Q.INSIGHTS & INTUITION

Chad Dustin Senior Project Manager, Construction Engineers Grand

How do you unlock the untapped potential of team members at your organization?

Unlocking untapped potential is an ongoing process that takes continuous adjustments to get the most from each employee. A few ways that we have been able to accomplish this are by utilizing the following:

• Recognizing an employee’s strengths: By spending time with employees, you get an understanding of what they are good at and can use these strong points to help each employee grow within the company. By using their strengths to their advantage, it allows all to feel empowered and more confident in specific tasks.

• Setting clear goals: Working with each employee to set clear and attainable goals assists each of them in recognizing their individual strengths to be more confident and gives a greater desire to develop their skill set.

• Encouraging open lines of communication: Spending time in the field with each crew is a great way to open these lines of communication. Knowing that our field staff has the support from the top down gives them the confidence to succeed knowing that there is always someone to talk to as projects progress.

• Supporting a team philosophy: No project can be completed by a single person; it takes a full team that is working as one. It takes cooperation from the whole team to be able to work together and have a successful project and constant communication at all levels throughout a project is key to a successful team culture.

• Offering Learning Opportunities: We currently utilize an internal carpenter training program to increase the knowledge base of our employees in the field. By utilizing this program, we can use this curriculum as well as in-person training courses and on-site testing taught by our skilled workforce to provide real world, in-person trainings.

By utilizing the items listed above as well as many others, we can unlock the untapped potential in each of our team members.

The most valuable resource any organization has are found in the human component – its team members. Tapping into everyone’s fullest potential is a labor-intensive process but Ackerman-Estvold knows it reaps many rewards from investing in our staff and it is always a high priority.

We facilitate growth and look for ways to support our professionals by fostering a culture of learning and offering opportunities for growth and development in a multitude of ways. We promote continuous learning within the organization by creating opportunities for employees to pursue professional development; some examples are workshops, conferences, training programs, and one-on-one coaching.

Trying to think proactively we like to identify growth opportunities within our team, providing cross-functional training and experiences, creating career development pathways, and providing constructive feedback. We know an environment of true collaboration is based on trusting one another; by encouraging our employees to interact with each, share knowledge, and practice open communication our team is better rounded having a more complete picture of the whole process. We are open to innovative strategies from all members of our team, giving each person room to try new things and creating a collective environment feeling comfortable sharing ideas and suggestions.

We strongly believe in empowering staff to make decisions, take ownership of their work, and give them a platform to showcase their skills and ideas; in turn, creating satisfied and confident team members. Because of how fast the world moves, one thing frequently overlooked is taking time to celebrate successes. We have taken a concentrated approach to intentionally celebrate both individual and team accomplishments, as our company is only as good as the sum of its individuals and by celebrating each person’s accomplishments we celebrate the culture A-E has created.

Rachel Stevenson Director of Human Resources, Ackerman-Estvold Minot, North Dakota

Sanford Health has always believed that our most important asset is the Sanford Family – each one of our 47,000 employees. Our employees are encouraged to share their voices which help drive improvements, create engagement and build a trusting culture.

Sanford Health ranks in the top 25% among peers in the health care industry for meaningful work and inclusiveness as a strength based on employee experience survey results. We have significantly grown our diversity council and employee resource groups with supporting initiatives that ensure representation, creating awareness, driving inclusivity and a feeling of belonging in the workplace.

You don’t have to look far to see the impact Sanford Health has on our community – from our sponsorships of events and activities that brings families together and enhances the quality of life to the relationships we proudly have with education institutions in our footprint that support professional development and growth. Our employees lead projects and teams that bring life-saving treatments to our patients through clinical research, and our innovation unit continues to discover new bedside clinical support opportunities. Our people, patients and residents and community are at the heart and focus of everything we do.

Sanford Health has also created a variety of honor and recognition awards for employees that are making a true difference in the lives of those around them. Several award examples include Employee of Year, Brand Ambassador, HERO awards and various service awards.