CULTURE OF TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST

BRIAN SIELAFF, PE, MSCE, SE, P.ENG,CEO

As Tamarack Grove Engineering (TGE) observes its 20th anniversary and sets goals for the future, we have consistently celebrated and valued our unique culture — a culture intentionally created and curated with a focus on hiring top talent, empowering them to do what they do best, and allowing them the freedom to innovate. At TGE, the personal journey remains just as important as the firm’s journey. While TGE’s foundational roots were firmly established in ‘doing things differently,’ over the years the firm has evolved from relying strictly on organic growth to a strategic, purposeful approach using innovative business models and resources to grow. With a strong emphasis on blending culture with success for the firm and its people, TGE has adopted a culture of transparency to continue the journey for the next 20 years.

WHY WE’RE INVESTING IN THE RIGHT RESOURCES

Innovation and improvement should always be at the core of any business, and knowing the best ways to capitalize on success and build upon it are key. While we’ve historically relied on sound business development to grow TGE including repeat business, fostering relationships, and organic growth, we believed we could have been even more successful by taking advantage of professional tools and resources to fill our operational gaps.

Recognizing this, we engaged a third party EOS implementer who helped TGE solidify its core values, processes, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Since the EOS framework emphasizes accountability, it was essential to ensure that every employee knows their responsibilities, goals, and how they contribute to success. We developed long and short-term plans, breaking them into manageable 90-day increments, or “rocks,” to ensure consistent progress. We also identified key roles such as ‘Visionary’ and ‘Integrator’ which help us maintain strategic focus and operational efficiency. Once the framework was put in place, and key roles assigned, we’ve been able to continue self-implementing the EOS approach in our workplace.

“TGE’s adoption of open book management and the Entrepreneurial Operating System has been instrumental in driving our success. In terms of revenue, the first quarter of 2024 was our best quarter ever!” — Brian Sielaff

PLAYING THE GAME

TGE’s leadership team had been considering embracing open book management (OBM), a management philosophy emphasizing transparency and employee engagement by sharing financial and operational information. The goal of OBM is to educate employees

about the financial health of the company and involve them in the decision-making process to foster a sense of ownership and accountability. Overall, the approach explores what success looks like in your firm and ways to align employees’ goals with the company’s objectives.

In 2021, during our first Townhall Meeting, we introduced the concept of OBM to the entire Tamarack team. We provided a comprehensive walkthrough on running a business, openly sharing operational costs, data, and profit and loss statements. No information was off the table. We shared that out of the revenue, came overhead covering payroll, benefits, operating expenses, and rent. Out of the remaining profit funds are kept in reserve as cash on hand and to reinvest in the firm to fuel strategic growth.

TGE made the decision to be all-in on OBM, which proved a game changer for us, quickly building trust and shifting the team dynamic. Empowering the team with information about the firm’s financial standing and giving them the roadmap to our future strategic initiatives gave everyone the equation and rules – along with a playbook – for how to succeed at our firm. The entire leadership team felt that if we’re not sharing all the data and numbers, employees will eventually make up their own narrative. By getting ahead of this, we played an active role in how the TGE team sees leadership, their own roles, and the company overall.

OBM has also been pivotal in assisting us with leading our teams. We have eight teams operating within TGE, all with clearly established objectives and revenue goals. This approach aligns with our goal to do things differently and has benefited our retention and recruiting efforts.

WINNING THE GAME

We successfully realigned the employee experience with OBM, and now it was time to implement the appropriate and specific resources to help us strategically do our jobs better. EOS is a comprehensive business management system that provides tools and concepts to help a company and its people achieve goals. We used this to define the company’s vision; get the right people in the right seats doing what they do best; use data to manage and track the business; and allow us to identify issues and solve problems collaboratively. A key piece of adopting EOS has been setting short- and long-term goals tied to accountability and achievability.

THE RESULTS OF CULTURAL TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST AT TGE

We’ve successfully implemented OBM and EOS to foster a culture of transparency and trust, contributing to significant growth and efficiency. From starting with the right people with the needed skillsets to empowering employees to work autonomously, we’ve created a stronger work environment. We’ve furthered transparency through regular no-holds-barred townhall meetings; by sharing revenue, profit, and expense information which builds trust and ensures every team member understands the company’s financial health; and by supporting engagement where employees can ask questions and contribute, resulting in their sense of ownership.

Since implementation of OBM and EOS in Q4/23, revenue growth has never been higher. Employee goals are now firmly aligned with company objectives, and EOS has helped us streamline internal processes and improve efficiencies. The effects of OBM have been equally positive by honing a collaborative work culture embraced and supported by everyone. By fostering a culture of transparency, trust, and accountability, and by using proven business frameworks, TGE has achieved remarkable growth and efficiency. We’ve stayed true to ourselves and to our philosophy of ‘doing things differently’ and we’re just where we want to be on our journey.