ESI Helps Improve Bottom Line

Henkels & McCoy needed to help increase efficiency internally and develop seamless communication with their many large general contracting partners. With ESI International training, Henkels & McCoy created a standardized, global project management methodology throughout the organization.

Henkels & McCoy, Inc. is one of the largest privately held engineering, network development and construction firms serving the communications, information technology and utility industries in the United States. Additional offerings have traditionally included installation, maintenance and training services. Several years ago, the company, which boasts 4,600 employees in 80 permanent offices and operations facilities across the U.S., identified the need to establish consistent project management throughout its organization.

The Challenge
Upon winning significant utility infrastructure contracts ranging from the building of transmission lines to inside wiring for the Pentagon, which is one of the world’s largest office buildings, and Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, Henkels & McCoy had firmly established itself as one of the country’s premier specialty contractors.

However, as the company executed these large-scope projects — and set their sites on many more — senior executives began recognizing a need for standardized project management methodology throughout their organization. The benefits to improved project management practices, they determined, would be numerous, including increased efficiency internally and seamless communication with their many large general contracting partners.

“Our industry has become increasingly more sophisticated over the years as people look for enhanced productivity and safety,” said Kathy Mills, Director of Human Resources. “The complex projects we were winning required that our staff keep pace with industry knowledge.”

Why ESI?
Henkels & McCoy sought a project management training provider with the global infrastructure required to easily and consistently deliver high-impact training to its employees. Additionally, the company was looking for a partner who not only understood Henkels & McCoy’s complex industry, but who would be attentive and mindful of staff workloads and differing styles. Henkels & McCoy chose ESI International.

“We interviewed a number of project management improvement providers from around the country and selected ESI for a number of reasons,” Mills explained. “One of the primary reasons was that our people could take courses on their own schedule. Our team is spread across a number of time zones, so we needed a provider that was as geographically diverse as we were. Most of our work is done in the field, meaning most of our staff members spend little time behind a computer. ESI understood this and worked within our schedule constraints to deploy a program that meets the needs of the entire company.”

The ESI Solution
From the beginning of its partnership with ESI in 2003, Henkels & McCoy’s executives were committed to providing training to staff members across a variety of internal levels, ranging from project team members to senior executives. Executive involvement, which included participation from the CEO/President, COO and CFO, helped staff members understand that creating a project management culture was a significant initiative supported at the highest organizational levels.

“We strongly believed all along that, regardless of whether an employee is running projects or running operations, project management skills are important to have,” said Mills. “So, we added everybody to the training program, not just project managers. Skills such as team management, motivation, resource management and planning were competencies we wanted all members of our staff to exhibit. ESI’s training program brought a formalized approach to these skills.”

In 2005, after one year of training with ESI, the executive team at Henkels & McCoy issued an internal “Project Management Challenge.” The initiative challenged employees to establish and implement a methodology based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide), which was customized to Henkels & McCoy’s industry and internal procedures.

Continuing its project management transformation, in 2006, Henkels & McCoy established a Project Management Office (PMO). The office was created to be responsible for defining and maintaining the organization’s standards of process and acting as the internal source of documentation, guidance and metrics for all project management activities.

The Impact
“Our bottom line has improved year over year since we implemented the training,” Mills said. “We used to bid a high number of projects. Today, we’ve learned not to bid as much. We have a solid methodology and bid review process in place, enabling us to look at the associated scope and risk before we get too deep. There was a time when we might have placed educated guesses on whether opportunities represented a good project for Henkels & McCoy. Now, we use our processes to more closely pursue work that fits our corporate strategy and that will deliver the return we expect.”

Like any major change management initiative, the move toward a project management culture at Henkels & McCoy was initially met with resistance. Many throughout the organization were reluctant to change longstanding habits and procedures. However, through time, leadership and unwavering commitment, employees at Henkels & McCoy have come to understand that their customers and their highly competitive market required them to apply more sophisticated methodologies to their work in order to succeed.

“Slowly but surely, you reap rewards as people recognize that the skills they are learning are helping their projects, said Mills. “When people begin speaking the project management language and using the methodology, you realize you’ve been successful in developing a project management culture.”

Since beginning training with ESI, 60 Henkels & McCoy employees have earned Associate’s Certificates in Project Management, including the company’s COO, and 10 employees have earned Master’s Certificates in Project Management.

“Our team has taken great satisfaction in the accomplishment of receiving associate’s and master’s certificates from ESI,” Mills said. “Another source of value is that ESI’s training is backed by The George Washington University School of Business. That affiliation is a significant source of pride for our people.”

Next Steps
Henkels & McCoy has no plans of slowing down its training initiative. As of spring 2007, 119 Henkels & McCoy employees have enrolled in a total of 311 ESI courses, and the company is working hard with ESI to develop and further refine its new project management culture.

Projects are currently grouped into one of four levels based on strategic importance and complexity. The current Henkels & McCoy project management methodology applies to Level 3 and 4. The company is now developing a leaner version of its methodology for Level 1 and 2 projects.

With expanded project management expertise and systems, Henkels & McCoy is also considering new partnerships and taking on a larger number of complex projects, both of which are expected to help the company continue to grow and cement its reputation as an industry leader.

“We’re committed to continuous improvement,” Mills said. “We have a solid understanding of what has worked historically, and we’re also keeping an eye on what will make us successful in the future. A commitment to further developing the Henkels & McCoy project management culture is an integral part of our future success, and our continued work with ESI remains key to achieving these initiatives.”

PMBOK is a trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc., and is registered in the United States and other nations.