This month’s issue features a great resource for those who work in local government (and those who work with them), along with an employee who carries out her daily duties accompanied by a rather unusual friend. You’ll also learn why FORTUNE magazine and the authors of a new book on workplaces think CH2M HILL is great place to work – and how that benefits our clients.
Our company
FORTUNE, book authors rate CH2M HILL among best places to work
 FORTUNE has named CH2M HILL to its 2011 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For®, the fifth time the company has earned a place on the coveted list. The full list will be published in the magazine’s Feb. 7 issue.
"This ranking is significant to us not only because we are benchmarked against other leading companies, but also because we're selected based on feedback from our employees," says Lee McIntire, CH2M HILL chairman and CEO. "We succeed because we have the kind of people who make it possible -- innovative, caring, safety-focused, hard-working people who continue to build a better world one project at a time."
The firm also is among 12 companies featured in the new book The Great Workplace: How to Build It, How to Keep it, and Why it Matters. Co-authors Michael Burchell and Jennifer Robin chose to feature CH2M HILL after reviewing more than 25 years of research involving more than 2 million people and 6,000 companies annually. According to the authors, CH2M HILL’s unique employee ownership culture, values and collaborative work approach differentiated it from other organizations in the book, which include some of the world’s most respected companies such as Google, Microsoft, General Mills and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Atlanta airport picks CH2M HILL for facilities maintenance
 CH2M HILL has been awarded a multi-year contract to provide facilities maintenance and operations services for “the world’s busiest airport,” Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, which handles more than 88 million passengers annually. A 76-person team will service the airport’s 5.6-million-square-foot Central Passenger Terminal Complex, which comprises the landside terminal building, six concourses, mechanical plants, train tunnels and passenger mall; Delta Air Lines ground support equipment; and all related building systems. CH2M HILL also will provide maintenance and operations services for the new 1.2 million-square-foot Maynard Holbrook Jackson International Terminal when it is commissioned later this year. Read more.
Video: Helping local governments discover, recover owed revenues
CH2M HILL’s revenue enhancement program was featured last month at the National League of Cities’ 2010 Conference of Cities. The program involves working with local governments to identify lost and uncollected fees and taxes, such as business occupation taxes, cell tower leases, alcohol excise taxes, E-911 fees and cable television franchise fees. To learn more, watch this video of the NLC presentation.
Our partners
Georgia city’s ‘Heart Safe’ program earns honors
 American City & County magazine recently recognized the Sandy Springs, Ga., “Heart Safe” program with the Crown Communities Award. Through the program, the city’s Fire & Rescue Department places automated external defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the city and trains residents on how to use AEDs and perform CPR. Since 2007, the department has trained more than 4,500 residents and placed more than 150 AEDs throughout the city. CH2M HILL has provided a range of city services in Sandy Springs since its incorporation in 2005. Read more.
Our communities
Idaho employees support re-vegetation project
 The City of Twin Falls, Idaho, spent a decade acquiring, preserving and protecting a natural park for the enjoyment of its residents. But just a few short months after Auger Falls Park opened, a wildfire destroyed more than 80 percent of the 550-acre facility. Concerned that invasive weeds would sprout in the aftermath of the blaze, the city organized a re-vegetation event to plant native grasses, flowers and plants. CH2M HILL employees from the Twin Falls wastewater treatment plant and Boise office quickly signed up to provide lunch to the nearly 470 volunteers who turned out to help.
CH2M HILL and Twin Falls recently celebrated 25 years of partnership. The company has provided wastewater services for this community of 37,000 since 1985.
Our industry
‘Knowledge Network’ helps advance local government
 Last fall the Alliance for Innovation and the International City/County Management Association debuted the “Knowledge Network,” an online global community featuring a library containing documents on all facets of local government operations and management, social networking among local government experts, and access to the expertise of the organizations and their partners. If you work in or with local government, the Knowledge Network provides access to a free-flowing exchange of concepts, ideas and best practices that can help you be more effective in your job.
Our people
Meet Coos Bay's Kim Fassett – and friend
 When laboratory analyst Kim Fassett makes her daily rounds in Coos Bay, Ore., she’s usually not alone. A special friend – Bob the Crow – follows Kim around the plant, waiting for a tasty treat. The feathered companion got his name because he bobs his head up and down and rubs his beak on the railing or other plant structures in anticipation of the snacks to come.
A North Dakota native, Kim has worked with CH2M HILL since 1986, starting as a temporary administrative assistant in Laramie, Wyo., before moving to Coos Bay, where she completed additional training to become laboratory analyst. Bob must instinctively know about Kim’s love of animals. She is an ardent supporter of the local animal shelter, volunteers at the Pacific Cove Humane Society and is helping develop a much-needed pet adoption center for Coos Bay. She is also committed to CH2M HILL’s focus on the environment, getting involved in recycling, reuse, and waste reduction efforts at the project (and encouraging others to do the same). Kim now champions sustainability throughout the Pacific Northwest, coordinating efforts across the region.
CH2M HILL has managed the city’s two wastewater treatment plants, 25 lift stations, 70 miles of sanitary sewers and 50 miles of stormwater sewer lines since 1996.
Headquartered near Denver, Colorado, USA, employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in consulting, program management, design, construction, and operations for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. With US$6.3 billion in revenue and more than 23,500 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record (2009). The firm’s work is concentrated in the areas of energy, water, transportation, environmental, nuclear and industrial facilities. The firm has long been recognized as a most-admired company and leading employer.
CH2M HILL partners with communities and companies to deliver a complete range of custom-tailored operations and maintenance solutions. Our sustainable O&M solutions include water and wastewater system optimization; contract O&M of water, wastewater and other utilities; facilities management; and complete municipal operations, including administration, public works and community development.
|
|
|
|
|
|
President’s perspective
The holidays are now behind us. I hope you have returned refreshed and recharged. The past year was an eventful and busy one, but I am even more excited by the prospects that lie before us in 2011.
Safety is always our highest priority, and we continue to succeed in ensuring all of our employees return home safely each and every day. This core corporate value was widely recognized in 2010. We received the National Safety Achievement Award for Exceptional Safety Performance in the Workplace and were selected as one of eight companies awarded the Corporate Culture of Safety Award. Overall, CH2M HILL received 115 National Safety Council awards, and we bring this emphasis to your work site with us daily.
We also continue to explore new ways to add value to our clients’ endeavors. We’ve expanded our facilities maintenance capabilities for both public- and private-sector partners. We’re offering more consulting services to support or optimize your operations. And we’re contributing to a more sustainable world, assisting a variety of clients in achieving their unique triple-bottom-line goals for social, environmental and economic success.
The response to these efforts has been tremendous. We’ve gained some major new partners in the automotive and aviation sectors as well as other areas, while existing clients have expressed their confidence in our work through repeated contract renewals.
I received a great note recently from an employee who was called in to help on a really tough job in South Carolina.
“This was and will continue to be a hard job … but usually they make the best jobs because no one else wants to step up and tackle them,” he wrote me. “But this is what we do best.”
It is this type of person and that kind of attitude which make CH2M HILL such a great company to work for and with. In this issue you’ll read more about us once again making the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” list and our inclusion in a book about great workplaces. These achievements are noteworthy, but the real payoff is they help attract even more talented employees who inspire increasingly creative solutions for our clients’ greatest challenges.
Of course, the best part of my job is when I have a chance to visit with our clients at our projects. Last year, I had a chance to visit with more than 20 of you, and I’ve been humbled and amazed by the astonishing variety of quality work we deliver, safely, every day. Thanks so much for the warm welcome and for always telling me how much you appreciate our partnership. Best wishes for an exciting, successful and safe year.
Respectfully,
Elisa M. Speranza
President,
Operations & Maintenance
Business Group
|
|
|
|
 |
Conferences are a great way for us to connect with clients, share our technical expertise and support our industry. When your plans call for you to attend a conference, make sure to look us up. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
