the government process.

A significant take-away for me from The Brookings Institution session was an appreciation of the fact that the purpose of government is not so much to pass great laws, as it is to prevent bad laws from being passed. While this might sound like a minimal objective, it is at the heart of our political system, and depends on the public to voice their opinions to properly influence those decisions. Having realized that, I left with renewed belief in the importance – the responsibility – we all have to participate in our government. Like it our not, what our political leaders do depends on the extent to which we become involved at all levels. Now with an election season ahead, my frustration has turned to a greater focus on the issues and an obligation to understand.

This past fall, the House and Senate voted to override the President’s veto of a $23.2-billion water resources bill. Had the veto held, many of our clients, and certainly Woodard & Curran as a firm, would have been harmed by an inability to move forward on needed water and wastewater infrastructure improvements.

On behalf of our firm, I sent letters to all senators and representatives in the states where we have offices, citing why the veto should be overturned. Thousands of people did the same, and that solid support for the bill resulted in both the House and the Senate overturning the President’s veto.

As a firm, we pride ourselves on driving results. We can all do the same locally, at the state level, and nationally, by taking action and contacting our representatives. We all have a responsibility to speak up and what better a time than now, with economic uncertainty and a presidential election on our minds.

Contributed by Doug McKeown, CEO

How valuable is good service?

The cable company provides pretty bad service: incorrect invoices, impossible-to-navigate phone directories, and inexplicable fees are par for the course. Plus, the guy who signed up yesterday is on a cheaper plan than you are even though you have been a customer since the TV was invented.

Surveys show that cable providers rank near the bottom on customer satisfaction. I know if I could switch easily to another provider, I would (but my wife would kill me if I put a satellite dish on our house). I bet you could say the same thing for the phone companies, including your cell provider.

And yet these companies continue to grow at amazing rates! So, if we, the customers, get such bad service, why do the profits of these companies keep growing? In his book “The Ultimate Question”, Fred Reichheld calls this kind of growth based on poor treatment of existing customers an “addiction to bad profits” (If you haven’t read Reichheld’s book, I encourage you to pick up a copy). It seems that either we are undervaluing good service, don’t really care, or just can’t get better service anywhere else.

I can’t imagine that the same thing is true in all industries, and I believe the opposite is true for consulting firms. But I want to know what you think: how highly do you value good service? Do you choose your coffee shop because you get great service there? What about your grocery store? Or maybe you don’t care. Either way, I’d love to hear from you.

I’ll share interesting comments in a future post. I may never understand the cable company’s success, but hopefully I’ll learn something about what kind of service people really value.

Contributed by Dave MacDonald, LSP, PG 

Water Sampling in Waterbury, Connecticut: WEF's World Water Monitoring Day Featured Event

As part of our efforts to give back to the communities we live and work in, Woodard & Curran staff volunteer with local schools to educate students about the environment and the protection of our valuable water resources.

For example, in Waterbury, Connecticut, Woodard & Curran coordinated and promoted Waterbury High School's AP Environment class in collecting water samples and participating in the Water Environment Federation's World Water Monitoring Day Event. We also hope that our participation in events like this encourages careers in engineering, the sciences, and water and wastewater treatment.

America is facing a shortage of qualified science and engineering graduates in many fields, including water and wastewater treatment, which are valuable and rewarding careers. If we can contribute to educating youth about their environment, and maybe even inspire a few of them to pursue careers in water resources or related disciplines, then that is time very well spent.

Contributed by Woodard & Curran's Water Services Team.

Making a Good First Impression: Job Interviews Are Easy (With Practice)!

Do you ever wonder just what recruiters remember about you once you walk away from an interview? This fall, over 40 Woodard & Curran recruiters visited 21 colleges and universities and met with over 1,000 engineering students, looking for talented young people who want the diversity of opportunities a consulting firm offers.

We were impressed with how focused, articulate, and well prepared many were, but it was clear that some had prepared for the interviews and some had not. After listening to those who fumbled with responses, we left thinking that they were probably all great candidates but a little uncomfortable and inexperienced with interviewing.

Most interviewers are looking for certain things from interviewees. We have found some resources on the web that match up well with what we find important in the interviewing process

Adventures in Education’s interview first impressions page is great. It talks about how to make a good first impression, the "don'ts" of interviewing, potential questions to anticipate and be ready for, and questions for you to ask the employer

QuintCareers.com has a helpful interview questions page, listing questions that college students or recent grads are likely to hear from interviewers.

Contributed by Rachel